Is the Republican Party establishment going to try to sabotage Donald Trump? If so,
Thank you Nick Moyne for the A2A. I don't know how the Republican Party establishment (aka "GOPe") plans to displace Donald Trump. As Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying about the media and by inference, the GOPe; "They didn't build him up, so they can't take him down."Donald Trump is a self-made political phenomenon. I was shocked how quickly the most deeply conservative discussion forums championed him and eschewed the GOPe by banding together and calling themselves "vulgarians" - see The Donald and the Demagogues: And so forth and so on—a parade of semi-sophisticated theories that act as bathroom deodorizer to mask the stench of this candidacy. Mr. Trump is a loudmouth vulgarian appealing to quieter vulgarians. These vulgarians comprise a significant percentage of the GOP base. The leader isn’t the problem. The people are. It takes the demos to make the demagogue.And so it goes for the GOPe and the nattering nabobs in the Beltway; "The leader isn’t the problem. The people are." For the GOPe, the challenge is; "Who ya gonna believe - me or your lying eyes?" The GOPe attempting to nuke The Donald will be at their own peril.Donald Trump is the most high profile and energetic of ALL THE CANDIDATES. No candidate has as many rallies with as as many large enthusiastic crowds. No candidate can deliver the television ratings bump that Trump delivers. No candidate in decades has generated this much interest in the political process. Mr. Trump seems to be forging a new coalition of disaffected union workers and unemployed minorities (reliable Democrat voters) in addition to the traditional Republican base. Many Americans don't recognize their country anymore. The country's most popular music genre, Country Music, and second most popular spectator sport, NASCAR racing, are crowded out of the media by news about the Kardashians and all variety of gender bending behavior. Maybe the GOPe will wake up before self-immolation and realize that"The leader isn’t the problem - the people are."
Do you think the republican party is indeed headed in the direction stated by Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (R) today on a hot mic, uttering that it was headed in the direction of Donald Trump and Roy Moore?
Yes, I believe the republican party is indeed headed in the direction stated by Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (R) today on a hot mic, uttering that it was headed in the direction of Donald Trump and Roy Moore?.“Republican comes in the dictionary just after reptile and just above repugnant.”[Quote: Julia Roberts]Our president has literally betrayed the conscience of our country. He has failed us. Trump can't implement his agenda of hate and greed without the help of a complicit Republican party. Unsurprisingly, the GOP has not stood up to him in any meaningful way. Instead they have used the daily spectacle of Trump as cover to create policy that will dismantle environmental and financial safeguards, create terror among immigrants, and further their agenda of stealing from working people to enrich themselves. Make no mistake: racial division, voting obstruction, fear, and disinformation were firmly Republican strategies long before Trump.Americans should DEMAND a higher degree of ethical conduct, even a zero-tolerance standard, when non-consensual sexual conduct is involved. There are many ways to approach this, but the following seems appropriate for candidates and members of Congress:An alleged sexual predator/abuser (whose actions are confirmed by reliable accusations and surrounding facts) should not be eligible for the party’s nomination in a House or Senate race. If elected, the person should be expelled from office by the Ethics Committee.The party should do everything in its power, including support for a third candidate or a write-in, to prevent the alleged predator/abuser from winning.If the conduct occurs in office, expulsion is the only appropriate remedy.If the conduct predated the accused lawmaker’s time in office but is discovered once he is in office (as in the Franken situation), the Ethics Committee should consider a full range of options, including expulsion. At the very least, the accused should not be supported for reelection. Parties can and should expel individuals from the party, which is a voluntary association. They can deny anyone the privilege of caucusing with their party or getting assigned to committees.
Have the GOP officially lost their mind by supporting Roy Moore?
Yes and no on supporting Roy Moore. First I will cover portions of the GOP base. Yes in the sense that there’s a significant part of the GOP base that will believe anything Bannon/Breitbart tells them, and they are reading that the Moore accusations are a sham. Also yes in that there are strong evangelicals in Alabama who believe that supporting legalized abortion is morally worse than sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl. This is a viewpoint that has zero legitimacy where I live (Bay Area). I understand the logic if they equate abortion with murder but I don’t agree that the answer is to vote for Moore. No in the sense that the reason for many people supporting may just be to stop a Democrat and they wouldn’t mind terribly if he were subsequently expelled in favor of another Republican. The politics here are admittedly dirty, but so was telling voters that Romney paid no taxes in 2012.For the party, the RNC resumed funding, possibly with the logic of elect then boot. This was the same logic for supporting Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) for reelection back in 2014 despite a solid corruption indictment. Grimm won, but resigned after pleading guilty and the seat is currently held by Republican Daniel Donovan. The NRSC (National Republican Senate Committee) however, has not resumed funding, as other GOP Senators, including Alabama’s Richard Shelby, don’t want him.The Senate unfortunately has no power to deny Moore being seated if elected thanks to the Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack. However, I would be stunned if the Senate Ethics Committee did not launch an investigation. If they recommend expulsion, I’m fairly sure Mitch McConnell would be happy to hold that vote as Moore out of the picture is one less headache for him to deal with in leading the Senate. It has yet to be seen whether Bannon will defend him to the bitter end in this process, but I suspect he will. After all, this is the man who wrote and directed the Sarah Palin documentary titled “The Undefeated”.