I don't know what Sanford thought would happen after throwing in his lot with all those people.
Serial cheater Trump making fun of Sanford over adultery. Only in Trumpland folks! And the base doesn't even notice.
18
Since the Republican party is moving far, far to the right, moderates across the nation have no place to turn right now. My wife, a moderate, read the book about Sanford's marriage to me in the car, word for word. How he ever won another election beats me, except Trump is divorced and foul mouthed too. Sanford can go back to walking the Appalachian trail, a worthy goal.
6
I was a reporter in coastal S.C. when Mark Sanford made his big comeback. He won an off cycle special election based almost entirely on name recognition. I don't think he had any special bond with voters and the outcome Tuesday is no real surprise.
9
We must be free to speak our minds when the truth is in the balance. Kudos to any politician who speaks up for what's right.
3
SC has moved farther right than ever, but there are still a lot of good Democrats here who believe in civil rights for all, and a growing number of disgusted former Republicans who are funding and voting for Democratic candidates.
The footnote is that we had four great Democratic candidates for Congressional District #7, with a runoff on June 26 between Mal Hyman and Robert Williams. These men represent very different visions of our area in terms of accepting the differences between people. This story should be watched.
The winner will run against current officeholder Tom Rice, a wealthy Republican good old boy who is running for his fourth term.
Even Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham have gone over to the dark side. As cynical as I have been about Republicans since the days of Bush/Cheney, I truly had a modicum of hope that Trump could be constrained by some moderates in his own party. Now I am full out skeptical of any R, in any race, local, state or national, to the point that I will not even consider voting for one EVER AGAIN.
10
There's a "cause and effect" issue that many seem to be missing regarding Trumps tweet and Sanford's loss, which is that the president tweeted his remarks five hours after the polls opened. I have a feeling the voters of South Carolina weren't waiting with bated breath to be told what to do.
4
Could it be that the voters didn't like Sanford as much as his opponent? Fostering the idea that Trump's tweets swung the election against Sanford is grabbing at straws. Trump has been batting O -3 on his support of prior candidates. If my memory is correct his support did little help candidates in Alabama or Virginia. Now that someone he supported was able to beat someone Trump has become the omnipotent Kingmaker? Have we forgotten Sanford's little walkabout when he was chasing a lady who wasn't he wife? Could it be some of the baggage Sanford was carrying did him in? If Trump was truly a Kingmaker why his candidates in the Virginia and Alabama races are looking for employment ? Trump alreay thinks he is a modern day Ceasar do we really want to make him think he is a Kingmaker? Last week when Trump said he could pardon himself the nation should have had a collective shudder.
9
Really? Not the MeToo movement, but a Trump tweet? Mark Sandford is one of theall too common and totally revolting republicans whose private life takes precedence to him over his public responsibilties. In addition he is an unapogetic philanderer in the 'family values' party.
And you think a Trump tweet took him down? I beg to differ.
2
20 House Democrats and 40 Republicans are not running for re-election. The 60 seats that are open and another 40 more that are contested create the possibility of a 100 member turnover in the House. In modern times that is an extremely high number. And if the 40 incumbents in trouble actually lose, that also will be an extremely high number. The number of Trump Republicans could increase substantially. But if the Democrats win the House, a Trump controlled Republican Party will not have much power. All those Trump Republicans will have a front seat to watch what the Democrats do.
2
What we're seeing goes beyond South Carolina and the GOP. Ever since Trump's election, we've been hearing apologists for the American people saying that, no, they're not really racist xenophobes. I'm tired of hearing it. Millions of them are. There are plenty of decent people in this country, but there are plenty of the other kind, too, and they don't all live in red states. But they do live under capitalism and the strain must be acknowledged. Only the strong can survive something as terrible as that.
7
I can’t believe he garnered a single vote after the Appalachian Trail nonsense.
9
You don't suppose that Trump fired off the tweet late, after he had evidence that Sanford was going to lose, to give the impression that his endorsement had big time impact?
8
Trump's timetable for throwing his support behind Katie Arrington reminds me a lot of shooting an arrow into the side of the barn, then drawing a target around it. Donnie doesn't want to risk being on the losing side again.
5
I hope those middle class and working class South Carolina Trump supporters get the future they deserve: less healthcare access, a bankrupt Medicare, a greater gap from the wealthy who just got a far larger tax break, and a nice burden of national debt and lower future living standards for their kids. If you are so easily fooled, if you buy the culture wars rather than following the actual money, if you cannot add, if you cannot think clearly, maybe you should reap the consequences of your decisions.
7
Everyone just blaming Trump must remember: The GOP is the Engine, it's supporters the Coal and Trump the Caboose. Trump is no one without the former.
1
The numbers:
Basically 50 / 50.
Trump's person vs everyone who was happy to vote against her… and him.
Sanford got close to 46% of people who liked his push back on Trump just fine.
Trump is going to face one or more primary challengers in 2020. Pretty unusual for a sitting president.
Jeff Flake will probably be one and will provide a marked contrast in demeanor, dignity, smarts, and principled stands on conservative issues. He's a conservative, what else?
A handsome, measured, decent man just standing next to Trump in debates will diminish Trump. And, if he reverts to his natural bully, it may provide a "McCarthy moment" which really sours people to Trump.
His antics, by then, will be wearing on even conservative's nerves and he may be in for a surprise.
Again, half the Republicans in Stanford's district voted against the Trump choice.
Trump is not popular and never will be.
6
Well put, but one of the worst things about Trump is that he normalizes other people's bad behavior. These days anyone who isn't wearing a swastika and foaming at the mouth is somehow considered moderate and/or decent and that's simply not true.
3
Has Trumps incoherence infected the NYT readership? This is the last person you would eulogize. Who's next on republicans the NYT readership love- Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby?
This guy is an awful person, who publicly tortured his family for a midlife crisis and used state funds to enable his affair. After this, most people would retreat and self reflect, heal the damage to his family.
Not this sociopath. Back to the spot light like a moth to the flame. Then he met a bigger sociopath. Trump is doing a great job of destroying the GOP from the inside.
6
People want actual change, change they believe in. Enough promises. Action Now!
1
Lets's remember Trump could not save some his fanboys. He and America forget his miscalls. Mark Sanford was a less than perfect candidate yer he still garnered 46% and another candidate 2%. Even highly motivated Trump Republicans could only deliver 2% margin in South Carolina an extremely red state.
2
GOP is totally corrupt; money and power is their golden idol. Tax scam gave tons of free money to the rich. GOP tries every way possible to take away our healthcare. Trump promotes Russia and attacks our allies. America is in serious trouble. Please vote Ray Sipe
4
The more that those who support the liar living in the WH win primaries, the more likely they will be true losers in the general elections .
They may win the battle, but, unless Vlad has more tricks up his sleeve. they will lose the war.
The majority of americsns do NOT like DJT.
And for good reason.
8
Leave it to traitor Don Republicans to chose dumber over dumb.
4
Mark Sanford wasn't spineless enough for Trump.
5
The enemy of my enemy, in this case, is still my enemy.
