Greenwich Democrats are still obsessing over Trump
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Rufus Argyle, Camillo 2020 National Issues Advisor
It is hard to foretell just how much Trump will figure in the municipal elections this year, but I think it will be hard for the local GOP to convince voters that Trump is not the issue. He defines this new political era, and he directs the national narrative, unfiltered. The local GOP may claim to like his policies but not his behavior, but it is getting harder to distinguish his policies from his behavior.
Imagine Camillo was campaigning this past Thursday. The news flash comes that Attorney General William Barr is ordering the federal prison system to start executing prisoners on Death Row, ending a 16-year moratorium. Trump supports it with a tweet or two. He has found yet another way to make people afraid. [Other than a small band of people who’ve been guilty of slow torture of children and the rape, murder and dismemberment of old widows, who, exactly will be frightened by the resumption of federal executions? — ED]
Is Camillo ready with an answer about his position on the death penalty? Should he be? And where will Trump go next? And how does Camillo keep up? Trump will not cede the stage for more than an hour or so; It is exhausting for us as voters and citizens, but it is even harder on those running with him. Camillo will find himself on his own, having to defend a president who is not very popular in Greenwich. It is tough on even the most inveterate campaigner; I think it will be impossible on a campaigner who does not relish the fray.
To give Horton his due (and I always will: Bob is a friend, and an insightful guy, much of the time), he briefly escapes from his TDS hysteria and addresses the real issue in the race: is Camillo competent to run the town?
This is not to say that Camillo has an easy race if he can keep voters focused on local issues. If he gets his message out, one wonders just how deep that goes.
That’s a legitimate question, one that I might side with Horton on: no, he isn’t, probably, but at least he’ll focus on the town and its problems, rather than worry about the big, national issues that keep Bob’s and his preferred candidate’s underwear tied up in knots.
