# Will the stupidity and incompetence of Trump hurt the GOP going forward **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 9, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367 "2017-02-09T01:26:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/81 "2017-02-12T17:07:31Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The stupidity and incompetence of Trump won’t hurt the GOP because the GOP is the party of the stupid and incompetent. > > Most people on the Left don’t get it. They assume that if they make logical and impassioned arguments or write articles demonstrating Trump or the GOPs stupidity, incompetence or brilliant competency at enacting laws that benefit corporate American and the wealthy 1% at the expense of everyone else, the general public will be outraged. > > The reality is (and I see this every time I travel out to the country to visit the inlaws), people in Rural America (defined as just a bit more than an hour outside any major city) are mostly gung-ho Fox News watching Republicans. They will always vote Republican because in their mind the Democrats represent minorities, whiney effete Liberals, ivory tower intellectuals, pretentious Hollywood hypocrites and Socialists. And they have Fox News constantly playing passively in the background and right-wing news sites actively pushing to their web feeds de-legitimizing the regular media for their biased, violent attacks on Trump like something out of some weird dystopian fiction novel. > > The most thinking they do on the subject is comment about when they might see Trump’s promised tax cuts or maybe nervously ask if we are anywhere near the protests in New York (like what the shit are you idiots talking about?) > > So if you are lucky, what will probably happen in 8 years is that enough people in the middle will be sick of Trump for one thing or another and will vote Democrat, just for “something different”. There are about 30 million voters who fit your description, but 140 million voted in 2016, and another 90 million were eligible to vote but didn’t bother. So out of a pool of 230 million potential voters, about 30 million act and think the way you describe. They are going to do what they do, but they are barely 20% of people who bother to vote, and they are aging rapidly and being replaced by younger voters who have never known the GOP to be anything except incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/82 "2017-02-12T18:25:08Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Regardless of the fortunes of the GOP, the right is still going to be just as strong as ever. If the GOP won’t deliver for right-wing voters, they’ll just elect Blue Dogs to get the job done. We can take over your party just as easily as we took over the Republicans. “We” meaning you are, and have been, a trump stooge. OK let’s pin this. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/83 "2017-02-12T20:06:17Z")
Yes I think Trump’s incompetence will hurt the GOP just as Bush’s did. No, it won’t usher in an era of permanent Democratic domination but it will give them a serious shot at having a President with a big mandate and a Democratic Congress like in 2008. That Congress didn’t last but the Democrats did get a two-term President who got a lot of stuff done. And if they had selected a better candidate, they would have won a third-consecutive Presidential term and perhaps regained the Senate as well. It took six years of Bush before the Democrats made serious gains and with Trump I think it may happen a lot sooner because he is starting at a lower level of popularity and has a much less experienced and competent political team. Of course all this isn’t to say that the Democrats don’t need to get their act together. They are doing a good job of keeping their morale and energy up but have yet to develop an appealing message that will attract white working class voters which is the more difficult and important task. If they make some progress there, Trump will give them a lot of opportunities to mount a comeback over the next four years. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/84 "2017-02-12T21:48:17Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > I am no longer optimistic about the reasoning ability of the American voting public. Americans thought a blue blood aristocrat was one of them because he pretended to be a cowboy. It’s no surprise these same people thought a billionaire who stiffed his contractors and ran a fraudulent university was a hero of the working class. I’m morbidly curious what’s coming down the pike. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/85 "2017-02-13T17:48:54Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Doesn’t matter. It’s the optics. Trump protects Americans. Democrats endanger them. So you’re hoping for a terrorist attack that kills americans, and then you’re going to lie about the perpetrators in order to gain votes. I guess you’re proud of yourself for “winning” in this scenario… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/86 "2017-02-13T20:44:12Z")
Let’s deal with reality here. The House is too big a lead to overcome, and Dems have too much of a disadvantage in the next Senate elections to have a serious chance of gaining anything. Dems aren’t taking back Congress in 2018. So not two but four years of Republican stranglehold. It’d take a conservative catastrophe of epic proportions to change that. While Trump is a catastrophe, they (and he) still have their fact-free core constituency to buoy them. Gallup just came out with its latest approval poll, his lowest yet. It still bothers me that 40% (or some number thereabouts) actually believe Trump is doing a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/87 "2017-02-13T20:56:10Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So you’re hoping for a terrorist attack that kills americans, and then you’re going to **lie** about the perpetrators in order to gain votes. > > I guess you’re proud of yourself for “winning” in this scenario… That’s an interesting word choice. My highlight. No, if there are no more terror attacks, Trump can say he did a great job. If there is another attack, he can blame the Democrats and can say he tried to do his best. Either way. Winning! ---
**Author:** ![Phrozen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@Phrozen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phrozen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367/88 "2017-02-13T21:23:13Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > That’s an interesting word choice. My highlight. > > No, if there are no more terror attacks, Trump can say he did a great job. If there is another attack, he can blame the Democrats and can say he tried to do his best. Either way. Winning! So, as was said, you’re ambivalently hoping for a terrorist attack, and you’re prepared to lie about the perpetuators? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-stupidity-and-incompetence-of-trump-hurt-the-gop-going-forward/779367.md?page=4)