8
What's eminently-frightening--and I don't use the word lightly--is the religious fervor in which the hard-right worships Donald Trump. This unhealthy attachment of the red state hordes is not mere adoration of an icon or the veneration of a sainted relic. It is the unquenchable thirst of the flock of lambs for the leadership of a wolf.
There is no apparent pause for critical thought. Thee is no room for doubt. This glowing, burning, fluorescent, shining fanaticism of the swelling ranks of the Republican Party is merely another step toward the complete and absolute severance of the GOP from the two-party stem begun in 1968 (Richard Nixon's racist Southern Strategy); continued through the anti-government tenure of Ronald Reagan; and perfected by House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1994 ("Contract With America"), a throwing-down of a gauntlet in which the party forevermore distanced itself from civility and consensus and cooperation across the aisle.
Red State politicians are deeply committed to the destruction of the federal government, the apple in Reagan's eye three-dozen years before the advent of Trump.
A country without a reasonable political balance is essentially North Korea; Syria; Turkey; Russia, all ruled by the iron hand. Under Trump's banners of acid racism and scalding anti-intellectual resentments; in his zealous deconstruction of the investigative and intelligence agencies of our free press, do we see, in ever-increasing Trumpian popularity, the future of America?
10
Mark Sanford and his Argentine soul mate bring lots of baggage to any election. The surprise is that he got a second chance.
Anti-Trump liberals may wish to color this as a result of Sanford's views, but Sanford lost because he is a deeply flawed over-ambitious candidate and is simply not as good as Arrington. And, bet on it, Arrington is very smart and she will win again.
7
Interesting. How is Sanford any more flawed than Trump?
1
I have to say that if I were looking at his name on a ballot I would not be putting a check next to Sanford. Any governor who claims to be hiking - and use that to justify no contact while in another country with his paramour - isn't getting a second chance from me as a governor or as a candidate for Senate.
I would not look to Trump or anyone else to guide my vote on that ticket.
4
Godspeed, Mark Sanford.
History will prove your mettle.
1
Something there is about the Republican voter that overlooks, even forgives, a politician even most despicable moral failings of any stripe, save the condign criticism of Donald Trump and his own sins.
In an era where facts don't matter, consistency isn't expected and hypocrisy is presumed, Donald enjoys the wind of his fans.
2
It's a huge mistake to attribute Sanford's loss to Trump's last-minute tweet. The voters obviously leaned towards the Trumpian candidate, but surely many were not driven by the tweet. Trump likely waited until late in the day to tweet so he could get exit poll information that would insure that he did not back yet another losing candidate. Please don't attribute any more power to a narcissistic and infantile bully than necessary.
9
What used to be a political party has lost it's soul.
Ironically, the Republican party rose from the ashes of the Whig party when the Whigs abandoned slavery as their primary plank - or maybe a closer analogy is the rise of national socialism in the 1930's?
5
It's obvious in hindsight that the Republican Party hurt its performance prior to 2016 by attempting to maintain a veneer of respectability. Trump liberated them from the need for dog whistles and subtlety and the rest as they say is history. Near 90% Republican support for this man is disgusting and discouraging.
6
Trump criticizing Sanford for adultery seems just a little bit hypocritical?
9
Let's not give Trump all the credit on this one. Despite his standing up to Trump fascism, Sanford's past history with roaming the Adirondack trail etc. leaves a lot for his state's residents to question his judgment and stability.
5
Never underestimate the stupidity and malleability of large groups of American voters and where they can take this country. This is what you get when you build a political strategy around manipulating the most easily manipulated and calling them your ''base''.
8
As a never-to-be-again Republican, I keep wondering why Jared and Ivanka haven’t yet said a word about the advancing foothold that Neo-Nazi sympathizers are gaining in Donald Trump’s Party.
With their financial situation seeming to be in tip-top shape, you’d think they would have a little time left over to express some opinions about a matter presumably of some personal interest to them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/business/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-i...
10
Ivanka would happily put swastikas on her products if she could get away with it and make money doing it.
1
Maybe Lincoln should have let South Carolina and the other Confederacy states go their own way if they are ignorant enough to support Trump. Come to think of it, it is appropriate to refer to any government led by the charlatan and flimflam artist currently in the White House as a Con-federacy.
11
It's particularly nauseating to see comments about Sanford's infidelity by hypocrites who voted for Trump, the man who raped and brutalized his wife as Ivana testified to under oath during their divorce. Either it didn't happen, as Trump claims, or the DA ought to be going after Ivana for purgery.
9
It looks like Tim Kaine's seat is safe
5
With all due respect the words "Trump" and "Style" do not belong in the same sentence, let alone as part of the same hyphenated adjective.
9
Trump "loves" the uneducated. His base has spoken in South Carolina.
8
From the Appalachian Trail to the KKK highways.
Please proceed, GOP. November.
9
Corey Stewart is a neo-Confederate and a white nationalist, despite his belated disavowals.
9
I'm not so sure Sanfords criticism of trump was what sunk him any more than his own record.
Sure, trump has influence amongst his true believers (a minority) but that influence has it's limits as shown with Roy Moore and others.
trump was burned with Moore's loss as he did actively campaign for him.
Perhaps people are getting tired of slime-balls?
6
Lesson for GOP: Don't criticize Hair Groping-Fuhrer.
5
So, about half the country is doubling down on ignorant, incompetent, bigoted candidates, whose main goals are enriching the rich and alienating the world. Oh, except for vicious dictators, those are America's best friends now.
Right on America, keep turning into Nazis. It's time for this sick, heartless, gluttonous empire of ours to collapse. Keep on voting for the white supremacists and isolationists, let America's economy fade away, just avoid using those nukes and diminish into an ex-superpower, like Spain or Britain.
And as long as Americans keep voting for vicious idiots like this, I honestly don't care what happens to America.
7
Trump took over Mark Sanford's role as the Republican most detested by the NYT. Check back on what they had to say about him when he was a representative in the House and Governor from South Carolina. they had him down as the most wackamo Republican, particularly after he claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail while he was actually hanging out with his Brazilian girlfriend.
Per the NYT, he has rehabilitated himself by disliking Trump and attempting to thwart Trump from meeting his campaign promises, unsuccessfully.
For the last decade, Sanford has been evil incarnate per the NYT.
3
None of this will matter when Cohen flips.
9
MAGA!
3
"Maga" is rather confusing at this stage since Trump supposedly made America great last year.
In fact, he's been campaigning his new KAG since 2017.
So which is it?
I would think you'd want to distance yourselves from "maga" anyhow, since Trump's trademark filing of it in November, 2012 destroys his dishonest version of political ambition and Russian contacts.
1
MAGA now stands for "My Attorney Got Arrested"
NOT my president
3
I am thoroughly enjoying watching Trump destroy the lives and careers of everyone around him. It couldn’t happen to a better group of deplorables.
6
The New York Times, the Washington Post, and other responsible "MSM" are now the resistance. They are where we can go for reason and truth. Donald Trump and his base do not want Democracy. They want Power. It is not so dangerous that Trump could be another Hitler (he's not smart enough for that). But he has the desire and possibly the capability to be another Mussolini. We must resist. Our resistance and the strength of our long-standing legal institutions are what separates us from pre WW II Italy.
