Listen to Lindsey Graham (eg) and you get the idea that Trump is the golden ticket. Graham has said straight out that Republicans are going nowhere without Trump - that he is absolutely the key to their hope chest.
But, then there's this at HuffPo:
GOP Leadership Reportedly Hid Trump's Weak Numbers At Recent Retreats
Internal data reveal that voters in "core districts" have unfavorable views of Trump — but rank-and-file Republicans don't want to hear it.
The Republican Party might be high on Donald Trump, but key voters are not, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Internal GOP polling data revealing Trump’s weak numbers in key battleground districts was kept under wraps by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) at recent retreats for Republican lawmakers, sources told the Post. NRCC staffers reportedly held back the bad news, even when a member of Congress asked directly about Trump’s standing at a retreat last month.
The Post obtained the full results of the party’s data, which found that Trump’s unfavorable ratings were 15 points higher than his favorable ones in “core districts.” In addition, nearly twice as many voters had a strongly unfavorable view of him than those who had a strongly favorable one in those areas, the newspaper reported.
The internal NRCC poll found that President Joe Biden was “perilously” (for the GOP) popular in core battleground districts, with 54% favorability, compared to Trump’s 41%. Vice President Kamala Harris was also more popular than Trump.
Trump’s weak numbers were reportedly also sharply downplayed at a retreat in March for GOP ranking members of congressional committees. Both situations revealed that the GOP leadership was eager to hide information to dodge the truth about Trump and the possible damage he could wreak on future elections. The debate over Trump’s potentially negative impact on swing districts is likely to escalate as vulnerable Republicans prepare for reelection.
The poll numbers were part of an extensive story in the Post about Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and her battle with colleagues over Trump. She has repeatedly bashed the former president for his lie that the presidential election was rigged, and for his incitement of the Capitol insurrection. While Trump’s weak numbers could theoretically bolster her fight, Cheney’s dissent may result in her removal from House leadership in an upcoming vote.
Despite the internal numbers — and Trump’s loss in the presidential election — the Republican Party appears to be marching into his camp more strongly than ever, and GOP leaders appear at a loss about where else to turn.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) declared on Fox News on Thursday that the Republican Party “can’t grow without” Trump. “There is no construct where the party can be successful without him,” Graham said.
But Cheney warned in a Post op-ed earlier this week, “The Republican Party is at a turning point. Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution.”
It's not time for the happy dance - Dems have plenty to worry about, including a coupla snags of their own in Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema - but it's really starting to pan out now that the more closely the Republicans cling to Trump's leg, the weaker they actually are.
And it's a little weird.
I've been saying for a long time: "Trump has not remade the GOP in his image - he's the near-perfect reflection of what that party has been morphing into for decades", meaning the party has been playing on lies and paranoia and racist bullshit for a long time, so it comes as no surprise when the voters in that party flock to a racist lying asshole in record numbers.
But except for poor little old Liz Cheney - bless her heart - it's like the Republican "leaders" have kinda recently decided they no longer have any chance to countervail all that negative sentiment (the monster they created can't be controlled and is on the loose), so they can't very well reverse course now - they'll have to double down again by fully embracing all that shit, thus becoming the totally empty null set that Trump himself is.
- We criticized them for being greedy, and they said, "Yup - we're greedy alright. Greed is good."
- We said they weren't treating people kindly, and they said, "Even Granny has to pull her own weight or get outa the boat."
- We said they were sounding kinda racist and intolerant, and they said, "Well, what about black-on-black crime, and the welfare queens in the inner cities?"
- We said maybe we oughta be doing something to cut back on pollution, and they invented "rollin' coal".
- We said they were behaving deplorably, and they adopted "Deplorables" as one of their nicknames.
- We pointed out 30,000 lies during 45*'s term, and now we've got QAnon, and Jewish Space Lasers, and fealty to a "president" who first became gravely ill with a disease he called a hoax, and then got vaccinated against the same disease that he continues to refer to as a hoax.
- and on
- and on
- and on...
So, as they press towards the logical extreme (flying in tighter and tighter circles, as all Geejy Birds do) it just makes sense that they're about to disappear up their own assholes.
But remember the kicker:
The rank-n-file Republican voters - the ones who aren't all that stoopid - the ones who just want low taxes and a police force willing to keep White Supremacy in place without it looking quite so obvious - those "good Republicans" are bailing out.
Being a Republican just isn't fashionable anymore. And maybe that's enough for now.
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