Article snippet: The TAKE with Rick Klein Few things scare Democrats more than the prospect of President Donald Trump getting a midterm boost. But Republicans are trying to scare voters about Democrats with messaging from pre-Trumpian — though no less vicious — days. Scan a few GOP ads and you’ll see Democrats decried as Washington insiders, socialists, pro-Nancy-Pelosi-and-Hillary-Clinton liberals, sexual predators, anti-defense dangers, tax-hiking big spenders, and “radical” or “dangerous” in any of a dozen different ways. A mailer in Arizona attacks a Democratic Senate candidate with imagery of a mushroom cloud. An Iraq war combat veteran running for a House seat in Minnesota is having his patriotism questioned in a TV ad, over his support for Colin Kaepernick. Indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter is blasting his opponent as a “security risk” while labeling him “a Palestinian, Mexican, millennial Democrat” whose support is coming from vaguely nefarious places. They are slash-and-burn tactics for an era of politics defined by sharp conflict. The tactics predate Trump, yet seem like good fits for his style nonetheless. The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks Is it 2020 already? On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released a video that looked an awful lot like an announcement ad. She seemed to say she was running for president, without saying just that. Instead, the formal line from her team is that she will give it “a hard look” after the midterm personal attac... Link to the full article to read more