Remember always. Hitler and Mussolini were democratically ELECTED. They and their followers soon threw off the pretense that they were bound to the tenets of democracy. The rest is a terrible history.
It can happen here without the majority standing against it. Stand up. Resist. The stronger the resistance now, the less deep the hole we will need to climb out from after we rid ourselves of this noxious man.
7
I worked on Elizabeth Colbert Busch’s campaign in the special election against Sanford in 2013.
If you told me five years ago that I would be saddened by an eventual Sanford defeat, I would have laughed in your face.
But here I am, saddened by his defeat.
Just goes to show that just when you think that you have hit the bottom of the barrel, there’s often another layer of scum underneath.
12
Nice, the party of "Family Values" supports president, "P**sy Grabber". Christians must be so proud!
14
I think Martin and Burns are stretching to read anything substantial into avid and enthusiastic hiker Mark Sanford's loss. I'll wait to see other examples from less 'outdoorsy' types before declaring a trend.
4
What a shocking result to me. Republican diversity of ideas is being dramatically limited.
5
Just "hiking the Appalachian Trail" nothing to see here. Haha. Sorry couldn't resist.
8
A middling turkey who acts like the Prime Turkey is still a turkey.
As long as sane voters turn out, check off another district for Democratic women in November.
11
Trump's tweet came at the end of the day of voting -- your headline, while accurate, is misleading: the tweet almost certainly had no impact on the vote.
13
And you know this how? I'll bet you think Russian meddling also had no effect. Opinion is just that; facts matter. Learn to speak Russian; you'll need it.
2
It was going to be a close race.
With a third candidate, the question was if Sanford or
Arrington could go over 50%
65,445 votes were cast
Arrington wound up with 160 votes over 50%.
Did Trump's support give Arrington the 160 votes.
Of course, it did.
3
Isn't that election meddling? Trump did this before the polls closed on Election Day. I thought that was illegal campaigning.
What the heck - join the long line to prosecute him for his endless criminal and ethical aberrations. Trump will NEVER be an exemplar of decent humanity. NEVER!
2
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices, He pours from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drink it down to the dregs (Psalm 75:8).
If lessons are one day taken from the Trump thing, at least let them be lasting ones.
2
These days, somehow that which makes the least sense makes the most. I don’t need to know what you’re talking about, but I agree. Well said!
So NYT, which is the appropriate headline; “Mark Sanders loses after Trump tweet calls him “Trouble” , or is it “Republican voters embrace Trump-Style candidates”? I hardly think a tweet three hours prior to the polls closing would make a difference. What I do know is this is another example of an “headline” that is in essence clickbait. As the head of CBS said (paraphrased) “It may not be good for the country, but it is good for CBS”.
8
It's South Carolina. It's still wants to be 1960.
6
I didn’t realize Minnesota was anymore “progressive” with your religious zealots populating vast expanses of farmland...
1
I remember being at a pro-DACA rally and a "black" guy rolled by on a bike and screamed "*obsenity* DACA! I loooooove Donald Trump!"
He was obviously trolling the crowd, but I think democrats have to deal with the perception that illegal immigrants have people fighting and advocating for them while "black" Americans are left to their own devices.
That's obviously a false perception...black Americans can vote, have representatives at all levels of government, and etc.
But there's a disconnect between the idea that "blacks" are solidly democratic and all democrats stand solidly with illegal immigrants.
The irony, of course, is that "blacks" in America are demonized as the "other" and now republicans are demonizing illegal immigrants as the "other."
1
Well, Sanford lost by 3000 votes in what is accurately called a closely contested primary, and Trump only weighed in just before the polls closed. Given all of Sanford's baggage, never mind his anti-Trump stance, this result doesn't clearly show anything definitive, IMO.
The more interesting question will be whether those who voted for him will turn out and vote for a rabid pro-Trumper in November, in a very red district.
9
Well, this will make the choices very, very clear, won't it? Dems, you have some work to do.
7
Wow. The philandering president alluding to an extramarital affair in order to derail another politician. The hypocrisy is "yuge"!
26
Corey Stewart is a man who pines for the Lost Cause Confederacy. A "nation" that has not existed since 1865. Oddly enough he was born in Minnesota so that whole “honoring our heritage” argument is bunk. Yet he wants to represent one of the 50 states in the United States senate. He also defends neo fascist groups much like those Americans defeated in WWII. So much for the party of Frederick Douglass, Lincoln and Ike. May his campaign end in a similar manner. A defeat party in Appomattox would be an appropriate end to his political career.
15
Donald Trump, Steve Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross, Larry Kudlow and Rudy Giuliani each have had three wives a piece and counting.
But since Marshall Clement Sanford, Jr. aka Mark Sanford has cheated only once and divorced from one wife he clearly is no conservative Republican. Plus Mark is a military veteran.
26
A hat does not care what nail it hangs on, so long as it’s off the floor and not stepped on.
1
This is what we, in philosophy/logic class, used to call an instance of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc”. In other words, just because something occurs after something else, the latter was not necessarily the cause of the former.
10
We live in a post logic era.
4
This is a recipe for how to lose an otherwise safe Senate seat.
6
There is always the Appalachian Trail to hike again for Mark Sanford.
8
Moral of the story: Republican legislators who denounce Trump must change parties, since the big tent has vanished, perhaps forever. We now know exactly what the Republican party stands for and it is pretty much abhorrent.
7
We, Democrats don't want them. Let them start a new one. Maybe in 20-30 yrs they may earn our trust again.
1
Sanford was not voted out for policy reasons, he was removed for heresy. He showed insufficient worship of the infallible Dear Leader.
16
A tweet didn't take him down. Most voters already made up their mind.
If a tweet did indeed take Sanford down, then the media gets the blame for focusing on Trump's tweets and drama instead of the real issues and news.
11
I don't know what the furor is from my view, as one of Sanford's constituents (I didn't vote for him) he was a "faithful" GOP member. Voted for everything Trump pushed out, never saw him really say/do anything that was anti-trump. He ignores his constituents and is GOP uber alles.
I for one am glad Sanford lost his primary bid. Now maybe we can pull it together and elect a democrat to replace him.
12
So, the Trump "revolution" is causing the Republicans to eat their own; good. The more people like Todd Akins they nominate, the more likely a Democratic wave in November; amen.
18
Mark Sanford is unfit for any office
From June 18 until June 24, 2009, the whereabouts of Governor Sanford were unknown to the public, his wife and the State Law Enforcement Division
Governor Sanford told his staff that he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. He refused 15 cell phone calls from his chief of staff, Scott English on administrative matters.
What he did was to flew to Argentina for an extramarital affair.
Affairs do not disqualify you from being an efficient public official but disappearing for 4 days, without explanation, and without communicating with your staff, DOES.
Given his past record, he is unfit for office.
15
Trumps positive and negative evaluative words, therefore emotion based, to refer to those he supports or opposes, allows him to distract his supporters and make them ignore the more important issue about candidates. Descriptions of what they have done about relevant and consequential political issue would provide a factual basis for voting, rather than that of flattering phrases for those Trump supports or attempts to humiliate and disparaged those he opposes. All his words, whether for or against are strange coming from the president of the United States, not only because they are empty, hollow, vacuous, but the entailed dishonesty has the more profound implication of destruction of those who disagree with him.
