BS BULLETIN:
- James Carville dismissed the idea that Democrats need an affirmative agenda before the midterms.
- The veteran strategist argued the election is entirely about President Trump and whether voters want to “slow this train down.”
- Carville repeated his prediction that Trump will leave office early after Republican midterm losses.
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has a remarkably simple midterm message for his party: Don’t bother telling voters what Democrats support. Just run against President Donald Trump.
Appearing Tuesday with Ari Melber on MS NOW’s “The Beat,” Carville was asked whether Democrats need an affirmative message about improving Americans’ lives instead of relying almost entirely on opposition to Trump.
“Why do they need to be for anything?” Carville replied. “The people are going to vote on Trump.”
He pointed to Trump-centered advertising and an upcoming gathering in Dallas, predicting, “They’re going to have this idiotic mini convention, which is going to be a disaster.”
“And my advice to Democrats is don’t just do nothing. Stand there!” Carville said.
According to Carville, “The time for the Democratic message is going to be when we run for president.” For the midterms, he said the question is simply: “Do you want to continue in the same direction of Trump, or do you want to slow this train down?”
“And I think clearly people want to slow it down,” he added.
Carville predicted major Democratic victories and again claimed Trump would leave office early after Republicans turn against him.
“I will say it again, I think he’s going to leave early,” Carville said. “He doesn’t have any idea of how hard he’s going to be hit, and these Republicans are going to turn on him because they’re going to figure out it’s all about him.”
“It’s his convention,” Carville continued. “All his ads” are about Trump.
MY QUICK TAKE
I’ve heard plenty of campaign pitches in my time, but “Why do we need to be for anything?” deserves its own place in the political hall of fame.
No agenda? No problem. Just stand there, point at Trump and hope nobody asks what happens after Election Day.
Carville is usually the Democrat willing to tell his party what it doesn’t want to hear. This time, he may have told voters more than he intended. If Democrats don’t need to be “for anything” while asking Americans to hand them Congress, voters might reasonably wonder why they need to vote for them.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Mediaite — Carville says Democrats need nothing beyond an anti-Trump midterm message
- Breitbart — Carville predicts Democrats will capture seven Senate seats
- Breitbart — Carville unloads on “left-wing idiots” threatening Democrats in the midterms
- NewsBusters — Carville argues networks should give Trump more live coverage
