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GOP in Dangerous Decline– How to describe the Republican Party’s refusal to condemn Marjorie Taylor Green or to accept the 2020 election as legitimate? This isn’t politics as usual, something any of us has seen before. Behind both the Capitol Riots and the words of MTG is an ideology of violence, one which believes that Democratic elected officials should be eliminated/killed to make way for Trump to “Save America.”
On July 4th, at an official event at the White House, then President Trump spelled out a new mission for his Presidency and the GOP: “American heroes defeated the Nazis, dethroned the fascists, toppled the communists, saved American values, upheld American principles and chased down the terrorists to the very ends of the earth. We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators.” This was a direct call for violence against his political opponents, a declaration that the President was putting the mighty power of the US government on the job of killing off “the radical left” as our government had used force to eliminate other ideologically threatening movements.
There simply is no way to interpret this call any other way, and in fact as the NY Times reported this weekend, the Trump administration did begin mobilizing against the “radical left” over the summer. Republican leaders, including ones many consider moderates, continue to use the “radical left” frame; and over the weekend MTG called her colleague Rep. Cori Bush a “leader of the Black Lives Matter terrorist mob.” Terrorists, as the President stated above, who needed to be “chased down to the very ends of the earth.”
Until Republican leaders explicitly renounce these violent calls, and make clear they accept the election in 2020 as legitimate, their party has essentially aligned itself with a violent, armed, and organized domestic insurgency. It is honestly shocking we have gotten to this place, and that so many Republicans, particularly in the US House remain unrepentant. But here we are, and this organization is going to continue to demand and expect there to be a clear national effort by the Republicans to de-radicalize, end the Trump-inspired insurgency, and return to the language and practices one would expect from any political party in any democracy, anywhere.
New Polling in GA Show Dem Gains Holding, Trouble for the GOP– A new Atlanta Journal Constitution poll has findings which are well worth some time chewing over…..
Favs/Unfavs
Warnock 54/37
Biden 52/41
Abrams 51/41
Ossoff 50/40
Kemp 42/51
Trump 40/57
This is yikes territory for the Trump and the GOP in what is clearly now a formerly red state, and one critical to both the 2022 and 2024 maps.
Events: New Weekly Politics Series Announced, With Dems Every Friday in February – We have lots of events on the books for you in the coming weeks, including deep dives on Trump and authoritarianism, rethinking electoral and other High crimes, and the Hispanic vote. We will also be presenting With Dems every Friday at 2pm for the next few weeks. To learn more and register for one of the terrific events visit here.
Young People Turned Out Again in 2020, Voted Overwhelmingly Democratic- Another big political trend we’ve been following here at NDN is what appears to be a significant awakening among young people in recent elections. In both 2018 and 2020 young people turned out in very high numbers, and were critical to Democratic victories in both cycles. According to the Exit Polls, 18-29 year olds went for Biden nationally 62-35 (+27), up from 55-36 (+19) for Clinton four years ago. 18-24 year olds went for Biden 67-29 (+38), up from 56-34% (+22) four years ago. These are big and consequential shifts.
We cover this trend in depth in our “With Democrats'' presentation, but you can find Simon discussing it in these recent stories on CNBC, the Washington Post (here and here), Politico, US News and the Raleigh News and Observer (and again). A recent Washington Post story on the youth vote in Georgia cites NDN’s work:
“A distinct youth politics has emerged in America, with its own issues like climate, racial justice and gun safety, and now with its own communications medium and idioms,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of the liberal think tank NDN, who has been tracking youth turnout. “What we are seeing with influencers and TikTok is new, different, constantly evolving — it’s all being invented in front of our eyes. It’s a new form of politics for sure.””
The Growing Importance of the Southwest to Democrats – In 2004 Republicans held 6 of 8 Senate seats in AZ/CO/NM/NV and won all the region’s Electoral College votes. With important wins in AZ and CO this last election, Democrats now hold all 8 of the region’s Senate seats and have claimed all of its 31 Electoral College votes.
The modern Democratic coalition is much more Western than in the past, something you can now see now in its leadership – a VP and Speaker, HHS Secretary, DGA/DSCC/DCCC Chairs. 4 of the 6 Senate seats won by Democrats in the last 2 elections have come from AZ/CO/NV. See our new analysis for just how important the heavily Mexican-American parts of the US have become to the national Democratic Party. It includes a link to our recent interview with Rep. Ruben Gallego, one of the architects of the political transformation we’ve seen in Arizona.
Best, Simon, Georgia
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