3
Trump is the moral compass of the republican party. Of course he can't endorse a liar and adulterer.
7
Although I ridiculed Sanford as much as anyone during his ludicrous hike on the Appalachian Trail and dismissed him as a bozo during the subsequent farce, including breaking into his by-then ex-wife's home, in his brief tenure in Congress he displayed small-R republican virtue.
If, like Cicero he wasn't forced to commit suicide to oppose a dictator, he committed career suicide. Last night his pride was clearly hurt; but I'll bet that, in the clear light of morning, he's relieved not to have to caucus with a party in thrall to a man he so openly despises.
9
HKGuy - You say that Sanford should be "relieved not to have to caucus with a party in thrall to a man he so openly despises..." But here's the thing; He never had to cuacus with them in the first place. He could have chosen to caucus with the Democrats any time he wanted after his election. And the worst that would have happened to him is what happened anyway.
7
I am coming to the glum conclusion that maybe America is beyond help.
Its difficult to understand how so many American's can be conned by Donald Trump.
What don't these people understand about what Trump is doing to their country?
That Trump is literally in the process of wrecking the world that has been responsible for the highest standard of living ever known to man.
Trump is literally handing over America's competitive advantage to China and Russia, were lack of freedom is endemic to their societies.
6
Agreed. I live in Blue NY State; only 65 miles from Montreal. Would you consider giving us political asylum?
Those crazy Red State Republicans are suicidal to our supposed democratic republic!
3
I may have missed the in the article, but was Sanford's earlier polling showing him down. Before the Trump intervention. If so, these types of article drives me crazy when they say everything is because of what Trump did. And then such articles go even further saying public will vote for anyone supporting Trump. Wasn't Sanford's earlier affair, a strange story, their big reason to not vote for him?
9
You’re neglecting that the winner made fealty to Trump a core part of her campaign.
Looks like the GOP may have let the horse too far out of the barn. It is absolutely the party of Trump and the reasonable Republicans now have no party to call home. When you chase absolute power (McConnell & Ryan) sometimes you make trades that bite you later.
PS- Democrats if you want to start reminding people of what you stand for that would be ok too. Maybe inject a little hope and reason into the conversation.
4
Trump tweeted 3 hours before the polls closed. It's hard to believe his tweet had much to do with the outcome.
It is true that Sanford had been openly critical of our Dear Leader and that may well have cost him among South Carolina's red state primary voters who refuse to acknowledge that Trump is the American Mussolini.
It won't matter in Sanford's district, but nominating the Corey Stewart's of the world should be helpful for democrats come November.
7
I was amazed that they elected Sanford the first time, now they could elect someone even crazier. SC voters you are stunning, but not in a good way. Do they really buy the typical Trump pandering of low taxes and the tough on crime nonsense. No wonder they love the uneducated, they do not have to fund schools.
8
With a history dating back at least to Newt Gingrich, refined and brought to an efficient political machine by Karl Rove and then overtaken by the Tea Party, the Republican Party has cannibalized itself into a party that not only has almost no resemblance to its late twentieth, early twenty-first century roots but is largely the anthesis of that earlier party's values. That is why George Will and others like him have had the intellectual honesty to say that they are not Republicans as that term has now come to encompass.
One of the two major political parties in the United States is a party of extremists. You will make a mistake if you think Trump supporters are a radical fringe. They are the bulwark of the party that now has control of all three branches of government.
3
Everyone likes to blame the Republican establishment, but the candidate was elected by...voters. And Trump has been able to influence voters towards extremist candidates. Voters are looking less like informed and reasoned participants in the system and more like the members of a cult. And one reason is that Trump has successfully taken what, to most Americans, is really a non-issue: immigration, and turned it into a hysteria.
6
Let's read between the lines: Trump knew like everyone else that Sanford was trailing in the polls coming into election day. Trump likely knew of some early exit polling that Sanford was losing, sends the tweet, and claims that the tweet delivered the victory.
10
So, it seems that the Republican Party now solely represents backers of Donald Trump, whose support of Trump shows no particular ideological consistency but only a loyalty to whatever Il Duce says and does. For those remaining Republicans who are critical of Trump, their only viable option is to leave the party and either join and hope to affect the views of the Democratic Party (as did remnants of the Rockefeller Republicans like John Lindsay and Don Riegel in the initial conservative takeover of the GOP) or form a new conservative party. The latter might give them a comfortable sense of ideological purity, but joining and supporting the Democrats would be the surest way to end the power of the Trump Republican Party.
4
So in case anybody's wondering why Republicans are willing to kowtow to Trump, here's your answer. All who oppose the Dear Leader are ousted in primaries. But in so doing they nominated an even more radical candidate, which hopefully helps the Dems win back the seat in Nov.
6
Well, it seems that the fervent, spit-fire, never-give-up-even-in-the-face-of-truth-Trey-Gowdy fighting spirit is alive and well in the gamecock state among the Trumpy true believers whose staunch support of independent thinking for themselves has been proven once again.
This headline gives the impression that Trump has more power than (perhaps) he has: He tweeted with three hours left to vote. His Tweet likely had a marginal impact on the outcome.
11
Sandford should run as an independent and stick it to this Trump cultist, another of which is about the last thing the country needs in Congress.
11
Amazed that SC elected Sanford in the first place, after his shenanigans as governor...but he's redeemed himself somewhat by having a spine in dealing w/ Trump. So he may be out of office, but at least he can look himself in the mirror.
6
Remember when Mark Sanford's Appalachian Trail walking was the juiciest scandal? Even Republicans censured him. Trump makes him look like a Boy Scout, a mere amateur in the manly art of philandering and hypocrisy. He didn't even bother getting a fixer attorney to pay off the woman using a fake LLC. And there was only one woman! What a loser.
This is how low we've sunk in just a few years.
9
A certain person has WAY too much power, which he is abusing. This is actually frightening. I now understand what happened in Germany. A substantial percentage of the population can be snowed by lies, propaganda, ranting and bigly fake news, including films and smoke machines.
9
Meanwhile Democrats in South Carolina nominated a known wife-beater for Congressional District 5.
This news appears in the comments because the Times apparently deems it "unfit to print".
5
Where is your source for this?
5
As someone eager to vote for anyone honest that has a plan I can get behind, the meltdown of the Republican Party is as disturbing as the deer in headlights trance of the Democrats. Our political scene would not be what it is today if the system had not been severely broken for some time. Is there anyone running for anything anywhere that gets that?
3
I can see the glee from democrats; rich with expressions of schadenfreude. Republicans are now a party of Trump, much to the chagrin of old dusty republicans who were bought and paid for, and completely disinterested in anything other than maintaining their power, status quo, and their ability to feed shamelessly at the federal teat.
Now it is Trumpites who want to feed shamelessly at the federal teat. But that is not all. Trumpites want to screw, hurt, destroy the people, the social structures, and the governmental infrastructure of education, justice, environment - because they assume it will restore their place in the socioeconomic hierarchy of America, to pre-civil rights days, or if possible, pre-civil war days. While republican thought leaders and sages such as Alex Jones, Fox, Limbaugh and others have been braying about this for decades, it is finally found political and social legs, and the movement is occurring. Sanford was the enemy; he had personal failings but seemed disinterested in hurting people in vengeance. That simply failed the republican litmus.
