In a recording clandestinely made by a rightwing activist of Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R), the speaker laments that while he “loves” President Donald Trump, the President is “killing” his party in suburban districts.
Hmmmm, it’s worse than that.
ETA: You can go to this guy’s twitter page, there’s more info about the recording. He didn’t put it in a thread.
There are certainly plenty of Trump supporters deep inside major cities (I’ve met them, as have most here), and Sanders/Warren supporters far away from them, including rural areas. But the further one gets from cities and the closer one gets to rural areas, the greater the percentage of pro-Trump (and, more generally, pro-GOP) folks. This has long been the case, since the mid-60’s if not earlier, especially in the south, due largely to the civil rights movement and cultural upheavals.
What is changing, though, is that the demarcation line, where pro-Trump/GOP and pro-Dem supporters are around 50-50–what I like to call the Dumbfuckistan Line–is being pushed farther out, from the inner suburbs to the outer ones. Repubs will probably always have exurbs and rural areas, but even there, their percentage should decline over time, at least until they move closer to the center again.
So the gist is Trump is killing the Party in suburban areas, and Bonnen will take care of everyplace else.
Oh, wow! Purposefully stymieing state government in order to get rid of members of his own party. It’s pretty much what McConnell vowed to do to Obama, but he wasn’t eating his own. I’m interested how this going to play out.
Hey, Mr. Bonnen -
You had me at “…the [presidunce] is killing our party…”
Say no more.
Well he always had a desire to murder, and it’s finally being fulfilled, only not how he expected.
@tena, your tape-le is ready for you.
Just so as shown in the op piece I put up yesterday about rural Iowa voters who thinks PP’s The Man. Users here don’t like reading that there is in fact support for PP, dislike of reading about doesn’t mean it isn’t present. Diminishing or dwindling among these folks, can’t be sure
I think that support for the GOP will diminish even, eventually, but likely never turn entirely in Dems’ favor. That whole god, guns and gays thing is an obsession with all those farmers and provincials. They don’t live in the real modern world. Well, most don’t.
“Certain Republicans have listened the recording, which has thus far been withheld from Democrats and the press for fear of how ‘damaging’ it is to the Republican Party ahead of critical state elections.”
Werner Herzog, upon listening to the audio tape of Timothy Treadwell being eaten by a bear: “Burn it.”
I don’t necessarily dislike reading articles about people who still support Trump -though I can’t help but question their world view. I just think it’s become a fetish among the media and disproportionate to what the polls are saying.
Those sort of articles tend to imply rural Americans are the salt of the earth “real” Americans as opposed to the rest of us “coastal elites”, who often don’t live on the coast and aren’t Ivy League elite.
There is a definite stench in the rural areas that is not only generated by pigs but by some voters.
Killing It, I said killing it!
As I live a red district in Texas in the DFW area, I love hearing that from the Speaker. I hope his polling is correct and that the GOP is getting "killed’ in the suburbs.
Time for the party to reciprocate. Which is bigly appropriate because “reciprocal” and “reciprocate” are supposedly the presidenuce’s favorite words. (Personally, I think he’s just likes to show off that he knows two three-syllable words.)
But was rural IA ever in play? The article didn’t say much about it, but it seems to me those are not ex Dem voters who felt they were “abandoned” or “betrayed” by the party. I think they won’t be Dems’ target voters in the short term.
Here’s a search to make it more convenient. 
Cc @pluckyinky
I suspect that the GOP has permanently alienated a lot of young voters. The question for Democrats is whether they can take advantage and create a partisan blue generation. That will require an end to the Republicans-have-been-temporarily-misled stuff.
And Bonnen did make it terrible for local government. Limited tax increases going forward to 3.5% unless the voters have a called election. It will take the so called ‘Texas Miracle’ down the toilet, particularly as the Fracking Industry is struggling with costs, etc.
We could be come Kansas - if we don’t go BLUE! (Workin’ on it)