Paul Waldman at Public Notice:

As the 2018 elections approached, President Trump found the perfect issue to reverse the usual pattern in which the president’s party suffers a midterm blowout at the polls. Acting on the advice of his pollsters and his own infallible political instincts, he warned voters that a “caravan” of murderous immigrants was headed through Central America to the United States, ready to lay waste to our country. “Every time you see a Caravan,” he tweeted two weeks before the election, “think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms!” It didn’t work. The election was a rout: Democrats won back control of the House (gaining 41 seats), flipped seven governorships, and netted hundreds of seats in state legislatures. With midterm campaigning now in full swing, it’s worth remembering what happened eight years ago.

Despite the general chaos emanating from the administration in Trump’s first term, relatively speaking, things in the country at the time were going okay. Inflation was low, the economy was creating jobs, he hadn’t started any new wars, abortion was still legal in much of the country, and almost no one had ever heard the word “coronavirus.” Yet voters still went to the polls in extraordinary numbers — turnout was higher than in any midterm election in over a century — to give Donald Trump a hearty smack in the face. The difference between 2018 and 2026 is that not only has Trump become an even more repellent personality, his actions have made everything worse. In fact, it’s hard to imagine what more Trump could do to enrage the electorate and ensure his party’s defeat in November. It’s enough to make a vulnerable Republican member of Congress ask if Trump wants them to lose. As one GOP operative told Politico, “Everything is made more difficult by the nonsense coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” But if it were just “nonsense,” it wouldn’t be so bad. What Trump has done is much worse.

[...] Tip O’Neill’s old dictum that “all politics is local” has been turned on its head, and now all politics is national. Constituent service, differences between candidates, and matters of ideology have receded in voters’ calculations; while it doesn’t hurt an incumbent to be good at her job, there’s little she’ll be able to do to stop a wave election. That’s exactly why Republicans are getting so nervous. Any president has only so many tools he can use to help his party do well in a midterm, beyond just having a successful presidency that makes people pleased with the status quo. He can dole out some federal goodies and campaign for candidates in tight races — but that only helps if he’s popular. And Donald Trump is not.

[...] Nevertheless, control of the House — which Democrats are now almost certain to take — is vital, and the Senate is in play as well (though to win it, Democrats will have to take every contested race). In addition, there are 36 governor races, as well as hundreds for offices including attorney general, secretary of state, and others, plus thousands of state legislative contests. All of them will be affected by what happens at the national level, not only because people increasingly see even local races through a national lens, but because a voter who goes to the polls to give the finger to Donald Trump is more likely to vote Democratic all the way down the ballot. Every Republican vote, on the other hand, represents a voter saying “I’m pretty happy with how things are going.” That anyone at all could say that right now is depressing, but Trump almost seems determined to make sure as few people as possible will say it in November. And there are still six and a half months of foreign misadventures, ill-conceived economic policies, and juvenile social media beefs between now and the election.

They threatened from the start to resort to violence if they didn't get their way, and then got their way...and resorted to violence anyway. They are the purveyors of a body of politics that sees most of us as subhuman and undeserving of life, and actively works toward our destruction.

Remember that during this election.

This is not a matter of choosing the "lesser evil". This is flawed politicians vs. actual fucking terrorists. This is human failings vs. inhumanity. This is not being progressive enough vs. silencing the opposition with violence.

Get in, loser, we're going voting. 

A bipartisan report released by the CIA, FBI, NSA, and ODNI stated unequivocally that Russia, under orders from Putin, carried out a far-reaching cyber operation with the goal of interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections.

One branch of this attack involved fake Russian accounts spreading disinformation, discord, and inflammatory content (in a word, propaganda) across many social media platforms, most notably Facebook and Instagram, but also tumblr. The Department of Justice indicted 13 Russians and 3 Russian companies for these actions. The defendants referred to their activities as "information warfare", and stated that their goal was to "spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, President Trump has dismissed reports of Russian meddling as "ridiculous", and has publicly stated that he believes Putin's assertions that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections.

We should all be concerned about outside powers seeking to interfere with the integrity of our elections, regardless of which candidates or parties benefit from such interference.

As the midterms approach, be wary of voices sowing discord, fear, and despair. Look for solutions and ways to help instead.

Be wary of anyone who says your vote doesn't matter. It does.

Be wary of anyone who says that "both sides" are the same. They’re not.

Be wary of anyone who says an election result is a foregone conclusion. It isn’t.

Be wary of anyone who argues for ideological purity and categorical rejection of "flawed" candidates. Perfect people do not exist.

Be wary of sharing posts from sources you do not recognize or know to be trustworthy. Always corroborate with a reputable source.