U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert of Texas is one of the most hardcore conservative Republicans in Congress. At times, he can make U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa and former U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia seem almost mainstream.
But Gohmert is worried about Donald Trump:
“I had no fear of losing the House until I saw this weekend the commercial against Sen. John Boozman in Arkansas" he told Fox Business Network. "They run quote after quote from Donald Trump's mouth. This is a dangerous time.”
This is the ad in question:
If Trump's statements don't bother you, I'm not sure I'd take much solace in that fact. For one thing, they represent just a smattering of what is available. More importantly, the ad isn't directed at you in the first place. It's targeted at women and other voters who might react differently than you would.
In a new CNN poll, for example, Hillary Clinton has a 13-point lead over Trump. But among women, her lead is 26 points. Sixty-four percent of women, including 29 percent of GOP women, say they have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.
This is the type of ad that Republicans had a hard time running against Trump, in part because it wouldn't find as much traction with the GOP base. But with a general-election audience, that changes, and its capacity to shift opinion among that narrow band of swing voters who decide the outcome might be enormous.
I suspect that you're going to see a lot more like it in the months to come.
You know ... like this one?
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