Woodward/Costa book: Bill Barr was right to advise Donald Trump about

According to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in their tell-all book “Peril,” Barr told Trump: “There are a lot of people out there, independents and Republicans in the suburbs of the critical states, that think you’re an a——” and “don’t care about your f—— grievances.” Barr went on and told the President that if he didn’t soften his tone and turn his attention to concerns about Covid-19 and the economy, which these critical “swing” voters cared about most, he was going to lose the election.

Trump, however, refused to pivot — just like arch-conservative California recall candidate Larry Elder, who was similarly chastised by establishment Republicans who felt a moderate more in the mold of their party’s last governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker and Vermont’s Phil Scott, would have the necessary crossover appeal to have a shot in a Democratic state. And whether it was out of stubbornness or insensitivity or some other game plan, they paid a steep price for their insouciance.

Trump and Elder reaffirmed — for both parties — that turning competitive suburbs from “purple” to “blue” is very bad for Republicans’ business. As demographic shifts add to the Democratic advantage in these once-reliably Republican counties, such as Fairfax in Virginia and Montgomery and Delaware in Pennsylvania, alienating “swing” suburban voters could continue to cost them in national, state and local elections.

These voters, especially in competitive states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina, remain the gatekeepers any presidential candidate must pass if they expect the keys to the White House. They also determine who bangs the gavel in the US House. Most of the 40 or so competitive districts are fought in the “Crabgrass Frontier” between city and country.

But moderating their views for suburban moderates and their votes doesn’t seem to be a priority for an increasingly large swath of the Republican party.