ABC’s Raddatz: How Do Dems ‘Counter’ Voters Who Like Trump's Policies?

July 29th, 2018 12:16 PM

We’re more than halfway through the summer and with the midterm elections drawing closer, the liberal media have been desperate to continue the Democratic Party’s “blue wave” narrative despite a booming economy and improving poll numbers. And during Sunday’s This Week on ABC, host Martha Raddatz wondered how the Democrats planned to “counter” the voters who approved of the conservative things President Trump had done for the country.

Before Raddatz’s asked her ridiculous question, Washington Post national correspondent Mary Jordan spoke about how many voters had a dual attitude when it came to President Trump. “[T]hey like Trump, but as they say, he may not be a good man but he's a good president,” she explained.

According to Jordan, many voters had a “discomfort” about Trump when it came to all the controversies surrounding him and his style rubbed them the wrong way, “but they will vote for him; they're saying as of today because of conservative judges, tax cuts, lower regulation and that to them is what he's doing is why they're still on his side.

After hearing that, Raddatz seemed befuddled and turned to New York Times editorial writer Mara Gay to help understand the situation. “Then how do you counter that,” Raddatz wondered. “And I've seen that on the road. Mary and I have talked about this too. I've seen that on the road as well. ‘I don't care about Russia, I don't care about the tweets.’ He's a means to an end.

 

 

Gay’s solution was for Democrats to double down on their socialist pipedream that bankrupts counties and bankrupts the future for generations. Her poster child for the push was New York Democratic candidate and staunch socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Well, the big unknown, I think, is whether the Democratic and liberal energy in the country right now will actually translate into electoral victories,” Gay opined as she boasted about people getting more political. “Our primary contest in New York with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that really suggests a level of participation in races where many voters didn’t participate before.

Raddatz seemed unsure about elevating Ocasio-Cortez and asked if she and other candidates like her were “taking the party too far to the left”. But Gay insisted that her politics were the future for the Democratic Party:

But I actually think that Democrats have an opportunity to define themselves. And frankly, the Republican Party has gone so far to the right that some of the things that candidates like Ocasio-Cortez are calling for, better paid leave policies, these are not necessarily radical things. They may work just as well in Alabama.

I think Democrats really should consider doubling down on their base,” Gay added.

ABC Political Director Rick Klein then chimed in to tout how Ocasio-Cortez represented something larger than just the coming “progressive wave”. She also represented a wave of women opposed to Trump. “There's a pink wave, records number of female candidates (…) and a lot of that I think gets to this engagement of women in this election where President Trump is just such a polarizing and energizing force,” he hyped.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:

 

 

ABC
This Week
July 29, 2018
9:44:08 AM Eastern 

(…)

MARY JORDAN: The environment is just making people register to vote, give money to vote, getting other people out. And that's in big contrast to the women who say they're going to vote for Trump, they like Trump, but as they say, he may not be a good man but he's a good president. By that when you talk to them they say they don't like his style, they don't like Stormy Daniels. They don't like how he tweets and they don't even like -- what's this thing with Putin they were saying. There's this discomfort, but they will vote for him they're saying as of today because of conservative judges, tax cuts, lower regulation and that to them is what he's doing is why they're still on his side.

MARTHA RADDATZ: Then how do you counter that? And I've seen that on the road. Mary and I have talked about this too. I've seen that on the road as well. “I don't care about Russia, I don't care about the tweets.” He's a means to an end.

MARA GAY: Well, the big unknown I think is whether the Democratic and liberal energy in the country right now will actually translate into electoral victories. And we are seeing people more engaged in their communities, at PTA meetings, even I would say at primary contests. Our primary contest in New York with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that really suggests a level of participation in races where many voters didn’t participate before. And so, that carries over, if you have voters who vote who don't generally vote in primary elections but do show up for presidential elections, will we see them vote in the mid-terms?

RADDATZ: But her race and you saw me try to get to that with Congressman Lujan about is she, and others like her, taking the party too far to the left?

GAY: I think that it's definitely true that you have to know your district. So every district is different across the country. I mean, what plays in New York may not play in Alabama. But I actually think that Democrats have an opportunity to define themselves. And frankly, the Republican Party has gone so far to the right that some of the things that candidates like Ocasio-Cortez are calling for, better paid leave policies, these are not necessarily radical things. They may work just as well in Alabama. What we saw with Doug Jones, who won that victory, it was black women. I think Democrats really should consider doubling down on their base.

RICK KLEIN: It's not just Ocasio-Cortez. The broader context for what she's part of is not just a Progressive wave. There's a pink wave, records number of female candidates and some of them are medical professionals, former fighter pilots, intelligence officers, incredible life stories that they're bringing and a lot of that I think gets to this engagement of women in this election where President Trump is just such a polarizing and energizing force.

(…)