Posted on 08/05/2017 3:44:21 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Democrats and their dutiful mouthpieces in the media have been dreaming since January 20, 2017, of an earlier-than-planned vacancy in the Oval Office. From the nonstop, but as yet unproven, Russia/Trump collusion fever, to Sally Kohn's five-point fantasy, they have acted as if the White House would magically be theirs again any day now.
It would appear that they may not be buying their own messaging as much and are now looking for alternative fantasies. The latest involves a “shadow campaign” of Republicans preparing for 2020 as a sign that President Trump won't be on the ballot.
From The New York Times:
Senators Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse have already been to Iowa this year, Gov. John Kasich is eyeing a return visit to New Hampshire, and Mike Pence’s schedule is so full of political events that Republicans joke that he is acting more like a second-term vice president hoping to clear the field than a No. 2 sworn in a little over six months ago.
President Trump’s first term is ostensibly just warming up, but luminaries in his own party have begun what amounts to a shadow campaign for 2020 — as if the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue weren’t involved.
The would-be candidates are cultivating some of the party’s most prominent donors, courting conservative interest groups and carefully enhancing their profiles. Mr. Trump has given no indication that he will decline to seek a second term.
Most of the quotes come from the usual array of Trump-haters, including McCain, Kasich, and the always tedious Bill Kristol:
In the wider world of conservative Trump opponents, William Kristol, editor at large of The Weekly Standard, said he had begun informal conversations about creating a “Committee Not to Renominate the President.”
“We need to take one shot at liberating the Republican Party from Trump, and conservatism from Trumpism,” Mr. Kristol said.
There's one of the — ahem — giants of conservative intellectualism using a word like “Trumpism.”
There is nothing wrong with the idea of issuing a primary challenge to an incumbent president. However, after everything that happened in 2016, it might be prudent not to assume President Trump will be going anywhere anytime soon.
After all, the demise of his chances was assumed daily right up until he won.
The “chaos” of which the press speaks almost hourly doesn't seem to be phasing the president, his closest confidantes, or his hardcore supporters.
The emotions of the anti-Trump types on both the right and left have been running high since the election and don't seem to show any signs of calming down. If they do, maybe they will realize that conventional wisdom left the building a long time ago and old rules haven't applied for a while.
With that in mind, it may be wise to not count out President Trump until he is actually, you know, out.
16 people had their campaigns in Trumps shadow this last election. Adding more won’t change the outcome.
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.