Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is heading to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet with Donald Trump in hopes of bridging a growing rift in the top echelon of the Republican Party, CNN reports.
Are Republicans Really Leaving in Droves?
Philip Bump: “The picture that we’re left with after all of this is a murky one, which is the point. It is certainly the case that the Republican Party is trying to figure out what it looks like with its putative head having been exiled from the White House. It is true that some Republicans are leaving the party but it is not clear that any significant or unusual number of them are.”
“There can be something cathartic for Trump’s opponents in the idea that he’s driven members of his party away. So far, that narrative seems to be a bit ahead of the data.”
Longtime Legislator Leaves Republican Party
Arkansas state Sen. Jim Hendren announced in a video that he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent, saying the violent pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was “the final straw.”
The Limits of Trump’s Influence
Rich Lowry: “If Trump and McConnell ran in a primary against each other, Trump would win in a romp. If Trump and McConnell had competing rallies in Louisville, Trump would exponentially outdraw him. If Trump and McConnell had back-to-back appearances on Hannity, Trump would significantly outrate him…”
“There is no doubt that Trump is a potent political figure. Yet, his draw isn’t transferable to other Republicans when he’s not on the ballot, and he failed to get above 47 percent of the vote in two national elections against lackluster opponents.”
California GOP Will Try to Censure Valadao
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) will face an attempt to censure him at the California Republican convention this weekend for his vote to impeach Donald Trump, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Valadao was one of 10 GOP members of the House of Representatives who voted last month to send the articles of impeachment that blamed Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to the U.S. Senate.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“McConnell has many talents, there is no doubt about it, but if he is setting this thing up as a way to expunge Trump from the Republican Party, that is a failing proposition.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), in an interview with the New York Times.
Murkowski Says GOP Must Choose
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told KTOO that the Republican Party has to decide whether it is the party of one man — former President Donald Trump — or of principles.
Said Murkowski: “The Republican Party, in my view, was a pretty good party before Donald Trump and I believe we can be a good party after Donald Trump. Right now, I think we’re still trying to figure out who we are.”
Can Marjorie Taylor Green Become the Face of the GOP?
McClatchy: “In the aftermath of last month’s deadly attack on the Capitol and resulting concern about once-fringe conservative movements gaining a foothold in the GOP, Democratic strategists are mulling a plan to make the freshman Georgia congresswoman and past supporter of QAnon conspiracy theories a central part of their 2022 midterm election strategy.”
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already featured Greene in TV and digital ads tying the GOP to QAnon in a select group of battleground districts, a sign of what some Democratic leaders promise is only the beginning of a sustained effort to make her the face of the Republican Party.”
Unity Does Not Mean Bipartisan
Joe Klein: “I rise to defend — defiantly, perhaps foolishly — the notion of unity. I know the concept has taken a bashing this past month. It has been ridiculed, dismissed, and rendered banal. It has been conflated with ‘bipartisanship,’ even though the two exist on separate metaphysical planes.”
“Unity has to do with principles; bipartisanship, with policies. Bipartisanship is a tactic, the product of compromise. But there is no bargaining over unity. It is a call to arms, a fighting word.”
It’s Trump’s Party to Lose
Jamelle Bouie: “If there’s a conflict, it’s less a war and more a small skirmish with an outmatched and outnumbered opponent. Seventy-five percent of Republicans want Trump to continue to ‘play a prominent role in the Republican Party,’ according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University, and 87 percent say he should be allowed to “hold elected office in the future.” A recent survey from Morning Consult likewise shows Trump far ahead of his rivals in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, with 54 percent support versus 12 percent for the runner-up, Mike Pence.”
“The Republican Party belongs to Trump for as long as he wants it. Its most prominent politicians will follow his lead and attempt to build on his example. His children and in-laws will have a place as heirs to his legacy. If Trump decides to seek the White House for a second term, the nomination is almost certainly his to lose.”
7 Issues Where Republicans Have No Credibility Left
Jill Lawrence identifies seven Republican lectures that Democrats “never need to hear again.”
“It probably would be easier to list what Republicans are still qualified to pontificate on. Why the federal deficit is a huge problem? Hmmm. Never mind.”
Michigan GOP Doubles Down on Trump
New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s acquittal on Saturday in his impeachment trial served as the first test of his continuing influence over Republicans, with all but seven senators in the party voting against conviction.”
“But in Michigan, one of the key battleground states Mr. Trump lost in the November election — and home to two of the 10 House Republicans who supported impeaching him — there are growing signs of a party not in flux, but united in doubling down on the same themes that defined Mr. Trump’s political style: conspiracy theories, fealty to the leader, a web of misinformation and intolerance.”
Sasse Warns GOP Against Short-Termism
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) told NPR that the Republican Party is in an internal battle between “conservatism and short-termism.”
Said Sasse: “I think it’s important to give a frank assessment of where the party of Lincoln and Reagan is right now. I think there’s a whole bunch of stuff the party of Lincoln and Reagan needs to do to persuade people we have a 2030 agenda, not a 20-minute Twitter agenda.”
John White: “While the Republican gamble with history may pay dividends in the short-term, it is a long-term loser.”
The Trumpiest Republicans Are at State and Local Levels
Perry Bacon: “In Trump’s bid to overturn the election results, GOP state legislators, local and state party officials and GOP state attorneys general were often enthusiastically supporting his moves…”
Said political scientist Jake Grumbach: “The state level is where we see the most important democratic backsliding, and it’s happening at the behest of Republican state officials.”
“According to an analysis by Grumbach, the greatest predictor of whether a state has taken antidemocratic steps, such as really aggressive gerrymandering or efforts to make it harder for people to vote, is if Republicans control its state legislature and governor’s office.”
For members: The Downside of a Smaller Republican Party
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m on the ground here in Virginia in the 5th District and I would still say a majority of Republicans believe Trump shouldn’t have been impeached, that there was a false flag operation at the Capitol and that stop the steal is real.”
— Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), in a CNN interview.
GOP Official Says ‘Censure’ Is Different From Canceling
CNN anchor John Berman accused North Carolina Republican Party chair Michael Whatley of “canceling” Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) by censuring him over his vote to convict former President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial.
Said Berman: “We hear a lot from people in the Republican Party about cancel culture. You know, you are canceling Richard Burr for his impeachment vote which he says was a vote of conscious.”
Whatley rejected the assertion, saying the “cancel culture” is “entirely different” than the party’s decision to censure Burr.
Washington Post: Cancel culture blends into victim culture.
The Downside of a Smaller Republican Party
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The Republican Party Is Really Stuck
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