Not That I Care - But When Will The Repugs Realize That Donald Trump Is Destroying Their Party?....

[global1]

I can't believe that they are letting Trump get away with what he is getting away with. He's alienating a lot of groups that the Repugs need if they want to survive.

Is Trump that uncontrollable that they don't take him down a notch? Are they afraid that he'll run a third party challenge?

I just don't get it. This guy is a loose cannon and everyday he digs the Repugs grave just a little deeper.

[Johonny]

1. Is there any party left? Citizen United seems to have destroyed the party as a national thing

The GOP doesn't exist outside the regional level. It is simply a group of grifters, grifting off billionaires and/or billionaires with massive attention needs. There is no party. There is no thing for Trump to destroy. It was gone a while now. If Trump wasn't there then who would be their non-destructive candidate?

[LAGC]

2. The GOP leadership really, really wants him gone.

They know he is bad news, not just pissing away the presidential election, but likely in all down-ticket races as well.

They've been trying desperately to take that mother-fucker down ever since the first debate when FAUX News ambushed him and tried to assassinate him, but they were way too obvious and their tactics backfired, only entrenching his support.

They have a serious problem on their hands, they let the far-right-wing rhetoric create a Frankenstein monster, and now they can't corral the troops back under their control.

"Loose cannon" is an understatement here...

[DCBob]

3. I think the old guard has realized and fearing that for quite some time.

They just dont know what to do about it at the moment. However, fear not, they will take him out by whatever means necessary... legal or not, they will not let Trump be the Republican nominee.

[Agnosticsherbet]

4. The leadership are aware that Trump is screwing them.

But his existence is their fault.

For a couple of decades, the ideal candidate is someone who will run the country like a business and is outside the Washington elite.

Their real problem is that there is nothing they can do about it. A lot of Republican like him, and in this big field, no one else can get any traction. If 2/3rds of their candidates dropped out, someone would beat him. Nobody wants to give up their chance.

[jberryhill]

5. Who would "the leadership" be at this point?

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. The Wall Street Journal had this story. GOP Operative Plans ‘Guerrilla Campaign’ Against Donald

GOP Operative Plans ‘Guerrilla Campaign’ Against Donald Trump

Republicans Try to Cancel the Donald Trump Show

Remember, they made it a point to insist on a oath that no one would run third party. Trump swore the would as long as he was treated well. He has now made rumbles that

[jberryhill]

13. As if that was a surprise

His acceptance of the deal was always contingent on being "treated nicely", which as an entirely subjective condition was guaranteed to be considered by him to be breached at some point.

[cheyanne]

7. I checked out RedState to see what the skinny was on Trump.

Erikson has a long article where he compares Bernie to Trump with the assumption the Bernie is just as crazy, if not crazier than Trump. Then he explains that it's too early to tell if Trump's lead is real (he actually quotes from 538) and that it is unlikely that he will garner more support as voters group behind Rubio or Cruz.

There is also a short article asking Trump to show the videos of Muslims in NJ cheering on 9/11.

No word that Trump is destroying the party.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

8. The GOP establishment is furiously scrambling to try to negate him

But the Tea Partiers now run the whole show. They will have to rig the primary to stop him, and if they do that....well then they will kill the party even worse.

I love it. I hope Trump stays right where he is. The cockroaches are being brought to light.

[cwydro]

9. That party was destroyed way before Trump came barging in.

Just sayin.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. No he is not

and that is part of the problem in your assessment. I get precisely the dynamics that are driving all this. They are scary as shit, but there is a corner of American politics that will vote for Trump. and I will not, and was among the first media to say it, (Hi Chris Cilizza, thanks for joining me), that he can win the nomination. His chances are actually pretty damn good as in extremely good. There is less of a chance he could even win the WH, and that scares me. Alas that is the reality we live under right now.

Here are the reasons, and this is his base.

1.- A good number are older white men. call it if you will the angry white man demographic, for short the Archie Bunker demographic. They hate that the country is being taken over by them... them is whoever is the enemy of the moment by the way. This same demographic also hates with a passion that evil Guv'ming that gives all kinds of things to them damn internal enemy of the moment.

2.- The young hip libertarian that also hates the government, This tends to be a younger version of the Archie Bunker type in point 1. They just know how to use social media as well.

3.[ Minorities who are afraid of other minorities. Believe it or not, Trump has some AA coservatives that just love him for going after them illegals who are stealing our jobs. Oh this goes back a long time in US History. There are less of the hispanic types that also hate other hispanics, for well taking over and taking our jobs. Those not inside this community do not realize internal divisions... some of Trump's supporters are precisely from some particular more well to do groups in minority communities.

4.- Natural authoritarians. They are the kind that we all love but that would follow any Trump like figure like everywhere. Triple so after a terror attack ANYWHERE in the world.

5.- Others.

6.- GOP promises to get these people to vote for them that have never, ever been fulfilled, so none of these people TRUST the professional pol

Once you understand that, nope, he ain't destroying anything. He is the leader of a large subset in the Republican party and he will do extremely well in the primaries... in normal elections... this year is not... this would drive even the most reluctant of everybody else, including old time republicans (you know the fiscally conservative but socially liberal, moderate type, they do still exist), to the polls to vote against him though in a general election.

[UTUSN]

11. Yip, the ball is in their court: a NIXON in China moment. n/t

[Quixote1818]

12. Fox News tried to take him down a notch and he went after them big time

Now they are acting like he is their king. I am sure he told them he will run 3rd party of they fuck with him.

[herding cats]

14. Trump is a symptom of the Republicans divisive tactics coming home to roost

The party leaders own this mess they've created. It's really not fair to blame it all on Trump when he's just exploiting the decades of groundwork laid out by the GOP leaders. They've carefully fed the hate and racism to keep their supporters divided against the better good of this country. This is the reality of what they've been feeding and nurturing behind closed doors.