You can act like a man!
Posted on 03/06/2016 3:32:16 PM PST by jazusamo
House Republicans in tough reelection races are wrestling with whether to distance themselves from Donald Trump, with it becoming increasingly likely that he'll emerge as the party's standard-bearer this fall.
Many of the lawmakers who were key to expanding the House GOP majority in the 2014 elections have to determine whether Trump is an asset or a liability back home.
GOP lawmakers running for reelection in swing districts already have a steeper climb in presidential election cycles, when turnout among Democrats is typically higher than in midterm years.
But with the likelihood increasing of Trump becoming the eventual nominee, party strategists are urging vulnerable incumbents to get ahead of the game and define themselves now.
Some centrists fighting to hang onto their seats are running away from Trump as fast as they can. But others in geographic regions that could be more favorable to Trump, including the Northeast, industrial Midwest and parts of Appalachia, may have reason to embrace the real estate billionaire.
"There's not a one-size-fits-all plan here," GOP strategist Ford O'Connell said. "The best thing all of them can do, regardless of their position, is to aggressively define who they are as soon as possible."
Given Trump's flair for controversy, candidates down the ballot could be in for a real rollercoaster ride.
"Obviously the preference is to be supportive of the Republican nominee. But you also have the challenge of given the wildcard Trump represents, they're going to have to be very realistic in how they approach their individual districts," said David Winston, a GOP consultant who's served as a strategic advisor to House and Senate leadership.
Democrats would need to flip 30 seats in order to win back the House majority — a tall order even if a Trump nomination proves damaging to the GOP.
At least two of the most endangered House Republican incumbents are ruling out ever casting their votes for Trump while casting themselves as mavericks.
"My community knows I’m an independent voice for the district. That’s one of the reasons I’m not supporting Donald Trump, because I’m not bound by party labels,” said freshman Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), whose southern Florida district is majority Hispanic. “I’m running on my agenda, not on anyone else’s agenda.”
Rep. Bob Dold (R-Ill.), who represents the northern suburbs of Chicago, pointed to Trump's controversial remarks about Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) time as a prisoner of war as reason to reject him.
“For me, it’s personal. When Mr. Trump takes a look at John McCain and says he doesn’t appreciate or doesn’t think he’s a hero because he was shot down, he prefers the ones that weren’t shot down? My uncle was the second one shot down. Spent eight years and a day in captivity. So if he’s going to diminish the service of American heroes, for me that’s a disqualifier,” Dold said.
For now, the most vulnerable GOP lawmakers would rather keep the raucous GOP presidential primary at arm’s length. Multiple House Republicans in competitive reelection races abruptly declined comment when approached for this story.
Most of the roughly 30 House Republicans considered to have the most difficult races this year haven’t endorsed a presidential candidate, content instead to let the nominating process play out.
A handful of the vulnerable incumbents have endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), including Curbelo and Reps. Mike Coffman (Colo.), Barbara Comstock (Va.), Cresent Hardy (Nev.) and Mia Love (Utah).
A small number of the endangered Republicans have signaled they would go along with Trump.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race, said he’d support the businessman if he wins the nomination.
“If he is our party’s nominee against Hillary Clinton, it’s a very easy decision,” said Zeldin, a freshman whose Long Island district was previously represented by a Democrat for more than a decade.
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), another top target with a large Hispanic community in his district, hasn’t endorsed either, but didn’t rule out ever supporting Trump. At the same time, the third-term lawmaker sought to emphasize his own record for the district while noting that he won reelection when President Obama was on the ballot four years ago.
“I’ve always lived with the top of the ticket in my district. … No matter who’s at the top of the ticket, I continue to win by big margins,” Denham said. “So I don’t think this election’s going to be different.”
Even with incumbents' power of name recognition, GOP strategists warn that a controversial candidate like Trump could be a major liability.
“People need to demonstrate their independence and that they are voting in the best interest of their constituents,” said Rob Jesmer, a GOP strategist who previously served as executive director of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
But, he cautioned: “That is easier said than done.”
Vote Paul Ryno OUT!
yeah...it’s a real tough issue you wussies....Get on the Trump team or get thrown under the bus...
Freegards
LEX
These squishes can’t serve two masters but that’s what they’re trying to do.
Paul Ryan for Committee assignments or their voters at home.
Do they actually have the pulse of their voters? LOL.
Really, they’re scared to death (playing both ends), unwilling to make a stand and do what’s right for the country.
TRUMP 2016
You can act like a man!
There are 34 Senate seats up for election in 2016. Of these, 24 are currently held by Republicans and only 10 by Democrats. Of the 24 Republican seats up for election this year, seven are in states that voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012. If the Republicans lose more than four seats, the Democrats will regain control of the Senate.
Under the 20th Amendment, the new Senate will be sworn in on January 3 and the new President will not be sworn in until January 20.
That means that regardless of who wins the Presidential election, if the Democrats retake the Senate then Senate Majority Leader Chuckie Schumer will have over two weeks to easily confirm every single Obama nominee, from Supreme Court down to the district courts.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
How about the politicians be who they are instead of holding their fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. How about just doing the right thing — the thing that’s best for the country instead of calculating how to play the game to stay in office.
All this article does is reinforces the fact that the politicians are in the system to further their own careers and keep their cushy jobs more than representing their constituents.
Makes me sick.
Just an aside, but results from Puerto Rico are coming in, and here they are:
RUBIO - 74.1%
TRUMP - 13.5%
CRUZ - 8.8%
KASICH - 1.4%
Looks like the Puerto Ricans didn’t think all that “Little Mario” crap that Trump’s been spewing was quite as funny as Trump thought it was.
Bump!
Do you think maybe PR thoughts are that Rubio might be a better choice to bail them out over Trump?
Serious question.
Those results may indicate a certain amount of racism in the voters.
When they voted for the cromulous bill, they did it to themselves.
Trump is there because of the damage that the GOP has done to itself.
Or they liked the things that Rubio said in Spanish, that he would never say in English.
I wonder what those two squishes will do, if their democrat opponents state that they will support Trump if he is elected?
I'll take your non reply as a yes and the amnesty pimp little "Marco" was properly tagged by Trump, in my view.
I'll take your non reply as a yes and the amnesty pimp little "Marco" was properly tagged by Trump, in my view.
Sorry I missed your post, but that was a little after 9 o'clock last night and I was busy out having a life. Thanks for replying to your own question in my absence though, that certainly helps keep things moving right along.
To answer your question, (if I can figure out exactly what that incoherent question means) I'd have to answer that I have no idea what they were thinking. So that's what I think. I think. But realistically, you might be right on that point, even though one can only speculate.
I posted those figures because they were streaming on Fox News Live as they came in, and I found them worthy of interest considering Rubio's lackluster performance before last night. I'd pretty much come to believe that this had turned into a two man race between Trump and Cruz, so these results came as something of a surprise.
To be completely honest, even though I speculated at the reason why the Puerto Ricans voted, it was just speculation, and I could be wrong. But I don't think calling a hispanic guy "Little" anything would go over very well with an island full of hispanics.
Insulting someone's manhood, especially remotely, over electronic media is just not something you do if you want people to respect you. You'd probably still be considered honorable if you did this right to somebody's face, but not so much from a Twitter app on a smart phone in a luxury suite in the penthouse of Trump Tower surrounded by armed security. But alas, Donald is one of those people who think the are so rich and powerful that they believe that rules the suckers abide by apply to the suckers, but not The Donald. What a guy!
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