Is the GOP doomed to lose the House and the Senate in 2018?

A major terrorist attack or a war might change the electoral landscape.

I think Republicans are screwed in all the purple States or states that see-saw back and forth between Blue and Red...

but I don't think the Solid Red States have much to worry about unless their front runners or pedophiles or obvious blatantly outspoken racists.

I believe the House and Senate will swing back to Blue control, but I don't think it will be a landslide swing.

Also, you have to remember, Trump is expert at tapping into the emotion and the outrage and we learned the hard way that that trumps fact. Facts don't matter.

Also, I feel that Democrats and Liberals are making the mistake of focusing on Trump's alleged idiocy. It's like we have failed to learn the lessons of 2016, and that lesson was-- it doesn't matter that he is an alleged idiot. It doesn't matter that he tweets like an emo teen having a temper tantrum or that he repeatedly says things that are inaccurate or that he whines 24/7 about fake news or a 100 other things.

Democrats and Liberals imo have FAILED to understand why Trumpers voted for Trump.
IMO, a very large segment of middle class White America for right or wrong feels neglected by both the GOP and the Dems. They feel not only neglected, but they feel *bleep* on. They feel disenfranchised, they feel minorities get the breaks, they see their jobs going overseas, they see minorities getting all the entitlement programs, they see Whites getting blamed for everything bad, they see reverse racism against them, they see their local economies suffering...

And in the midsts of all of the above, GOP and Dems do nothing.

But then comes Trump. He stands up in front of them and he empathizes, he "seems" to understand their gripes and complaints. He promises to address their key concerns. He expresses their anger and frustration and then vows to right the wrongs for them...

What I have failed to see Liberals and Dems do is to offer an alternative to these Trumpers. If I were a white middle class man in a Red State with my local economy in shambles, I would feel I'd have "no choice" but to support Trump because he is the ONLY politician addressing my plight.

So.... "The Left" needs to figure out a way to reach Trumpers. The whole, "Trump is stupid how can you vote for him" argument is a red herring and worse, it is a losing strategy. "The Left" needs to get off their elitist arrogant I-know-better-than-you high horse and they need to go hat-in-hand to the disgruntled middle class white voting block in these Red States, listen to their concerns, and figure out a sincere way to address those concerns.

Hard to see what people voting Democrat are voting for, other than dislike of Trump.

Basil the Great said:

It sure looks like such is the case now. Unless the President can pull a rabbit out of his hat and make his poll numbers rise to a respectable level, you will see a huge wave election in November and many Republicans will fall by the wayside.

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I have the exact opposite view. The Democrats have no platform other than Trump hatred. They have expressed little more than sound bites.

I also this when millions of people’s take home pay increases in February along with the tax cuts and businesses announcing almost daily passing saving to customers and employees, there is going to be a ground swell of support for the party that put money in their pockets.

If GDP growth continues to climb into the 4% and above rate the Democratic Party is in real trouble.

HereIStand said:

Hard to see what people voting Democrat are voting for, other than dislike of Trump.

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This attitude is exactly why this country is doomed.

Despite me hating Trump with the passion of a thousand white hot suns, I can give you a list of Trump's good qualities and positives.

However, there is this human condition about being unable to see the other side of the argument. The GOP has brainwashed so many of their members into thinking that there is NOTHING of value to the Democrats viewpoints, arguments, and side. Even worse, the GOP preaches that the Dems are trying to "destroy" America while the GOP is trying to save it...

There are plenty of things that the Democrats are right about that GOP is wrong about.
There are plenty of things that the GOP is right about that the Dems are wrong about.

However, each side pretending that that other side has no merit is why nothing of importance gets done in this country and/or why so much energy, time, and resources is spent fighting.

Take the DACA stuff. Both sides are in clear agreement that we need to get the DACA kids a path to citizenship yet both sides can't reach an agreement...

Learn to see the other side of the argument or else enjoy the view as this country burns to the ground because it was destroyed from within...

dgiharris said:

This attitude is exactly why this country is doomed.

Despite me hating Trump with the passion of a thousand white hot suns, I can give you a list of Trump's good qualities and positives.

However, there is this human condition about being unable to see the other side of the argument. The GOP has brainwashed so many of their members into thinking that there is NOTHING of value to the Democrats viewpoints, arguments, and side. Even worse, the GOP preaches that the Dems are trying to "destroy" America while the GOP is trying to save it...

There are plenty of things that the Democrats are right about that GOP is wrong about.
There are plenty of things that the GOP is right about that the Dems are wrong about.

However, each side pretending that that other side has no merit is why nothing of importance gets done in this country and/or why so much energy, time, and resources is spent fighting.

