The Wreckage Left by the Summer of Trump (GOP Survival depends on Trump defeat)

Real Clear Politics/WaPo ^ | 09/17/2015 | Michael Gerson

[AFreeBird]

And the country’s survival depends on the GOPe’s defeat.

If you don’t have an effective counterbalance to the dems, then what the hell good are you?

[Zenjitsuman]

The all took the support pledge, so when Trump calls on Paul to get his Pot Head friends to support Trump, they have to put down their Doobie and go campaign for him.]

Bush has to get his troops out for Trump.

And the GOP has to get all the talking heads to stop attacking Trump.

Unfortunately they will give Trump the Palin treatment.

[Timber Rattler]

Many (myself included) thought this process of crawling out of an electoral hole -- after losing the popular vote in five out of the last six presidential elections -- was difficult but doable. I sat around tables at conferences with Republican policy experts who believed the same. Bush and Rubio, in particular, began the typical effort of hiring interesting thinkers and producing interesting speeches.

And therein lies the problem...too much reliance on the DC "experts" and "thinkers."

And Gerson thinks that we actually still give a damn about Republican Party. More DC bubble talk.

[kingu]

Mitt Romney was nearly beaten by a series of joke candidates and survived by taking positions that exaggerated GOP weaknesses in the general election. In the hopes of serious Republicans -- or at least Republicans serious about the success of their party -- the 2016 election process would begin the recovery.

He lost because he couldn't even inspire his own supporters to go out and vote with his tepid (and sometimes hostile) support for conservative issues. Not one person I know believed that Romney would actually kill ObamaCare, or that he'd be any different than Obama, aside from the obvious of enabling all the liberal Republicans to push through their pile of 'bipartisan' uniparty bills.

[Iron Munro]

Trump has set back the Uniparty Shamnesty plans by at least 6 months.

[freedomfiter2]

That’s funny. The survival of America depends on the destruction of the GOPe. I should include their lap dogs in the media as well.

[RetiredTexasVet]

The media whores really were in spin mode to pump up all the loser candidates. Trump is forcing them to address issues that they don’t want to address and that is killing the MSM.

[fortheDeclaration]

These guys don’t get the fact that the only keeping the GOP alive is Trump.

[Hugin]

The GOPe don’t care if their candidate loses. They would prefer a loss to a win by a Trump or Cruz. If either of those guys wins he’ll gut the RINOs out of their cushy jobs running the RNC. As for Boehner and McConnell, they lose their status as leaders of the party. If a Democrat is elected they remain the “leaders of the opposition”, but can still blame the Democrat president for not doing anything. And they can use the threat of a Democrat President and Congress to blackmail conservatives into voting for them and their ilk. So they are actually better off with a Democrat president.

[Tamatoa]

Wasted my time reading that piece of rubbish.

[Leaning Right]

The rest may be running for VP.

Or for book deals.
Or for campaign money they get to keep even after dropping out.

[nhwingut]

Mitt Romney was nearly beaten by a series of joke candidates and survived by taking positions that exaggerated GOP weaknesses in the general election.

It's amazing how they spin it. They get to nominate their Squish. They then lose. And blame the Squish for not being squishy enough.

It makes absolutely no sense.

If instead of Dole, McCain, and Romney they were all Reagan-like conservatives, I think even most conservatives would be pragmatic enough to say it ain't working.

[tennmountainman]

Without a doubt.

[x]

Trump's alternative is always himself. "He's not a conservative," said Bobby Jindal at Wednesday's undercard debate. "He's not a liberal. He's not a Democrat. He's not a Republican. He's not an independent. He believes in Donald Trump."

Could be. But Trump benefits from a lot of dissatisfaction with political polarization. Those who oppose him ought to recognize that by now. And also, not cut down his supporters, whose votes a Republican would need to get to win next year.

[Little Ray]

If this what the current Republican Party consists of, then the GOP NEEDS to be destroyed.

I don’t trust Trump. But I dislike the people attacking him even more. They have proved that their REAL enemy is anyone who does not toe their line - conservatives, libertarians, Tea Partiers, and populists. Certainly, they do not consider Democrats to be the enemy.

If the current GOP is destroyed, I will not miss it.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for posting your reality:

"I think the Gersons, Wills, Goldbergs, et al (basically every GOP media member) have written more hit pieces on Trump in a mere 4 months than they've published on Obama in almost 8 years."

[dforest]

It is happening again. We have our individual favorites Cruz and Trump. We trash them and we will get nothing other than GOPe.

This was a chance to bury the GOPe. I had a feeling we could not take the heat and hang tough. Cruz and Trump are. They need each other to make this happen. We have the time but not the resolve.

A chance like this probably will not happen after this.

The Cheap Labor Express will hold the reins.

[TennTuxedo]

The GOP will dies whether Trump wins or loses. Thousand upon thousands, if not millions of voters like myself , have had it with the GOPe. I will vote for anyone but the GOPe.

[LS]

It is stunning and sickening. Goldberg, Jay Cost, Guy Benson, Byron York, Jim Geraghty EACH write about one Trump hit piece a day and flood Twitter with their crap. Cost, who should know better, constantly tries to claim there are similarities with Herman Cain whose poll lead stayed until October---but no one, not Rudy, not Gingrich, not Cain, has ever led in EVERY STATE in almost every poll. The new Gravis poll out tonight showing Fiorina tied nationally and Carson ahead in MI are the first polls anywhere in a month showing anything but a sizable Trump lead.

So the outright lies are a thing to behold. But Mark Steyn said it best: all these guys insist suddenly on "Ideological purity" and "conservative principles" yet what have we gotten for it in two elections? And in two terms of Bush? Nothing. One temporary tax cut. No stopping of illegals, no stopping of Iran, no defunding of Planned Murderhood, no stopping of Import/Export or fast track.

[Grampa Dave]

“If the GOP successfully kills Trumps run, we will deserve everything, we will get by not protecting Trump.