This is a powerful movement against which democrats have nothing but weak candle light vigils, whining, self-pity, and complaint. These responses are about as effective as peaceful protest against an advancing, heavily armed military division (they will advance while laughing at us). I expect to see another election cycle where democrats did not, our could not vote.
1
You make some good points but I'm going to respectfully disagree with you about what Democrats have to offer. Democrats offer plenty of good policies but those policies don't fit on a baseball cap. It's not the fault of Democrats if voters are too lazy to do their homework and stay informed.
7
I may be confused about the time of Trump's twitter comment, but what percentage of those voting had already voted before the twitter outburst. For the twitter comment to have affected the outcome, it has to be said that a high percentage of voters who did not plan to vote or who planned to vote for other candidates (a) read the twitter comment, which was made with the polls closing in hours; and (b) changed their mind to vote for the candidate Trump endorsed. Highly unlikely.
I agree that Trump was a factor because the winning candidate campaigned that Sanford was not sufficiently supportive of Trump. But the twitter comment, given when it was made, should not have affected the result.
4
This is a lot like the Tea Party surge several years ago, where many candidates with strong Tea Party support won primaries. We'll have to see if this latest crop, like the TP candidates, are too outside the mainstream to win the general elections. We can only hope so.
5
Good People, ignore the "polls". Get our and vote and do not vote for any "conservative". Find out where candidates' money is coming from and vote only for Socially Conscious Women and men who want to preserve/restore true democracy in OUR United States of America.
Corruption has no party affiliation. OUR America - and the world - are in severe danger of BIG money taking over and controlling the world. Only WE THE PEOPLE can prevent the destruction of OUR lives that their insatiable, demented greed for money and supposed "power" threatens.
NOW is the time to stop them with OUR votes and those of people who do not vote regularly. Now may be the only time.
18
Although your erratic capitalization demonstrates your emotion, why don't you propose solutions rather than basing your political recommendations on the fact that you dislike Republicans and Trump.
Hillary tried it and it didn't work.
Thoughtful people review the issues and vote for candidates who seem most likely to effect positive change.
Democrats seem to have moved to hate driven decisions and attributing evil intentions to others. They are denying the democratic process]
If you follow the money, you would know that the Democrat party finances their elections from dark money contributed by the 0.1%. Hillary outspent Trump three or four times. You voted for the corrupt misogynist.
2
ebmem - Democrats aren't the ones spewing hate speech at people of color. Democrats aren't the ones denying women the right to make their own health care decisions. Democrats aren't the ones denying people the right to vote, marry, serve in the military etc.
3
Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for your endorsement and then a victory for Corey Stewart. We look forward to meeting him in the fall.
Sincerely,
The Democrat(ic) Party
77
Armor, this sounds like a similar letter that was sent to the RNC in July of 2016. I don't have to remind you of the outcome, do I?
1
If Obama had had that kind of "last-minute" clout--why Hillary would be president. What happened?
10
What happened:
1) electoral college (she won the popular vote)
2) Russian meddling
8
Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate.
She was lazy and entitled. She discounted Trump the way she discounted Obama. She squandered a lead and then couldn't recover.
Pro Hillary people will respond with comments about the popular vote and how Trump is so awful and blah blah blah.
She's more interested in collecting book fees than she was in governing.
My proof?
What has she done in the past 18 months for anyone not named Clinton?
The answer: nothing.
3
So don't much care for the constitution and you bought all that NYT-DNC Politburo propaganda about the Russians? Sign of weakness--excuses.
Let's be fair here. I'm no Trump supporter, to say the least, but Mark Sanford is an absolute nutjob and has no business holding public office. Remember, this is the guy who, as governor of South Carolina, made up a story about hiking the Appalachian Trail so he could abandon his job and go spend time with his "soul mate" in Argentina. Mind you, nobody - not his staff, not his family - had any idea where he was. Legally, there was no chief executive in the state of South Carolina for several days.
Let's not turn this into a story about him being wronged for not being a friend of Trump. This guy is nuts.
34
I agree with you about Sanford; I was surprised that he was serving after his debacle. I'd also like to know what percentage of votes -- early, write-in, on Tuesday -- were already cast ahead of Trump's tweet before I ascribe this result to the late tweet. Was there a surge in voting after the tweet?
4
I witnessed those days from North Carolina. We always thought the folks from SC were not very gifted when it came to astute political decisions. This next one is even worse, if that is possible. To change things the Democrats (what few there are down there) need to decide this time their votes DO mean something and they need to VOTE.
4
Neither Republican candidate is worthy.
1
In fairness, Tim Kaine is a total stiff.
8
I would prefer a 'total stiff' over the lying, racist and chaotic POTUS, wouldn't you?
9
Stiff is still better than Trump cult member.
11
All I want is a close race. Close races make for good television.
1
I hope against hope that Rep. Sanford will now endorse Joe Cunningham, the Democratic candidate running for his seat.
16
Good chuckle. Thanks. Look at the Raleigh News and Observer archives for the reasons given by SC denizens for voting for Sanford in the first place and you will quickly see that that bunch of crazies will vote for the very worst thug they can find if it's opponent is a Democrat.
1
I wonder what David Brooks will think of this phenomenon in his party? Is he going to blame everyone again for this?
Nah... It's your party's problem.
A party that embraced Fox News.
A party that embraced anti-intellectualism and misology so readily.
60
David Brooks fiddles while his party burns down the democracy and the Constitution.
3
Are these two candidates the best South Carolina could come up with. Anyone who believes the South is changing is only fooling themselves.
63
SC Democrats did the Republicans one better: they nominated a wife-beater in District 5.
1
I lived in the South (Raleigh, NC) for almost 40 years. These people will vote for Ivan the Terrible (see Russian history) before anyone even remotely sane. Sanford is as bad as they come but got in because he was running against a Democrat. Now they can get someone even crazier and it is a shoo-in. Unless, of course, the Democrats do something new and unique like VOTE.
3
This may explain why Mitch McConnell is blocking Senator Corker's bill to restrict Trump's ability to impose tariffs in the name of national security.
5
Corker is a Democrat. We in Tennessee are looking forward to replacing him with a Republican.
How many Americans actually voted in the last election? This is a great way to tear down the republicans, because even those who would normal not care about politics absolutely despise the current president. All the Dems need to do is be more a bit central, and appeal to everyone who despises this moron, and point out how the cult of Trump made sure only Trumpistanian politicians made it on the Republican ticket.
13
"All the Dems need to do is be more a bit central"
Not what I expect to see in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Be careful what you wish for. Republicans had lower turnout, particularly in NY, California and other dark blue states than Democrats. Trump was elected by a substantial proportion of disaffected Democrats who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012, which was the demographic that put him over the top.
In order to be successful in elections, Democrats will have to come up with attractive policies. Hillary's platform of "Trump voters are evil and stupid," didn't work.