Take the DACA stuff. Both sides are in clear agreement that we need to get the DACA kids a path to citizenship yet both sides can't reach an agreement...

Learn to see the other side of the argument or else enjoy the view as this country burns to the ground because it was destroyed from within...

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Both sides are dug in. There are no signs of change.

Democrats and some Republicans are largely interested in undermining Trump and pushing their own agendas. No coherent reason can be given for not building the wall, yet Democrats remain opposed to it because it helps Trump keep a campaign promise. A DACA deal won't happen anytime soon, especially with Sen Flake set to compare Trump's rhetoric to that of Joseph Stalin.

HereIStand said:

No coherent reason can be given for not building the wall,

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Waste of money that's not going to be a cost-effective solution.

sfs said:

A major terrorist attack or a war might change the electoral landscape.

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Then that is what Donald must have.

dgiharris said:

What I have failed to see Liberals and Dems do is to offer an alternative to these Trumpers. If I were a white middle class man in a Red State with my local economy in shambles, I would feel I'd have "no choice" but to support Trump because he is the ONLY politician addressing my plight.

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Are Red state local economies generally in shambles? Isn't this really an issue of specific sectors? It's the old time blue collar manufacturing and brick-and-mortar retail industries that are in trouble. And let's be honest--there is no long-term future for those jobs. They've been done in by cheaper foreign labor, and the on-line economy. Protectionist rhetoric (which is all Trump has offered so far) may get votes, but realistically, the steady downward trend of these businesses can't be stopped.

A good issue for Dems is health care. Starting with Rx drug prices. Forget about ACA. 60% of Americans receive their insurance through their employers. I can almost guarantee that a some part of whatever raise workers get from tax reform will eventually go towards higher premiums for their group health coverage and/or higher co-pays and deductibles. Especially for medications. Donald Trump promised in his campaign that he would favor allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. Which would set a standard for what all insurers pay. But so far, both he and the Repubs in Congress have done jack squat. And Alex Azar, Trump's nominee for HHS Secretary (and a former Eli Lilly executive) talks the talk, but has no commitment to any specific actions. At his recent hearing, he got called out by Rand Paul for not supporting the sale of much cheaper foreign-sourced drugs in the US market. And I really think the American people are ready to consider a public option for health coverage. Bernie had a lot of support for his Medicare buy-in position. The more Republicans seem to be concerned with insurance and pharmaceutical industry profitability, the more Democrats can benefit.

Basil the Great said:

It sure looks like such is the case now. Unless the President can pull a rabbit out of his hat and make his poll numbers rise to a respectable level, you will see a huge wave election in November and many Republicans will fall by the wayside.

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Instead of a rabbit, he could amp up a foreign enemy/threat, right?

The classic tactic.

Like, to prep you try to lock in the enemy into that useful position, like some ego battle stuff, so that near election day you can provoke them and get some response to use to goose the election.

jayem said:

Are Red state local economies generally in shambles?

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All the American economy generally (most places) has continued that very same recovery that picked up steam in 2010, still, and Trump hasn't killed that.

Obama turned over an economy in good condition and still growing!

The opposite of what Obama had to begin with.

More facts from a neutral source:

Under Obama:

• The economy gained a net 11.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to below the historical norm.
• Average weekly earnings for all workers were up 4.1 percent after inflation. The gain was 3.7 percent for just production and nonsupervisory employees.
• After-tax corporate profits also set records, as did stock prices. The S&P 500 index rose 166 percent.
• The number of people lacking health insurance dropped by 15 million. Premiums rose, but more slowly than before.
• The federal debt owed to the public rose 128 percent. Deficits were rising as Obama departed.
• Home prices rose 20 percent. But the home ownership rate hit the lowest point in half a century.
• Illegal immigration declined: The Border Patrol caught 35 percent fewer people trying to get into the U.S. from Mexico.
• Wind and solar power increased 369 percent. Coal production declined 38 percent. Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel dropped 11 percent.
• Production of handguns rose 192 percent, to a record level.
• The murder rate dropped to the lowest on record in 2014, then rose and finished at about the same rate as when Obama took office.

Obama's Final Numbers - FactCheck.org

sfs said:

A major terrorist attack or a war might change the electoral landscape.

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Well, I think that'll depend on whether the man who commits the terrorist attack is Muslim or not. If it's another American-born & bred terrorist like the ones in Vegas, Texas, who murdered so many innocent folks, one of Trump's lackeys will write out a bland statement for him to condemn it. He'll move on pretty quick. If it's committed by a Muslim, he'll milk it for all it is worth.

