Politics

The Thursday Politics Thread Shakes Up The Campaign

Morning Politocadoes!

We say goodbye to Brad Parscale. The bearded man behind Trump’s so-called Death Star of a campaign has been, while not fired, put back into the position he held during the 2016 campaign running the data operation. His replacement is veteran GOP operative, Bill Stepien, whom donors hope will  get Trump to stop tweeting so much.

Trump Replaces Campaign Manager

Good luck with that, Bill!

In any case, some have suggested the shake-up doesn’t mean all that much. As the real power in the campaign flows from one man. Yes, one powerful figure through whom all decisions flow. A shadowy figure whose disfavor is tantamount to death. And who is this person? Why, yes! It’s Jared Kushner! Boy Adventurer!

The boy adventurer’s portfolio is broad so of course his name has to be kept off the ledger. Nevertheless! The Kush is the man men like Parscale want to be and can only dream of being!

Parscale’s ouster eerily mirrors Paul Manafort’s own dismissal in 2016. Recall that Steve Bannon was brought on in as campaign manager in August of that year with only three months left in the campaign; a campaign that was ultimately successful. Whether the campaign is in trouble is anyone’s guess. We shouldn’t read too much into the power dynamics behind the scenes.

In other news, in a decision that lacks anything resembling reason, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia has banned all cities and counties from taking any measures against the Covid-19 pandemic more restrictive than what the state has imposed.Technically, this was a part of the extension of Georgia’s Covid-19 protection orders that were set to expire, but this is new. His orders were already preventing local communities from taking more restrictive measures now he’s just spelled it out. Given what’s happening in the South it seems like a remarkably poor idea to explicitly tie the hands of cities or counties especially if a flare-up happens and more drastic measures need to be taken. Unless you actually want your citizens to die, I guess.

This is maddening. We needed a coordinated, aggressive strategy from the beginning. We can’t have each state make up their own rules on this. The fact is, the safety of states where the virus is being relatively kept in check, still depends on sensible measures being put in place in other states. One person infected on a road trip visiting family down there and we could see a new spike in cases.

Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. As the protests continue, please be safe, dress non-descriptively, avoid wearing contacts if you wear them normally, and keep your phones on you. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas, and practices sanitation policies as circumstances dictate.