In Trump Country, the Resistance Meets the Steel Curtain. Anti-Trump forces are still hard at work in deeply conservative areas, but the heady expectations of changing minds are getting harder to sustain.

New York Times ^ | February 6, 2020 | Campbell Robertson

[karpov]

WASHINGTON, Pa. — In the winter of 2018, Cindy Callaghan knocked on doors. Lots and lots of doors. A new soldier in the sprawling ranks of the anti-Trump resistance, she spent her weekends in the small towns of southwestern Pennsylvania, telling strangers about Conor Lamb, the Democrat who was running for Congress in a district that President Trump carried by nearly 20 percentage points.

When Mr. Lamb won his special election in a narrow but stunning upset, it seemed that there was an opportunity, if enough people put in enough work, to change minds and thus change the country’s politics. “I felt like there was,” Ms. Callaghan said.

Now, as she watches the Republicans’ swift rebuff of impeachment charges, the meltdown of the Iowa caucuses and the infighting among the supporters of various Democratic presidential candidates, she feels that less and less. “It doesn’t matter — find any kind of totally corrupt thing that Trump did and it doesn’t matter,” she said. “Republicans are just unified. They’re a damn steel curtain.”

“I’m taking a break until this summer,” she said.

Three years ago, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest of Mr. Trump, the resistance seemed immense. Two years ago, when legions of canvassers and postcard writers helped flip dozens of congressional seats nationwide, it proved effective.

...

Dave Ball, the vice chairman of the Washington County Republican committee, agreed that local political sentiment had been blowing in his party’s direction, driven by the people moving in to work in the fracking boom and the dwindling of the old union faithful.

[karpov]

Democrats think of support for Trump as blind loyalty and don't consider that the strong economy, his efforts to stem illegal immigration, and his not getting us into new wars could have something to do with it. It takes a long time for the article to mention fracking jobs that Trump supports and that Democratic candidates vow to eliminate.

[LS]

This is perhaps the 3rd or 4th story today with a tone like “Trump beat us! I can’t believe Trump beat us!”

This is the first time I’ve seen them actually start to come to grips with defeat.

[BrexitBen]

From the city which elected Bill DiBlasio as mayor, comes The New York Times, sobbing over those “ rubes “ in the hinterlands, who just won’t embrace the socialist mindset.

[Sir Napsalot]

Sorry, not going to read the NYT at link.

After such blatant lie at headline “...the heady expectations of changing minds ...”.

SINCE WHEN Antifa, OWS, anarchists or any other Move-On organized thing (esp. money-ed by Soros) is aimed at changing minds?

Proof, please.

[11th_VA]

“I’m very pessimistic of winning anything here, anything of note,” said Jake Mihalov, a public defender in Washington, Pa., who ran for district attorney as a Democrat. He estimated that his campaign and its supporters knocked on tens of thousands of doors. He lost by more than 25 percentage points. Working toward the 2020 elections, in which he sees the only realistic goal for local Democrats as losing the presidential race a little less badly, “is going to take motivation that I don’t have right now,” he said. “It was tough when we were optimistic.”

[Vigilanteman]

Conor Lamb has confirmed that he is the phony his opponents said he would be, falling in line as Nancy Pelosi's little Lamb on impeachment and every other far left cause.

After his narrow special election win, the PA Supreme Court usurped legislative authority in 2018 to redraw a district for him where he beat another frumpy old guy.

But this time, it is likely that he will be running against another young guy, Sean Parnell, who has a real military record in a hot combat zone, not 14 months assigned to a desk job in the Club Med location of Okinawa where he never had to get his snappy white USMC uniform dirty.

Question: Who gets a 14 month desk enlistment in a Club Med location unless they are preening to run for office?

[Liz]

Two years ago, (A) legions of Resistance canvassers and (B) postcard writers helped flip dozens of congressional seats........

The writer (cough) "forgot" to mention the massive voter fraud by Democrats to flip those Republican seats.

[Shethink13]

Woohoo! We’re gonna win back this seat! The republican candidate for this district, Sean Parnell, is an Afghanistan war vet and author of the book “Outlaw Platoon”. You may have seen him on Hannity. Anyone who lives in the 5th district please consider contributing in some way to his campaign.

[Montaignes Cat]

I am glad that Sean Parnell’s name is being mentioned here. When “Outlaw Platoon” came out a few years ago, the Pittsburgh media gave it sympathetic coverage (it is a startling, brilliant, deep, humane book, very readable, compared to “Black Hawk Down”) — we shall see what coverage they give him now that he is a candidate.

Lamb comes from a political family: grandfather was speaker of the PA House, or something like that, brother is currently Pittsburgh City Controller and had a different office before that, so he has the Party machine behind him, more than $1,000,000 on hand, and the power of incumbency.

Parnell would be a Dan Crenshaw type congressman. He has a real chance, and could even be a positive inspiration for the citizens of nearby Pittsburgh, a one-party city.

[skepsel]

Marines gots snappy white uniforms?
Thought that was the Navy.

[pburiak]

I read the article, the “resistance” members look just like how I imagined them. I look forward to bathing in frumpy cat lady tears in November when President Trump is re-elected in a landslide.

[fini]

"Marines gots snappy white uniforms? Thought that was the Navy."

Yeah, Marine Officers have a Dress White uniform. It is rarely worn. I wore mine about a dozen times over 20 years. By the way, it is a good looking uniform.

[skepsel]

Learn something new everyday.

Marines do have good looking uniforms.

[pangaea6]

I think even unhirable liberals have gotten jobs and are finally like the rest of us, they like having money and this have to work and don’t have time to go knock on doors in the middle of the day or go protest at will. They got jobs, got money, bought stuff they liked and now cant afford to quit of get fired for their looney causes. Because Trump increased the economy so much, they got jobs. Under Obama, their were no jobs so they were on the government dole and could go protest at will. It took 3 years of Trump economy to get to them all. Go Trump!! I’m gonna go to archives and read 2015 articles about Trump running for pres. just for fun!

[Vigilanteman]

He was a JAG officer who prosecuted garden variety crimes by the marines stationed there. The cherry-picked posting was no doubt related to his political connections.

We're supposed to be grateful that he didn't get a papercut and write himself up for a purple heart the way John Kerry did.

[skepsel]

That sounds a little like Buttigieg.

I’ve read he received a direct commission and spent 7 months in Afghanistan as what sounds like a forensic accountant, then back to his mayoral office.

Nothing dishonorable about the service but Dems playing it up like he’s Audie Murphy is nauseating.

[cjshapi]

I live in Westmoreland County, which went strongly for the president. We were part of the redistricting several years ago and are now represented by Guy Reschenthaler (R). It’s kind of a bummer that none of Lamb’s canvassers will be coming to our house. As a middle-aged, white female I’d love to have a conversation with them.