Coop Scoop Pre-Debate Edition: Joe Must Attack Attack Attack.
No policy. No mercy. No quarter. Make Trump be Trump.
June 25-26
By Marc Cooper
By the time you open this note, you will be immersed in coverage of the Great Debate skedded for this Thursday nite. I don’t know how important it is but it will be a unique spectacle with no live audience and with CNN claiming it will have a trigger finger on the microphone mute buttons to keep Trump inside of the agreed upon time limits for answers. As Never Trumper Jonathan V. Last puts it, it’s gonna be a bare-ass “lizard on a rock” scenario, bright lights searing down on a rather stark set and with nothing to focus on except the anticipated blast of logorrhea that will erupt from one side of the floor..
I intend to briefly tell you the free and unsolicited advice I have for Joe Biden in how to handle this debate in a moment but first a brief nod to a competing reality. The MAGA-dominated pro-Trump un-elected appendage of the US government – The Supreme Court-- will be clearing its throat, ending its current term by announcing about a dozen crucial decisions, including the Trump immunity case, as soon as Wednesday morning, perhaps on debate day itself, and an outside chance it will be a week from now. Most court observers say the dumping of these decisions will be more or less like a 100 car freight train of horse manure derailing in a major urban center.
We will have plenty of time to react to the latest court diktats after they land, but on its most important case, the question of absolute immunity for a president while in office, I think we can say the decision is already in. One court after another, including the highest appeals court have already ruled Trump is not immune from prosecution from acts committed while in the White House. The Supreme court had no business hearing this case after the lower courts unanimously held for no immunity. Six months ago Special Prosecutor Jack Smith asked the Supremes to intervene to get this over with so his case could go forward. They refused. They waited till April to pick up the case and while most observers thought there would be a ruling within a few days or a week or in a week or two, here we are at the end of June with no word from the bench. That word must come this week or next.
It seems doubtful that even on this skewed court there is a majority to grant Trump a total shield from prosecution. Much more likely are one of two scenarios: The majority is, in fact, ignoring precedent and will rule that some of Trump’s actions are immune and others are not and that the case must be sent back to the original trial court to parse the differences, thereby guaranteeing any trial will not take place this year. More probable: the Alito-Thomas Insurrection Faction is writing a minority dissent and is merely dragging its feet to run out the clock.
Anyway you cut it, Mission Accomplished. Thanks to an ensemble cast including Merrick Garland, the Trump defense team, corrupt Judge Ailleen Cannon, the headless activities of Fani Willis during the critical months of her life, and mostly to the Supreme Court of the United States, the voters will not get a chance to see Donald Trump judged for crimes committed almost four years ago before being asked to vote for him again. Like it or not. Trump has at least temporarily defeated the US justice system. I suspect it will catch up with him if he’s not elected but that’s a big if. But the notion that the courts are some sort of never-fail guard rail is being disproved by the hour.
And that bring us to Thursday’s debate. These presidential debates generally add up to very little by election day though it is difficult to prove that theory. I guess the best indicator of their questionable value is that more often than not, who the media proclaims the “loser” in these match-ups winds up being the winner in November. But this time around, given the overall political atmosphere, I think this debate will have more impact on the coutcome.
American politics have become so polarized, so personalized, so detached from everyday life, the parties have become so weak and so lacking credibility, and so much analysis centers on the two men as individuals, this sort of Godzilla Versus King Kong tableau might greatly pique interest and impact. Maybe.
I have no doubt that Trump will be Trump. Uncivil, unhinged, uncontrollable and generally appalling. How should Biden interact? Well, for that, I will rely on my experience watching soccer while living in Europe 50 years ago. As the British team Manchester United took the pitch against Juventus, its frenzied fans rose to their feet and in unison thundered out their favorite slogan: “Attack! ….Attack…..Attack, attack, attack!” It makes quite an impression. And it’s easy to remember!
Biden must find the perfect Goldilocks niche. His assault on Trump must be relentless but Biden must not ever lose his cool. The more Trump attacks him, the more vicious he gets, the more Biden needs to grin and bear it and then turn to the audience and say something like “You want this crazy guy running the country?”
The conventional wisdom is that when an incumbent stands for re-election the vote becomes a referendum on him and his past tenure. That factor is very much in play now as Biden has to battle the perception that the economy has crashed (!) and that he is too feeble to lead. But Biden is lucky. His opponent was also president recently. More recently he became a convicted felon. And even more recently those convictions have helped even out the race into a dead heat when Trump was previously ahead. Trump has been the single dominant political figure even during the Biden years. And he has become a lot crazier, a lot more threatening, a lot less appealing to undecided and swing voters. So this could be an election where the referendum is about the challenger.
That is a much stronger position for Biden because an ad hoc anti-Trump coalition has more appeal, more strength, and more numbers than a pro-Biden coalition does. That pro-Biden corps was never built though it could have been. Fortunately we have negative partisanship to fall back upon and a fantastic, direct from central casting, foe to be that leading negative partisan. Biden is plenty old, So is Trump. Biden is slow. Trump is increasingly publicly irrational and the press, having exhausted the Biden Is Nearly Dead trope seems to be starting to report on Trump’s chronic incoherence. That’s a good green shoot.
All this adds up to a simple conclusion. Joe Biden, please let Donald J. Trump be Donald J. Trump. He is much more effective in self-immolating than you are in trying to set him alight. Biden’s job is to ridicule, mock, sneer, and poke at Trump while never losing a smile or a grin and doing his best to get under Trump’s skin and provoke a nationally televised meltdown.
Biden says he will “draw contrasts” with Trump. That’s Beltway Speak for saying I will be negative, Good, Make sure you stick to that, Joe. We do not want hear one single word about your accomplishments of the last four years. Do not dare to mumble about the good old days of bi-partisanship and about how many bills you passed with five or six Republican votes out of 225. Say the word “Bidenomics” and we will disappear you down the trap door.
Acknowledge, please, the economic pain being inflicted by high prices even if inflation has been stemmed. Show some real sympathy for those trying to buy a house or a car who cannot. Talk about how you will NOW fight to improve their economic plight and be very explicit about how Donald Trump will mostly give a tax cut to the wealthy and start cutting back Medicare.
But that’s it in terms of policy, Joe. Not a word more. Nobody wants to hear it. They only want to know if you can face down the Orange Bigfoot, exhibiting enough energy to run the country. Period. Full stop.
Donald Trump is down on the mat but he’s far from unconscious and is still dangerous. So do what any rational person would do when your enemy is down: kick him. Beat him, knock the stuffing out of him. To win this debate and to create some minimal momentum, Biden does not need to get to the left or right of anybody. He just needs to get on top of Donald Trump and keep him pinned or, else, just go home. +++
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