Posted on 02/28/2016 3:24:59 AM PST by Altura Ct.
Republican voters need only look to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to understand that GOP lawmakers will willingly sacrifice the White House in order to save their own hides.
As the Republican Party begins to accept the very real possibility that front-runner Donald Trump will be their presidential nominee, McConnell “laid out a plan that would have lawmakers break with Mr. Trump explicitly in a general election,” The New York Times reported.
Despite his overwhelming victories thus far, leaders of the party think Trump will lose in the general election and will hurt Republicans down-ticket.
According to The Times, resistance to Trump “runs deep,” and a “desperate” behind-the-scenes “mission to save the party” from the real estate tycoon stalled out. As a result, “two campaigns have drafted plans to overtake Mr. Trump in a brokered convention.”
The newspaper said the effort to “unite warring candidates behind one failed spectacularly.”
An overture from Senator Marco Rubio to Mr. Christie angered and insulted the governor. An unsubtle appeal from Mitt Romney to John Kasich, about the party’s need to consolidate behind one rival to Mr. Trump, fell on deaf ears.
Kasich in particular has drawn the ire of GOP power brokers, having struggled to compete in the first four states to vote.
“He’s just flailing his arms around and having a wonderful time going around the country, and it just drives me up the wall,” a senior Republican senator said, according to The Times.
Several senator said McConnell was “especially vocal” about how Kasich was being irrational.
If Trump is the nominee, McConnell allegedly has told Senate colleagues, “We’ll drop him like a hot rock.”
And he may treat Trump’s loss in the general as a given, allowing senators to distance themselves from the candidate and run negative ads against him.
While still hopeful that Mr. Rubio might prevail, Mr. McConnell has begun preparing senators for the prospect of a Trump nomination, assuring them that, if it threatened to harm them in the general election, they could run negative ads about Mr. Trump to create space between him and Republican senators seeking re-election. Mr. McConnell has raised the possibility of treating Mr. Trump’s loss as a given and describing a Republican Senate to voters as a necessary check on a President Hillary Clinton, according to senators at the lunches.
All of which suggests that when it comes to political theater, the best is yet to come in the 2016 election. At the very least, it’s going to be an interesting spring and summer.
What will McConnell say when Rubio accepts Trumps offer to run as his VP?
I cannot get past the fact that Donald continues to attack conservatives from the left. Also, his positions (universal healthcare, Palestinians, etc) seem to be more in line with the Democrat party. For these reasons I would expect the GOP to stop him from being the nominee.
I know that doesn’t sit well with many in FR.
If Chuck Schumer were to run as a Republican I would expect the GOP leadership to stop him too.
Schumer and Trump are both NY liberals, neither should be the nominee of the Republican ticket.
There is going to be a major ‘clean up on aisle Capitol Hill’ starting on January 20, 2017 - believe THAT. :)
I Wish FR had a thumbs up feature Tupelo.
Not everything the NYT is misleading.
"And he may treat Trump’s loss in the general as a given, allowing senators to distance themselves from the candidate and run negative ads against him."
As if candidates need McConnell's permission to do this.
Hank
Death rattles in GOP throats as McConnell (pride of Kentucky) commits political suicide for the party and for everyone but Donald Trump!
People in the ex-coal state need to get busy and work towards the removal of this prune-faced liberal.
We don’t have to turn the Senate over to the Democrats. Just make certain that non-politicos are primaried against these lifer-elitists pansies.
“Didn’t Jimi Hendrix come out as gay in the military to avoid possibly being sent to Vietnam as well?”
No
The Army COs didn’t want him around and gave him an honorable discharge after about 1 year of service.
He was a loon, and unintelligent but straight.
I’d like to know how much the former Sec of Labor has to with with the stinking crap sandwich that is our senate Majority leader. He’s married to a power-mad rino with an agenda of her own b
Oconnell making his reasons for discharge from the army a bit more clear. This seems more like a gay hissy fit than anything else.
Nope. He won all but three counties - Big cities and college towns and $$ strongholds .
Meet the Mrs...
More than likely Elaine pulled a sneaky and slipped the ben wa balls to the KENtuck Turtle. Old Boy hasn’t been the same since. Via the Kentucky Couple and her family ties, PRC may have easy back-channel access to our government.
It’s news only that he is openly admitting it.
Good essay, but not by Bill Bennett, who opposes Trump.
The Sanders primary voters will never vote for Trump. Never. Liberals like to think of themselves as paragons of virtue, and the Dems and other leftists have been painting Trump as a racist for his positions on immigration and Muslim “refugees”.
I think the best we can hope for is that they get frustrated when Hillary! wins it and just don’t show up to vote in the general.
They sacrificed the White House in the last 2 elections. Why should this one be any different? /s
“Didn’t Jimi Hendrix come out as gay “
No. Not true,
GOP will sacrifice the White House. In other words, just another election year.
” He broke an ankle on a practice jump and was discharged.”
That’s what Jimi said, but it wasn’t true. He was a screwup, sleeping on duty, couldn’t be found, missed bed checks, etc., etc.. His Sarge wrote a letter saying the sooner he’s gone, the better, and they gave him an honorable discharge just to get rid of him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.