Posted on 02/07/2017 5:32:46 AM PST by Zakeet
While the Republicans currently have majorities throughout government, they too, appear to be a rudderless ship. They were the alternative to some very bad options run by Democrats. Not exactly a resounding selection.
Trump is a bit like a third-party candidate-elected-President. He wears the Republican "R", but that's merely because he leans that way now. It's a pragmatist's choice.
Trump is showing the Congressional Republicans a way forward--a way to step away from some of their traditional stances without giving up too much of their core values, but demonstrating some populist ideas that have broad appeal. To date, Republicans seem mostly indifferent about Trump's leadership. I think this is at their peril.
Congressional Republicans want to triangulate between themselves, Democrats and Trump. This is their play. They don't want to appear so lock-step that a future Trump mis-doing or misstatement takes them all down. So they appear curiously cautious. They're not cheerleaders for Trump in any way.
In any case, without the acknowledgement of a clear leader, with a clear vision, the Republicans aren't in a much better situation than Democrats. They're looking at the next election, the 2018 mid-terms. From a legislative standpoint, it's a fearful way to exist, and a do-nothing approach so as not to offend might backfire on them anyway.
A little history: From 1862-1932, the Rs controlled pretty much everything. The “Radical” Republicans, who wanted a social overthrow of the South, were on the verge of making the Party a minority again when pragmatists like Grant and Hayes steered it away, later with McKinley and TR reshaping the party into something of an “employee-friendly, middle class” party.
The Ds, after 1932, went nuts and nearly lost their Congressional power by the late 40s, losing the White House in 52 to Ike-—very much a pragmatist. The reason the Ds held control of Congress for almost all of that time was that they quit listening to the Rex Tugwell-commie types and emphasized American workers, middle class. That fell apart with Nixon when the libs were painted with the anti-war, rioting losers.
Reagan reclaimed some of that, but as you know it wasn’t til 1994 that the GOP once again got Congress.
Right now, the Ds are very much like the Radical Republicans in about 1866—ignoring the majority who wanted to emphasize jobs, rebuilding from the war, and to deemphasize social issues with blacks. The Ds are listening ONLY to their fringe, kook base.
If you take out 2 million illegals in CA/FL and criminals in VA, I think you have a tie popular vote with a landslide electoral college vote.
Keep in mind that Trump was just 750,000 votes from winning ME, NH, NM, NV, CO, MN, and VA!!! that’s another 70+ electoral votes, meaning he was a hair away from a McGovern-type blowout.
That’s true.
But let’s pull this notion out of our minds and into the world and make it a reality.
#pondscumbelongsinpondsnotelectedoffice
No such luck.
Obama was the beginning of the “Thousand Year Reich”.....turns out they were off by 992 years!!!
“The libtards are staring into the abyss.”
One prefers psychotic, adolescent, ill-mannered louts, but, it might be an insult to louts everywhere.
IMHO
Sorry, that's completely delusional.
(1) 750,000 new immigrant citizens each year. 80% vote for the Democrat Party.
(2) 60% of USA citizens who die each year are Republicans.
(3) More than 50% of the kids who turn 18 years old each year are non-white, and they vote 80% for the Democrat Party.
Trump's election was a political miracle, caused by Democrat overconfidence.
Mitt Romney actually got more votes in Wisconsin than Trump got, and Romney lost Wisconsin.
When Democrats get their core voters to the polls, they are invincible in national elections.
To be perfectly honest,that is the correct answer.It would take several years for the Right to build up any kind of long-term momentum.
Trump for 8 years and with a Republican majority...then Pence for eight years. If you force the nuclear option just once, that becomes the standard for the next 8 years. We will get 4 more bites of the apple on SCOTUS, ensuring wins on almost any issue for the next 16 years of elections and 100 years in the courts. .
hat tip Travis McGee
Democraps are disappearing off the map as we type.
Gee, that’s fun.....LOL.
Let an old guy caution you against overconfidence. What the Marxists can't win fairly they will attempt to win even if it take serious bloodletting to do it. History...history...history!
Nice&True. But maybe we should call it the 'Reid Option'...
Winthrop Rockefeller would have been shocked, or he may have joined the Democrats in protest!
bump
” ‘Reid Option’... “
Then HAIRY Reed can retire knowing he destroyed the liberal SCOTUS : )
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