Since we are discussing the US South, understand this: the folks who dwell in those regions will vote for the Devil himself before they vote for a Democrat, THAT is why Sanford got in and it is why this thug will get in too. Back before shrub got in(2000), where I lived was somewhat progressive, at least once in a while. Now? Hahahahahaha...
3
So now the NYTimes and those that hang out here feel sorry for Sanford?
And if he won yesterday he would have been instantly trashed by the same people.
Amazing.
16
This wasn't an editorial, wherein feelings can be expressed. This was an objective reporting of the news.
3
No, Joe. Thanks for asking. Have an amazing day!
4
Very True Joe. The vast majority of these commentators are for anyone, no matter who that person is, who is against President Trump or against anyone who President Trump is for.
2
Republicans have sealed their fate backing Trump. They deserve everything that happens to the party moving forward.
41
The party's actually moving backward.
7
"Party leaders fear that Mr. Stewart, a fervent Trump supporter who has mimicked his slashing style, could drag down other Republicans in a state that is key to control of the House."
Any chance some percentage of the voters went to the polls intending to do just this? Esp. those in the DC suburbs. If so, to quote DJT, Jr, "I love it."
11
Sanford should have been kicked out of office for life after the stupid self indulgent stuff he pulled as governor. But his district chose to repeatedly send this clown back to Washington.
12
Politicians mimicking Trump and winning.
Seriously folk?
What exactly are they winning, I haven't the slightest idea.
If the presidency of Trump has taught us anything, it's the power of the vote.
Voting has never been so important as it is now.
Some call it 'identity politics'.
Who's identity will we adopt when we no longer can
claim to be American.
VOTE NOVEMBER 6, 2018 to at least stop the bleeding.
36
I have just been reading about Corey Stewart. Not coming from Virginia I confess I did not even know his name. I am appalled by his views. Appalled that a president (though not surprised by this president) could endorse such a person. Chants of “lock her up” at his victory rally were heartily embraced by Mr. Stewart.
Please Republican voters (who are not the immovable Trump supporters) vote for the democrat in the upcoming election. If it works, it only has to be a one time thing and then we can possibly go back to some sanity. Cause this sure is not normal.
37
The fact that South Carolinians voted Sanford back into office after his disgraceful conduct involving a mistress, and the fact that he wasn't found guilty of misappropriating state funds (by using a state vehicle for a trip to the airport for the purpose of meeting said mistress), would in normal circumstances hardly make me sorry to see him go. However, given the Trump horror show and the current national psychosis he has created with seemingly no effort, Sanford's defeat -- and the prospect of yet another fawning, lobotomized Trump acolyte taking his place -- makes me pretty sad.
30
I keep looking for America to apply the brakes to the erosion of their principles and political system. Time is passing and the odds of this happening are passing too.
To quote a Canadian, Joni Mitchell: "you don't know what you've got till it's gone".
23
Good riddance to Sanford. We'll see if a dem can win that state, but the nomination of the other guy demonstrates how even more ridiculous the GOP has become.
Ditto for the VA GOP primary winner - it should leave no question that a large and energetic chunk of conservatives are racist or knowingly ignore the racist stance while supporting other stances or are ignorant of the racist stance along with being ignorant in general. Racism, ignorance, and just not caring elected the primary candidates.
6
Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, in a special election for a state senate seat in the heavily Republican 1st district, a Democrat was victorious. Caleb Frostman defeated a sitting state house Republican in a district that the GOP usually wins with over 60% of the vote. This marks the third bad election night for Republicans in Wisconsin since Trump took office. They have lost both of the state senate elections this year (in reliably GOP districts) and got spanked by the Democratic-favored candidate in the April Supreme Court election.
How much is the GOP sweating in the Badger State? Scott Walker so feared another bad result for his party in this election that he refused his unambiguous mandate under state law to schedule the contest until three different courts rebuffed his absurd argument that he wasn't required to call an election.
#BlueWaveWisconsin
15
We have a teenage daughter. Almost daily, I remind her that she is not to emulate the president. For he is a serial liar. Our president. We both watched a series on tv last night about Hitler Youth in the 30’s. She now understands how it all happened. Group Think is a great poison for democracy. The politicians who embrace Trump are now responsible and culpable for the misery and wreckage that will ensue. They all know better. They all teach their very own children to speak the truth, to not lie. Yet they genuflect to this monster. This whole thing will come down. RESIST.
136
Are you recommending that she emulate Hillary? Marry well and ride on his coattails to wealth?
2
ebmem - Your ignorance is showing. Hillary earned more than Bill for much of their marriage.
1
Voting for more Trumpism!?
The US is going to hell in a handbasket.
33
The divisions in our nation are so deep these days, and extremism has become the new normal for today’s Republican Party. I want to believe that the November election results will begin a process of regaining some sense of stability and equanimity in Congress. But when I see these kinds of extremists becoming the voice of the GOP - “the party of Donald Trump “ - I get an uneasy feeling in my gut.
This administration is taking direct action right now that will leave Americans with pre-existing medical conditions in the lurch, and the voters who support these trumpian cheerleaders and apologists evidently have no knowledge or concern about something that vital to their families’ well being. These upcoming elections may well determine the future of this nation for the next century and beyond.
The once all-powerful Roman Empire no longer exists, you know.
9
Adding to my earlier comment: good riddance to Sanford because he, and other republicans in trouble, helped bring us Trump. Look in the mirror, Sanford.
9
Well it would seem that criticizing a poorly behaving Republican in the White House is a sure fire way to be retired by voters in South Carolina. It leaves a bad taste when an unprincipled and truly incompetent man is given such unconditional loyalty.
15
I really don't understand this newspaper anymore. You say that he lost after a Trump tweet. He was apparently losing before the Trump tweet. Are you journalists or cheerleaders for a dictator? It's just very disappointing. Apparently it's good for revenue at the newspaper and now every damn thing is preceded by some kind of obtrusive ad, but it's not a long term strategy, by which I mean the dictator will get rid of you as soon as he can. And you helped!
2
It is now fully Trump's party. This country is in deep trouble.
97
It's reaching the point across our country where clear-thinking Republicans will have to find another party, if their values are to be represented. It's a sad thing. I hope they realize they won't be leaving their party, but that their party has left them.
163
"clear-thinking Republicans" is an oxymoron of the highest degree.
3
Who among us has their views properly represented by their elected representatives in the House and Senate? The effect of Citizens United is suppressing our influence anyway.
It looks more like voters want a change than that Republican voters are specifically choosing Trump candidates. One of the article’s prime examples, Sanford, had a lot of his own baggage.
5
Sanford might have lost without the tweet. Why do you bolster trump in this way? He already a big enough egoMANIAC.....
54
The world is watching,laughing.Four more years of Trump.
10
Mark Sanford is a libertarian Republican, who naturally is a supporter of free trade. He is not a reactionary populist, or extreme nationalist as is our president.
The toadying Ms. Arrington may well fail in November if trade wars begin in earnest, and prices of imports, like cars, begin to rise.
6
It remains to be seen whether a majority of voters will choose Ms. Arrington in November.
7
The voters who are all huffy about hoe political correctness keeps them from freely expressing their opinions now demand complete fidelity to a man they probably wouldn’t To leave alone with their wives or daughters. Talk about politically correct.
