What the demoncraps do is irrelevant. It all comes down to the GOP.
Time to light a fire under the political scum with calls, letters and emails.
I’m hoping they might listen to us at least a bit.
For example, the democrats can have 30 hours of hearings for each nominee, if they choose and they probably will. That is just one thing, but since they can't vote them down, the dems will take all the time in the world. That is how it works.
The GOP holds a slim 52 to 48 vote majority in the Senate. McCain and Graham are already making noises suggesting they will make trouble. If they can get one more Republican senator to join them in voting against Trump on certain votes, they with Schumer, will control the Senate.
McCain was just reelected for a 6 year term and will be 86 in 2022 when or if he faces the voters again. He loves power and media attention which he will have if if can assemble a gang of 3 Republican Senators to oppose Trump on principle. Graham doesn’t face the voters until 2020. He has a history of joining McCain.
Who would be the third Republican to join McCain and Graham in siding with Schumer and the Dems on key votes? Murkowski and Collins frequently break with conservatives and vote with the Dems, Rubio won’t face reelection to the Semate until 2022 and might have already made a deal with the GOPe forces to run with their support against Trump in the 2020 presidential primaries. Joining McCain and Graham in voting with the Dems to block Trump appointees and legislation will secure him favorable press and money from moderate GOP donors.
The Tillerson nomination is the most likely to be blocked. We are going to hear another month of anti Russia, anti Putin rhetoric from Obama, Dem politicians and the press. Tillerson is being positioned by the press as Putin’s best friend and highly vulnerable to Russian influence. I can easily see 5-6 GOP senators voting with the Dems to block Tillerson due to concerns about Russia. Beating Tillerson will show Trump is vulnerable.
Early in his administration Trump will push for two major votes. They are ending Obamacare and immigration policy (I.e. the wall). McCain, Graham and Rubio are against the wall and can block it in the Senate no matter what McConnell does. Add Flake, Collins, Murkowski, and a few more “moderate” Republican senators and the wall goes down to defeat in a glorious display of “bipartisanship” the press and Democrats will laud. If the same thing happens on Obamacare repeal, Trump is effectively neutered and McCain becomes the power player in Congress.
To beat McCain Trump will have to resort to the Lyndon Johnson playbook. He will need to use the FBI, CIA, IRS, and independent private investigator files containing dirt on every GOP senator who might break ranks. He will need some juicy information on McCain or Graham to keep them from running off the reservation.
Today McCain is Trump’s most dangerous enemy in Washington. Trump has to get him on a leash immediately or his whole agenda will be blocked in the Senate and Trump will go down to defeat in 2020 for being ineffective.
Watch what McCain and Graham say and do during the next four weeks,
This, a thousand times!