Has anyone managed to change coldfall's or layman's mind yet? I'm sure that's just around the corner.
Paul Waldman mentions in passing a possibility we ought to be thinking about.
Quote:...In another corner you have Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who remains adamantly opposed to any further rescue bills. His opposition is a little hard to explain, though he may have concluded that Trump will lose, so Republicans might as well hold the economy down so President Biden can suffer the consequences.
Two historical events speak to this possibility:
1) the day of Obama's inauguration, a group of senior conservatives met to plot a path back to power through opposition to any and all Obama policies and plans with the intention of creating a situation where Obama's presidency would fail.
see here
2) McConnell admitted to the National Journal,
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
There is nothing to suggest that the modern GOP will operate any differently now or in the near future. If anything, they will proceed with even fewer moral constraints and with less concern for the well being of citizens. If Trump loses but Republicans hold the Senate, their response will be absolutely predictable - a repeat on steroids of what they did in Obama's first term (which worked well for them). Given the incredible problems a new president will face in January, they will see this as a very ripe opportunity to regain power - which is their most fundamental goal that trumps all other considerations of governance or national well being.
So we also need to consider how they are likely to behave over the next half year if it becomes clear that Trump is likely to lose. They will do all they can to disadvantage and kneecap a Biden administration before he even takes office.