8
Do we really think Trump's tweet caused Sanford to lose? Does the media really wants to walk down this road without concrete facts? Why strike more fear in the hearts of timid Republicans telling them Trump's tweets have that much power? Trump's tweets did little to change the course of recent elections in Virginia and Alabama. If the Right really believes Trump has that kind of power we are in dire straits.Before we inflate Trump's ego further lets do some investigation.
58
Good point. Media has always made way too much of Trump, which I think is one reason we're stuck with him now. President Clickbait.
4
Donald weighed in at the 11th hour, thereby positioning himself to claim any victory or be absolved of any defeat. What a hero! How all knowing and wise! All hail Donald!
72
if wealthy individuals like Romney and Giuliani will genuflect to Trump, then the career politician will learn to play the game as well and that is no good for the constituents.
10
The real shocker is Romney. Pathetic.
7
It is well to remember that people of great affluence and power tend to be those who don't worry about, and often act in spite of, morality and ethics. Giuliani and, at times, Romney are the poster-children.
8
Now I begin to see why the House and the Senate are virtually neutered under this presidency. This cannot be what the founding fathers had in mind. "Fealty" indeed.
28
The Republican Party has ceased to exist, there are now only Trump voters and a quickly evaporating puddle of never trumpers. I suspect after the next couple of election cycles the same thing will happen to the Democratic Party as their hypocrisy causes them to implode and get overrun by the progressive wing. One can hope.
3
why do people support the well documented, pathological liar in the white house?
nowhere in me is there a place that would even ALLOW me to support someone who consistently speaks with a forked tongue.
37
In Nevada the Republican pick is the owner of several brothels . Speaks volumes for the "family values" party.
Perfect pick for the party of Trump.
160
There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution
We are spirits in the material world
3
This is going exactly as I feared, just days after Trump's election. He will "primary" his opponents, leaving only the most fervent DJT supporters to represent the GOP. This is why people must vote democrat, regardless of party affiliation, to break the hold of this megalomaniac.
200
KILROY was here !
Sing it, brother !
2
We ALL need to vote as if our lives and our Country depends on it... which it does.
6
Let them double down on Trump ..
a) Either this strategy will reveal that certain states or even a majority of states (control of Congress or Senate) are genuinely in support of all the policies since Jan 2017
OR
b) They will lose control of Congress and the Senate due to Independent voters, concerned Democrats and former Republicans.
Even A would provide information ..
And I am betting on option B, which means tossing the Tea Party and Trumpers out and then the Republican party can rebuild their coalition with some saner adults in charge.
I think it is far easier to get radicals to primaries and to get general voters out if one or both parties put up crazy people as their nominees.
Just nauseating. And so we can expect continued paralysis from elected lawmakers who fear broaching the cult of Trump and continued Trump jingoism from Republican candidates. I cannot for the life of me understand how Trump, with his scowling, ranting, corruption, rank incompetence, and bull-in-a-china shop destruction of alliances and shredding of the safety net and the environment while embracing vicious dictators can still inspire this slavish loyalty on the right. I can only hope that voters who still understand and embrace true patriotism will turn out and rise up against this toxic red tide.
104
Trump’s adoring crowds having had no foresight, cannot fathom for whom the bell tolls. When it tolls, it tolls for them. That is how dictators employ power. These folks, having no hindsight either, do not see they have been and are being used and abandoned, not verbally but actually. What Trump does to the nation, he does to his adoring crowds. Even billionaires will not survive the onrushing blighting of the economy. Kim showed the woke world that dictators need no reasons to punish masses. Trump explains nothing either. It might be magic. It is not sensible.
My personal journey has, so far, spanned decades and decades and countless miles through places far-off and near.
I never cease being flabbergasted by the choices that humans make.
125
Seems a bit arrogant and self-serving--why Hillary lost, too. Reread Hume recently?
Agreed. I have less and less respect for the species each month.
Say what one will about Sanford, but at least he had the courage to stand up against the Trump 'cult'.
I grew up in a Republican family, but any lingering respect I had (little to begin with) for the GOP has been permanently dashed.
They are the lowest-common-denominator party, stocked with charlatans like Corey.
260
When you're a republican, you have to support your Republican President. It's pretty simple. He is a doing an amazing job even if you disagree with his personal morals / tactics. He's killing Obamacare. He bloodied Assad twice when Obama refused to lift a finger even after he imposed an unnecessary red line and we saw hundreds of children attacked with nerve agent, foaming at the mouth. He is nominating great judges who will hopefully overturn the racist policy called affirmative action, e.g. Asian kids, on the sole basis of their last names, have a 4.6x less chance of being accepted into top colleges than an otherwise equivalent Black or a Latino kid. He is making more progress on N.Korea in 1.5 years than Obama did in 8 years. He is putting the heat on NATO countries to hit the 2% minimum military spending by criticizing them and hitting them with tariffs - Obama called them "freeloaders" but did nothing. He is overseeing an economy with some of the lowest unemployment numbers in history. He has lowered taxes without a single vote from Dems, who want to increase taxes. He is protecting 2nd amendment rights.
With such an amazing track record, Republican candidates need to look past Trump's unconventional style and poor moral character and support him 110%.
24
One of the most important jobs of any President is to display the honesty and personal character that can help to create a sense of unity among ALL the people of this very diverse nation. Moral character is not just important; it is essential. Fomenting hatred does not Make American Great Again. Grand stand actions such as the two bombings in Syria or the photo-op summit in Singapore should be discouraged rather than upheld as wonderful accomplishments.
57
Trump has eviscerated the Republican party’s conservative rationale and mocked its emphasis on the Constitution.
1. Yes, he is making great progress in killing Obamacare. He has made no progress replacing it with a “better, cheaper” system. The so-called elites will still have good health care but not middle-class part of his base. The latest: the Justice Department is no longer going to defend the requirement to insure those with pre-existing conditions.
2. His attacks on Syria were more theater than any meaningful reduction in Syrian military capability. Assad is still solidly in place.
3. Asian students are doing very well getting degrees from elite colleges. The benefit to our country to increase the number of black and Latino students getting such degrees is obvious.
4. He has brought us back from the brink with North Korea that he brought us to. It is completely unknowable what North Korea will do, as Kim promised much less at this summit than even in the past. But now, thanks to our Great Leader, our allies in the area are weaker and China is stronger, so push back will be much harder. And our NATO allies...
5. He lowered taxes on the very rich who didn’t need it and increased the deficit. His promise—a very good one for the economy- of desperately needed infra-structure projects is fading away.
7. He is protecting made-up second amendment rights and throwing children, the majority of the population (urban), and potential suicides under the bus.
124
Nice list. All irrelevant. Trump is the Opinion Kingdom's favorite piñata. Too much animus still remaining over the surprise to the White House. He is the antipode to everything they believe in: Eight years of Obama cultural Marxist stomping.
4
This is good news, the Republicans lost one of the best politicians in the history of the republic. Mark Sanford, could have lost many times given his baggage in the past but somehow could pull the rabbit out of the hat and win. This set's up a win for the democrats in the general, where if Sanford had won, it would have been very unlikely.
