Trump suggests he doesn't need a get out the vote operation
The disorganized mess that passes itself off as the Trump presidential campaign will be in deep blue Connecticut on Tuesday, looking for votes in a state that hasn't gone red since 1988. Trump insists that Connecticut is in play, but with Trump sinking in the real battleground states, you have to wonder what kind of delusional thinking goes into event planning. He is wasting time in a state he can't win while states that he absolutely needs to win the presidency are being shorted.
But hope springs eternal. A good get out the vote operation can cover a multitude of sins. But Trump casually mentioned on Fox News yesterday that he doesn't know if he really needs a get out the vote organization.
The network's [Fox] Eric Bolling asked if the ongoing tension between Trump's campaign and the Republican Party put at risk Trump's access to the party's turnout systems and data.
Trump's response, as transcribed by TPM:
We are gonna have tremendous turnout from the evangelicals, from the miners, from the people that make our steel, from people that are getting killed by trade deals, from people that have been just decimated, from the military who are with Trump 100 percent. From our vets because I’m going to take care of the vets.
I don’t know that we need to get out the vote. I think people that really want to vote, they’re gonna just get up and vote for Trump. And we’re going to make America great again.
There are reasons only 50% of us bother to vote, as the Post article explains:
For the most part, voting is a pain. Some people sign up to have a polling place located in the garage of their suburban homes; those folks have it figured out. For most people, though, voting requires heading out to a random church or school you visit once every other November and waiting in line for your chance to pick which county supervisor you think will do the best job. When it's raining or if you are unimpressed with the candidates on the ballot or if you have to work a double shift, you're very naturally less likely to vote.
This is why political campaigns put money and staff on the job of making sure people go to the polls. Some people will always vote, no matter what. A lot of people willprobably vote -- and they're the ones that the campaigns will spend all day on Election Day bothering, checking polling places to see if they've voted already and showing up at their door -- maybe even offering a ride! -- if they haven't.
But the delusional Mr. Trump believes he is so popular, and so loved, that people will go through hell to get to the polls and vote for him because of the power of his personality.
Trump may have upset the applecart of "traditional politics." But the two things you absolutely have to have to win a presidential race are money and organization. That was the case before Trump, and it will be the case long after Trump's disastrous campaign is long forgotten.