If there's a war with North Korea, which could be worsened by his compete idiocy in getting into a peeing match on Twitter with his fellow tyrant, I don't know that folks are going to rally behind him. Well now his core base who will defend him even if he shot somebody on 5th Avenue, sure. Others, not so much. I'd hope.

OP: No

HereIStand said:

No coherent reason can be given for not building the wall.

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TLK Valentine said:

Waste of money that's not going to be a cost-effective solution.

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Darn it, you beat me to it.

These people travel on foot for hundreds if not thousands of miles. Through jungles and deserts and swamps, oftentimes dying along the way...

and we are to believe that they will come all that way, get to a wall and then what??? Stop? Go back? Throw their hands up and say, "Gee, I didn't think there would be a wall..."

Hundreds of miles worth of tunnels exist between the US and Mexico. Building a wall is just not a cost effective solution.

I'd be way more supportive of an extensive drone patrol program coupled with more agents on the ground. But a wall? I mean, come on man, this is not 1432...

There is tons of value in building walls at high traffic areas "in conjunction" with agents who patrol. Absolutely, no argument there.

But to think that thousands of mile worth of wall along the US Mexico border is going to solve the problem is just flat out fantasy. It would only take a couple of hours to dig underneath a wall and less time to just destroy a section of the wall...

Have you never jumped a wall in your lifetime?

dgiharris said:

Darn it, you beat me to it.

These people travel on foot for hundreds if not thousands of miles. Through jungles and deserts and swamps, oftentimes dying along the way...

and we are to believe that they will come all that way, get to a wall and then what??? Stop? Go back? Throw their hands up and say, "Gee, I didn't think there would be a wall..."

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Especially since net illegal immigration from Mexico is right around zero currently.

Republicans are definitely in for a major loss, but whether that loss is simply significant or all-out devastating is another question.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be devastation. Trump's base has mostly seen tax cuts for the rich and more foreign war, and have not seen central promises such as the wall. Now with this talk of Trump supporting DACA, he is prepared to lose support into his hardcore base who would stick by him for every seemly outrageous comment, but they won't stick by him for amnesty.

Creech said:

Republicans are definitely in for a major loss, but whether that loss is simply significant or all-out devastating is another question.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be devastation. Trump's base has mostly seen tax cuts for the rich and more foreign war, and have not seen central promises such as the wall. Now with this talk of Trump supporting DACA, he is prepared to lose support into his hardcore base who would stick by him for every seemly outrageous comment, but they won't stick by him for amnesty.

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Trump has painted himself the victim, so he can blame it all on the liberal media and the RINOs, and the Dems...

The GOP has gone from the party of obstructionists under Obama to the Whining Party that is unfairly persecuted and oppressed despite having a majority in the House and the Senate and having a Republican in the White House... Despite all of that, it is still not enough for them to do their jobs.

I also have to give Trump an A+ on his ability to distract the public from the stuff that really matters. We focus on the idiocy and in the background he passes Executive orders and policies that hurt us all... Well, everyone but the top 1%...

so at the end of the day, I think Trump's base will still stand by him. He is fighting the good fight for them as far as they are concerned. Truth be told, it is more important that he "appears" to be fighting the good fight then it is for him to make actual progress and actual achievements...

dgiharris said:

Darn it, you beat me to it.

These people travel on foot for hundreds if not thousands of miles. Through jungles and deserts and swamps, oftentimes dying along the way...

and we are to believe that they will come all that way, get to a wall and then what??? Stop? Go back? Throw their hands up and say, "Gee, I didn't think there would be a wall..."

Hundreds of miles worth of tunnels exist between the US and Mexico. Building a wall is just not a cost effective solution.

I'd be way more supportive of an extensive drone patrol program coupled with more agents on the ground. But a wall? I mean, come on man, this is not 1432...

There is tons of value in building walls at high traffic areas "in conjunction" with agents who patrol. Absolutely, no argument there.

But to think that thousands of mile worth of wall along the US Mexico border is going to solve the problem is just flat out fantasy. It would only take a couple of hours to dig underneath a wall and less time to just destroy a section of the wall...

Have you never jumped a wall in your lifetime?

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Hungary added a wall. It was effective in keeping out most illegal immigrants during the European migrant crisis.
The cost effective argument is an anti-Trump ruse.
The estimated costs of the wall is 8 billion. That's nothing in terms of the overall federal budget. The wall may not cover every inch of the border and drones and patrol agents can be added.

HereIStand said:

The estimated costs of the wall is 8 billion.

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8 billion dollars is nothing compared to the overall defense budget. If Trump want's a wall, order the Pentagon to re-allocate defense dollars. A wall, after all, is a defensive structure.

And btw, the 8 billion dollar figure is pipe dream...but it may build enough wall for Trump's future photo op where he can declare to his base that he built the wall.