27
I was thinking that's why Dmitri Cherny ran as a Republican this cycle. He wanted to spoil Sanford's moderate bid. Payback's a pain, isn't it?
I'm not sure Sanford's defeat makes a Democratic victory in November likely though. Consider the roughly 60,000 votes cast in the Republican primary versus the roughly 30,000 cast in the Democratic primary. South Carolina has open primaries as well so there's no reason to think the advantage won't bare out in the general election. South Carolina will probably end up with a hard-right Trump supporter with no voting record. If she survives long enough in Congress, maybe she'll develop her own opinions. For now though, she's a Trump yes-woman. Nothing more.
Sanford's defeat might just be the greater of two evils.
1
Is Sanford really a gifted politician to regain office after his Appalachian trail hike, or is he just plugged into the donor system?
Trump is getting too much credit for Sanford's defeat. South Carolinians elected him after he was revealed to be a conniving two timer philanderer. South Carolina is a rural, segregated state with low voter turnout. The non-voters dont know and dont care. In these red states, people vote party, not person.
64
SC1 is hardly rural - it’s basically Charleston.
Yes, but the standard bearer of that party is a thrice-divorced philanderer.
1
But the president is also a conniving two timer philanderer. Probably much more than Sanford and you appear to be cheering him on.
3
If anyone continues to wonder why the Republicans in Congress are such Trump lapdogs, look no further than Mark Sanford. The South Carolinian has backed the President's agenda upwards of 90% of the time, but he had the temerity to allege that Trump has increased the coarseness of political discourse. Imagine that.
Previous presidents, from Clinton to Bush to Obama, have had strangleholds over their parties at various times. For example, following the 9/11 attacks, President Bush held the nation and the certainly the GOP in the palm of his hand. And yes, I am sure he used that leverage to pass legislation and curry support for his initiatives. Who wouldn't? But the level of retribution and cult-of-personality politics clearly on display in the current GOP is different. Trump has, practically, the entire Republican Party eating out of his hand, and he has not qualm against using that power in very vindictive and uncivil ways.
We are moving toward authoritarianism. Both political movements, liberal and conservative, are trending to their bases, nominating more extreme candidates for office. Political debate has devolved into little more than a lunchroom food fight.
Trump did not cause this, but he has certainly exploited it. We need a leader, and he is a divider.
66
You overstate your case that both parties are moving toward authoritarianism. To be frank, only one party, the Republican Party, is headed that way, or is already there. Take last night's election results in VA. The winners of the Democratic primary contests are undeniably middle of the road, pragmatists. Some may hold to some so-called liberal stances on some issues--same sex marriage, the protection of a woman's right to choose--but they are hardly radical. And, Tim Kaine is as mainstream as you can find, unless of course you are a Trump/Corey Steward Republican. Long time Virginia Republicans are upset at the notion that the Republican Party is now a cult of personality, shorn of its conservative bona fides and accepting of the most horrible displays of anti-democratic rhetoric and leaning toward totalitarianism.
Talk about a cult of personality, look to Democrat responses to Obama's autocracy. There was no outcry for any of his illegal actions from Democrats.
Democrats contend that when Trump restores the rule of law by reversing the illegal actions of Obama that he is being an autocrat.
Is the current year 1984?
1
All of the so-called GOP critics vote with Trump 90%+ of the time.
Dissidence? It does not exist!!!
I'm not sure Republicans lashed-out so much as waded-in. If you look at the primary results, the vote is split about 50-50. Dimitri Cherny is the unexpected contestant for the Republican nomination. As you might know, Cherny is an outspoken Bernie Sanders supporter. That should raise a few eyebrows about his underlying intentions.
I'm speculating here but I would think Cherny voters would not have supported Arrington regardless. Therefore, Cherny's presence seems more like an intentional spoiler built to advance a Democratic candidate in the fall. If you take Cherny out of the equation, the Republican vote is divided almost equally. Sandford's past antics probably knocked off a few more points too. Although, Trump is one to criticize on infidelity.
Therefore, I wouldn't take this so much as a referendum on Trump as a signal Republicans really are divided. I'm sure red-meat-eating Republicans want a Republican president but I think the verdict on Trump is still undecided. Those popularity ratings might be confusing approval of *a* Republican president with approval for *this* Republican president. Only time will tell.
14
Sure, Trump can damage you if you are a Republican if he wants to; that is what the Republicans in Congress are afraid of. But to them I say, be willing to lose your job if you want to hang on to your reputation and your convictions. Trump will not last and when he is gone what will you be able to say then to defend your current cowardice? If I were a Republican with even a shred of integrity, rather than cower and tremble in Trump's shadow, I would leave Congress (as Corker and other Reps are doing), become an Independent, and run against Trump and his ideologies down the road. Being silent on Trump is the same as being with Trump.
208
Great point, @CJ. And when Trump departs. there will be the typical power struggle after the end of the reign of a dictator. Some G.O.P. candidates might not want to be a part of that.
God can only predict what happens to the Trumpist G.O.P., or maybe we should call it the not-so-grand old party, after the Trump departure.
Do they get another insulting candidate who hides his finances, continues to collude with Russia, and who bloviates lies on Twitter? Trump, and Fox News, have conditioned Trumpkins not to tolerate rational thought, so a socially responsible candidate won't cut it. He or she needs to be a true Trumpist. Difficult, because there are no Trumpist theoreticians. Trumpists are all on the take and write nothing down.
Trump is a loose cannon philosophically. He's an entertainer to his followers and looks for their applause. Trump is no ideologue; he's an egomaniac.
Devin Nunes is waiting in the wings, a man whose definition of truth is that of Trump's: a way to manipulate Trumpkins.
5
" If I were a Republican with even a shred of integrity,"
Good luck finding them. They're about as rare as the Iraqi WMDs Bush was looking for.
3
Obama attempted to continue his autocratic, corrupt regime with Hillary and it didn't work.
Republican voters in South Carolina gave Mark Sanford a second chance after he was no longer governor. South Caolina elected Nikki Haley who turned out to be a great governor and currently serving the nation very well as the UN ambassador of the US. Sanford is certainly a smart politician but not the best representative of the conservative state with attachment to family values. Wrecking his marriage to his former wife and a good mother who was instrumental in his rise to Governor and then betraying her for a"soulmate" is his personal business but for a person who is seeking public office, character, family values and loyalty matters. Sanford's flakyness and lack of a significant positive contribution possibly resulted in a primary loss by a wide margin. In the absence of term limits and dissatisfaction with Sanford, I think the South Carolina Republicans have made a good choice in an experienced woman, Kattie Arrington. Sanford can join other challengers to Trump in the Republican primary for 2020 along with Sen. Flake and possibly Sen. Corker.
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"for a person who is seeking public office, character, family values and loyalty matters."
What? This is the most absurdist comment that I've ever read from a GOP supporter with Trump leading the party.
Absolutely unhinged!
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So let me get it straight:South Carolina voters punished Sanford for wrecking his marriage, but followed the endorsement of a thrice-divorced man, who had an affair with an adult-film actress while his third wife gave birth to his son.
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I wonder if you don't see the delicious irony in castigating a guy for infidelity and touting family values? If you are a Trump supporter the irony is not so delicious it is dangerous and sad.
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