Chuck’s Commentary - Trump Made The Midterms MUCH Harder For Republicans + Rest In Peace, Barney Frank

Chuck Todd walks through a primary night that should make every elected Republican break out in a cold sweat — Democrats outvoted Republicans by 100,000 votes in Georgia. He argues we now have a fully formed "woke right" — and Trump is leading it. The man who built his political brand on refusing to conform to anyone's mindset has become the most aggressive cancel culture warrior in American politics, ending the careers of Republicans who cross him. The downstream consequences are catastrophic for the GOP: Republicans will now have to dump enormous money into Texas to defend a seat that was supposed to be safe, and Texas joins North Carolina and Ohio as an expensive trio Republicans will struggle to defend. Trump appears either clueless or in denial that he's systematically setting his own party up for massive failure, but Chuck notes a "YOLO caucus" is quietly emerging among Senate Republicans who know they're toast and may act more independently. He closes with a moving tribute to Barney Frank, who died at 86 after 32 years in Congress — the architect of Dodd-Frank, the first openly gay member of Congress, who came out in 1987 at the height of the AIDS crisis and endured Gingrich-era homophobia that he felt punished him beyond what any straight politician would have faced. Frank's parting message to today's Democrats sits at the center of Todd's episode and arguably explains why the party keeps losing winnable elections: "Don't litmus test yourselves into oblivion."  Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Predict the action all the way through the finals. Sign up now for your twenty-five dollar bonus on https://fanduel.com/predicts     Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.    Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.    Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!   Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 02:30 Georgia Republican senate race headed to runoff 04:00 Democrats outvoted Republicans by 100k votes in Georgia 05:30 Breakdown of primary results from Idaho 06:00 An independent has a better chance to win in Idaho than a Dem 06:30 Brad Little was able to stand up to Trump & survive 07:00 You can’t oppose Trump and be a Republican in good standing 08:00 We now have a “woke right” that Trump is leading 08:45 Trump’s initial appeal was not having to conform to a certain mindset 09:30 Cancel culture is now Trump targeting any Republican who crosses him 10:45 Republicans can’t oppose taxpayer funding for Trump’s ballroom 11:30 Trump is as defensive about Epstein as he was about Russia 12:45 There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence with Trump/Epstein 13:15 Trump angry that Lauren Boebert won’t drop Epstein 14:00 Ken Paxton’s election denialism is what won him Trump’s support 15:15 Cassidy and Cornyn supported 90% of Trump’s agenda…wasn’t enough 15:45 Elected Republicans know that Trump can end their career in a primary 17:00 It’s Trump’s party but he’s setting it up for massive failure 17:45 GOP senators relieved they don’t have to vote for ballroom funding 18:15 There’s a growing YOLO caucus in the Republican senate 19:15 Republicans will have to spend way more money in Texas now 20:00 Cornyn has raised $400m for Republicans 22:15 Trump seems clueless or in denial that the GOP is set up to fail in the fall 23:45 Paxton is so corrupt he belongs nowhere near political power 24:15 Talarico can beat Paxton, but it will be close 25:00 Trump doesn’t usually spend money that doesn’t help Trump 26:30 Republicans are now playing defense…do they concede NC? 28:30 Texas, NC and Ohio become an expensive trio for GOP to defend 29:00 Several other potential Democratic senate pickups 35:00 Barney Frank passes away at 86, served in congress 32 years 37:15 Dodd-Frank has stood the test of time 37:45 Frank was a barrier breaker as first openly gay member of congress 38:15 Frank came out in 1987 at the height of the AIDS crisis 39:30 Republicans led by Gingrich used Frank’s sexuality as a cudgel 40:45 Frank felt overly punished because he was a gay man 43:00 Frank had to work in a place where homophobia was rampant 44:00 Frank’s closing message to Dems - “Don’t litmus test yourselves into oblivion” 45:30 Frank was a larger public figure than he gets credit for 46:30 Ask Chuck 46:45 Is it possible the U.S. ever defaults on the national debt? 51:00 Is there a scenario where states coordinate gerrymandering reforms? 54:30 Are Dems in a no win scenario when it comes to redistricting? 59:45 Any chance senators like Cornyn or Cassidy could break ranks? 1:04:30 How can you say don’t fight fire with fire to people whose rights are threatened?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.