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Can the Republican Party Survive Trump?
The Atlantic ^ | August 24, 2015 | Molly Ball

Posted on 08/24/2015 8:19:41 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

The GOP frontrunner’s surprising staying power has inspired soul-searching and agony among party elites.

What is happening to the Republican Party? I put that question to Lindsey Graham, the senator from South Carolina and basement-dwelling presidential candidate, who was getting ready to hold a campaign event in Hooksett, New Hampshire. “Well, the front-runner is crazy,” Graham said.

He was referring, of course, to Donald Trump, the GOP’s seemingly unstoppable chart-topper, who has survived outrage after outrage that would have ruined a conventional candidate. He commands, on average, double the support, among potential Republican primary voters, of his nearest challenger. Graham—who is running in 15th place—calls him “a huckster billionaire whose political ideas are gibberish.” And while he expects voters eventually to come to their senses, he said, “I think a certain amount of damage has been done already.”

As Trump evinces surprising staying power atop the Republican field, nervous party members increasingly fret that he is hurting the image of the GOP and damaging its eventual nominee—who most assume will not be Trump. The most obvious problem is Trump’s outspoken opposition to immigration and immigrants, which has offended Hispanics—a fast-growing voter demographic the party can’t afford to lose ground with—and dragged other candidates into a discussion of inflammatory ideas like ending birthright citizenship....

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Campaign News; Issues; Parties
KEYWORDS: gop; immigration; trump
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Hilarious.
1 posted on 08/24/2015 8:19:41 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Coming from Linda Graham with 0% in the polls.


2 posted on 08/24/2015 8:22:29 PM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
..nervous party members increasingly fret that he is hurting the image of the GOP and damaging its eventual nominee

ha! y'all did that all by yourselves, before Trump was on the scene.

3 posted on 08/24/2015 8:22:46 PM PDT by SGCOS
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,” Graham said.
And the bottom dweller is nuts, to put it mildly.
4 posted on 08/24/2015 8:22:46 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: Parley Baer

Donald Trump Breaks Lindsey Graham Like a Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3PQOP6eax8


5 posted on 08/24/2015 8:24:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (TED CRUZ. You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Party want survive trump nor Bush the dumber


6 posted on 08/24/2015 8:25:17 PM PDT by Homer1
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“Well the front runner is crazy” said Lindsay Graham.

Meanwhile in the Democrat Party... “The front runner is ....?

Oh right, let’s not talk about that.


7 posted on 08/24/2015 8:27:50 PM PDT by jcon40
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“a huckster billionaire”

sounds a bit racist to me


8 posted on 08/24/2015 8:27:58 PM PDT by changeitback440
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

[on the Republican positions advanced by Donald Trump—which are not particularly Republican, and not particularly conservative,”]

I wish I’d known this, I wouldn’t have wasted my time writing, calling and emailing my congressmen and senators. I would have just changed parties.


9 posted on 08/24/2015 8:28:54 PM PDT by Duchess47 ("One day I will leave this world and dream myself to Reality" Crazy Horse)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Is this the same Linda Graham who is catching fire on Twitter?

Name Twitter Handle 8/1/2015 8/23/2015 MTD Gain
Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump 3,409,127 3,843,876 434,749
Ben Carson @RealBenCarson 393,107 510,774 117,667
Carly Fiorina @CarlyFiorina 384,524 459,538 75,014
Marco Rubio @marcorubio 772,150 822,564 50,414
¿Jeb Bush @JebBush 239,197 272,524 33,327
Ted Cruz @tedcruz 443,426 476,538 33,112
Scott Walker @ScottWalker 167,564 193,979 26,415
John Kasich @JohnKasich 80,497 99,240 18,744
Rand Paul @RandPaul 654,136 672,351 18,215
Rick Perry @GovernorPerry 305,523 313,061 7,538
Bobby Jindal @BobbyJindal 203,428 210,212 6,784
Rick Santorum @RickSantorum 236,439 240,321 3,882
Chris Christie @ChrisChristie 40,234 42,982 2,748
Sarah Palin @SarahPalinUSA 1,164,376 1,166,331 1,955
Linda Graham @LindseyGrahamSC 23,043 24,449 1,406

10 posted on 08/24/2015 8:31:49 PM PDT by SamAdams76 (We gave GOP the majority to take care of business and they let us down. Time for Trump/Cruz)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If, and that’s a big if, they somehow get rid of Trump, Conservatives will want Cruz or Carson, two candidates who
Hold very similar views. They would not be any happier. We are not going to go for Bush/Kasich/Fiorina, etc.


11 posted on 08/24/2015 8:32:16 PM PDT by Calpublican (The Republican Party is corrupt!!!!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I think Trump will tell the RNC "YOU'RE FIRED!
12 posted on 08/24/2015 8:32:43 PM PDT by teletech
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To: jcon40
Trump is merely in the game to elect Hitlery....this is a rat ploy and it always works...

Trump will not pledge to not run third party...

he has given tons of money to the Clintoon slush fund/foundation....

he is a democrat by history....

he is short on details but uses rhetoric to get peoples attention....

to think the goodness and intelligence of Ted Cruz is going to be lost because of Trump........unbelievable...

13 posted on 08/24/2015 8:34:28 PM PDT by cherry
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Can the Republican Party survive constantly pissing off conservatives? So far yes, but.....


14 posted on 08/24/2015 8:35:56 PM PDT by Huskrrrr
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”
“Well, the front-runner is crazy,”


Everybody get that?


15 posted on 08/24/2015 8:42:39 PM PDT by 867V309 (Trump: Bull in a RINO Shoppe)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

It is kinda sad that someone is that dumb. Bless his little heart.


16 posted on 08/24/2015 8:50:35 PM PDT by MamaB (Heb. 13:2)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Not unless they jump on the Trump Bandwagon and ride with him to victory!


17 posted on 08/24/2015 8:51:07 PM PDT by Savage Beast ("You can, in fact must, shout 'Fire!' in a crowded theater. It just has to be the truth." J.Goldberg)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The GOPe calls for party unity while they eviscerate the base of the party.

We’ve already come to our senses Linda and it ain’t losers like you.


18 posted on 08/24/2015 9:10:14 PM PDT by headstamp 2
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I hope not.


19 posted on 08/24/2015 9:13:51 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: cherry

Still better than all the rest...


20 posted on 08/24/2015 9:24:37 PM PDT by babygene (I'm one of the 9.4 million War Heroes that served during the Vietnam war..../s)
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