Posted on 02/08/2022 3:33:55 AM PST by RandFan
CENSUREY OVERLOAD — The fallout from the RNC’s weekend censure of Reps. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) and ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.) spread to Capitol Hill on Monday: Hill Republicans returned to town and lit into Chair RONNA MCDANIEL. Senate Republicans went on the record to say that looking back to 2020 is a losing strategy that won’t help the party flip both chambers of Congress.
And they’re furious that the RNC would dub the activities of Jan. 6 “legitimate political discourse.”
We’re not just talking here about an expectedMITT ROMNEY rebuke — though the Utah Republican certainly called his niece’s decision “very unfortunate,” even “stupid.” The pushback extended from rank-and-file lawmakers all the way up to GOP leadership, as our Burgess Everett, Marianne LeVine and Olivia Beavers write:
— Senate Minority Whip JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican who might replace MITCH MCCONNELL as GOP leader some day: “The focus right now needs to be forward, not backward. If we want to get our majorities in the fall, it’s better to turn our fire on Democrats, not each other.”
— Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), another potential McConnell successor: “They did say in their resolution that the job was to win elections. I agree with that, but then they go on to engage in actions that make that more challenging.”
Even Trump ally Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) was mad enough to call McDaniel and personally express his disappointment that the RNC was moving “in the wrong direction” as the chamber’s fate hangs in the balance. “All of us up here want to talk about forward not backward,” he said.
And NRSC Chair RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.), who has aligned himself closely with DONALD TRUMP, distanced himself from the “legitimate political discourse” language. “That’s a decision that members of the RNC get to make,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I think what happened on Jan. 6 was wrong.” (Late Monday night, Scott defended McDaniel more generally on Twitter.)
SO WHAT NOW? Privately, many Hill Republicans hope the RNC will learn a lesson from the episode. The controversy is why House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY didn’t want to kick Cheney and Kinzinger out of the House GOP Conference: He worried it would become a major distraction from issues Republicans want to focus on, such as inflation and the border. Indeed, the RNC’s discussions about midterm strategy last weekend were drowned out by the censure drama.
Defenders of the RNC say the Senate GOP should stop clutching their pearls. Obviously this is Trump’s party, they argue. And if the RNC members want to go this way, McDaniel had no choice but to do what her members wanted.
McConnell plans to publicly address the censure today. The GOP leader has been something of a broken record in trying to tell his party to focus on the future, not the past — so you can imagine what he’ll say.
Don’t expect similar public rebukes from House GOP members. McCarthy has long instructed his caucus to deflect or not answer reporters’ questions about the latest Trump outrage and internal party divisions — and keep the blunt words for private discussions.
The lady in the background is killing me....
He won't be anything as of November. His gig is up. Maybe he can get work as a K-Street-walker, flashing his cooch at passing Congressional staffers hoping to get their attention.
I am no longer sure the GOP will “sweep in” in Nov. The Do-Nuthin’ RINOs are going to blow it.
GOP voters DON’T have really long memories which is WHY these LOSERS have been re-elected for DECADES now!!
its amazing to me that after all these years of the populace trying to vote in change, these guys still don’t understand and are completely incapable of adapting to the new circumstance.
Sure the Democrats ran two false impeachments, attempted an intelligence coup, and stole the election. But Dude, that’s like in the past, we need to ignore it and look to the future so I can be in power!
Exactly what I was thinking!
I rarely take calls from unknown numbers but did last week. It happened to be the RNC.
I told them exactly that I wasn’t going to contribute to them, and I might not even vote for my current congress critter because only Boebert and MTG were willing to actually fight.
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