The Old Song Indiana Wants Me Sure Doesn’t Apply To Trump

(paraphrased) ‘Indiana hates me. They don’t like me there…’

Trumpty Dumpty has just suffered another bigly blow in the gerrymander wars. He had to be feeling pretty good that HIS (and yes, most of the time they ARE his) SCOTUS overturned a lower court ruling and reinstated the Texas mid cycle redistricting maps. Fewer seats were in play in Indiana but they were stubbornly resistant to doing what Trump wanted. For months he’s bullied, even prompted actual credible threats against legislators there to get them to give the GOP more House seats. Well, they just shut him down, soundly REJECTING Trump’s order to create a more favorable (to the GOP) Congressional map.

I rather am enjoying myself thinking about this and for more than one reason. First of all of course is the fit you know Trump is having about not only LOSING, but being openly and “bigly” defied by Indiana which is a red state. Yes, it did go for Obama (barely) in 2008 but if not bright red it’s pretty damned solidly red.  However as Alternet reports they just told Trump to f**k off and by a 31-19 margin in the Indiana state Senate. To quote Chris Farley’s character in Tommy Boy “That’s gonna leave a mark.” I wonder how much extra orange greasepaint they’ll have to plaster on Trump’s ugly mug to hide it?

As I said, Trump got personally invested in this one. What at first had seemed a close enough thing he thought he could get the couple of holdouts on board he not only failed, but as the final margin killing this (it’s too late to try again) for good generated MORE opposition!  We could be in for an epic tweetstorm tonight. Trump was clearly angry when asked about it today. In his telling he not only won Indiana all three times, but in his version by landslides. ‘People have never seen landslides like that. Big strong men came up with tears in their eyes, tears of happiness over their state’s MASSIVE landslide for him!”

As the linked article says, Trump needed 26 votes in the Indian Senate and fell far short. Not for lack of effort. There was a four month brass knuckled effort to jerk a couple of those Senators into line that as I said resulted NOT in them coming around but being joined by colleagues who didn’t like what was going on.  So they sent Trump a ‘back the hell off dude’ message which might help other GOPers grow spines again. It was a clear legislative statement:

“Not even close to being close,” noted Bloomberg Government’s Jonathan Tamari. “I certainly did not predict the Indiana state Senate as a hotbed of Trump resistance.”

“Trump’s such a lame duck that he is getting his a– kicked by the Indiana State Senate,” remarked former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer.

Maybe Trump should have treated Mike Pence better. I’ll come back to that. The main reason the initial holdouts had was concern that despite their state being red, things could change. They were concerned if the state were to in time turn purple (again, Obama narrowly won it in 2008 and didn’t lose by much in 2012) a precedent could be set that might come back and bite them in the ass. Actually that’s sound reasoning, similar to U.S. Senators from both Parties who are resistant to doing away with the filibuster.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Pence factored in, in a weirdly twisted way. Back when he became Trump’s VP pick folks in Indiana were glad to be rid of him. Really, I’m not kidding. Still, even though they were glad he was somewhere other than back home screwing up their state he was still one of their own. Trump literally was ok with Pence (and his family right there with him) being dragged outside and hanged in front of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Like me you were appalled at seditionist RIOTERS chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and in the aftermath it was clear even Pence was afraid Trump might have had folks arrange to have him killed. Remember how he refused to get in that limo, and instead had his detail figure out a way to get him to a safe location with Speaker Pelosi?  WE were appalled but I suspect a lot of Indianans were downright offended.

They might have been glad Pence was gone, off in DC staring adoringly at Trump like Nancy Reagan did with her Ronnie.  They might even have hoped instead of coming back home he’d stay in DC or retire somewhere else. But Trump being ok with having him killed and all the trashing of Pence in the years after Jan. 6 had to be eating at many in Indiana including I’ll bet some of those state Senators.

Well, admittedly that’s speculation on my part but having been born in and spending my first 26 years in neighboring Illinois at heart I’m a Midwesterner. Imbued with practical common sense midwestern thinking. Yes, I will always think there was a Pence factor involved here but those who voted against Trump were being practical. They were worried about setting a bad precedent. And I suspect they also were familiar with ETTD. Their state is red, but going along with Trump might activate a lot of dormant Democrats and turn it purple come November!

Trump’s now threatening to ‘defund’ Indiana. I’m pretty sure THAT won’t sit well with them, and again might promote their current Congress Critters to start standing up to Trumpty.  We’ll  have to wait and see. Tonight at least, if you’ve read this you have some pleasant thoughts to let run through your head when it hits the pillow.

Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula

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