There's blood in the water. Traditionally, a losing
party might go to the mattresses after an election, but just days
before an election that was its to win, the Republican Party is already
tearing itself apart.
Acknowledging the seeming inevitability of
victory for Hillary Clinton, some in the party are laying down plans for
a likely GOP house majority to make life miserable for a President
Hillary Clinton, with endless congressional investigations; but a good
number are taking up positions in a circular firing squad.
Privately, Donald Trump is demanding that House Speaker Paul Ryan,
the most senior elected Republican in the country, be forced to pay for
his disloyalty, and on Tuesday Trump made clear he'll not take any blame
for defeat – "the people are very angry with the leadership of this
party, because this is an election that we [could] win if we had support
from the top," he told Reuters.
Amidst maneuvering to strip Ryan
of the speakership, Trump supporter and Virginia congressman Dave Brat
lashed out: "Leadership comes and smacks our guy? That's where you're
going to put down a marker? Really? And the American people are
just scratching their heads saying, 'Really? That's rich.'"
Signalling a push to pull the party to Trump's unorthodox credo on
trade, jobs and migration, Ohio congressman Warren David pointed to
Trump's vote tally in the GOP primaries, warning: "you can't ignore what
millions and millions of people have expressed in this election cycle."
And
Trump surrogate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich resorted to
fantasy in warning Ryan of an internecine struggle that he could not win
– "Read The Jungle Book – the oldest wolf is ultimately defeated as leader – great lesson for young politicians."
Advertisement
Riven and demoralised, the party is splintering into two camps – an
establishment-led faction that will disown Trump as it attempts to make
peace with the minorities abandoned in his pitch to a shrinking white
America; and the Trump and Tea Party diehards who cling to the
candidate's ethno-nationalist xenophobia.
It ain't over till it's
over. But despite Trump closing the gap with Clinton in the Real
Clear Politics average of national polls, by a couple of points in the
last couple of weeks, there's a firm analytical consensus that a Clinton
surge in most of the vital swing states means that Trump can't win.
Other signs are bad.
A decision by Trump to quit big-money
fundraising for the cash-strapped GOP reeks of his seeming acceptance of
imminent defeat and of his rising hostility towards a party that he
hijacked for the election – but which has never fully embraced him.
No comments:
Post a Comment