CAN THE GOP SURVIVE ITS CURRENT INTERNAL DIVISIONS

…The Insurrectionist, Stephen K. Bannon

 

In a recent established poll, only 11% viewed Bannon positively, while 45% viewed him negatively.

 

Well, the official war has been declared between the traditional Republican party and Stephen K. Bannon.  Bannon is the good friend of Donald Trump and the former White House Chief Strategist. He is also the leader of an insurrection aimed at defeating mainstream Republican candidates in next year’s midterm elections.  This is just more proof that the party continues to devolve into separate political operations.

 

As of today, for the GOP we have:

 

·       The traditional GOP with its basic conservatives and believers in Free Trade, Free Markets, Immigration and Smaller Government.

·       Steve Bannon’s nationalists that do not believe in these values

·       And then there’s the Trump supporters that are closer to the Bannon followers, but they still believe that Donald Trump is going to bring them all that he promised in his campaign rhetoric.

 

The allies of the Senate Majority Leader of the traditional Republicans, Mitch McConnell have now declared open warfare against Stephen K. Bannon’s anti-mainstream Republicans. 

 

Today, more than a year ahead of the 2018 congressional contests, a ­super Political Action Committee (PAC) aligned with McConnell (R-KY) revealed plans to attack Bannon personally as the PAC works to protect GOP incumbents facing uphill primary fights.

 

This latest effort reflects the growing concern of current Republican lawmakers over the rise of the anti-establishment / anti-conservative forces and comes amid escalating frustration over President Trump’s conduct, which has caused a handful of lawmakers to publicly criticize the president.

 

Yet the retaliatory crusade does not aim to target Trump, whose popularity remains fairly high among many Republican voters.  Instead, the McConnell-allied Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) will highlight Bannon’s hardline populism and attempt to link him to white nationalism to discredit him and the candidates he will support. It will also boost candidates with traditional GOP profiles and go after those tied to Bannon, with plans to spend millions on a heavy social media program in some states.

 

With the latest Democratic wins in elections across the country, the Republicans are starting to see how upset the nation’s citizens are with a Republican run government that can’t seem to get anything done.

 

And now, the turbulence within the party presents a danger to Republicans’ narrow 52-seat majority in the Senate, with seasoned GOP lawmakers deciding against seeking reelection amid the current political storm.  There are also many GOP voters cheering the rancor that Bannon has stoked from his perch at his Breitbart website.

 

Some key Republicans such as Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), in an emotional plea, said that he would not run in 2018, after Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) had done the same weeks ago. “It’s tough,” Flake told CNN. “I’m competitive. I like to fight these battles. But I also knew that I couldn’t run the kind of race that I would be proud of and win in a Republican primary at this time. The politics in that way have changed.”

 

But now, both senators are no longer accountable to Republican primary voters, so they have taken on higher-profile roles as critics of the president.  Corker has called for the president’s “day care” attendants to step in and control Trump, and Senator Flake in the Senate chamber, called Trump’s behavior totally “unacceptable.”

 

Some Republican lawmakers have privately fretted that simply speaking out against Trump’s immature statements or the ­Bannon-aligned candidates that are arousing anger in their states will not be enough.  In fact, they are saying the response could backfire as they try to survive in the opposition-driven politics that has taken over the GOP’s base.

In recent weeks, Bannon has entertained dozens of candidates that have streamed through his Capitol Hill townhouse, urging them to pledge to vote against McConnell for majority leader. Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) is close to making a decision on a bid against Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and has won Bannon’s blessing, according to a person close to him.

 

Hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah (Bannon’s wealthy supporters) have pledged millions to the insurrection cause.  Bannon’s critics argue that he is causing unnecessary internal divisions that could make it harder to pass today's tax legislation, and to win general elections next fall.  They also point to Sen. Luther Strange’s defeat in last month’s Republican primary in a special Senate election in Alabama as an example of a dynamic they worry could repeat itself across the next year if left unchecked. The SLF spent more than $10 million, but that failed to help Strange.  (However, Strange was not the ideal Senatorial candidate.)

According to public polling, neither McConnell nor Bannon are in good standing with US voters. In an April poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, one of a few polls to ask voters about Bannon, just 11% said they viewed him positively and 45% said they viewed him negatively. The numbers were better among Republicans, but with only a nine-point favorability margin.

 

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), one of the incumbents mentioned as a possible target for Bannon in 2018, dismissed the effort to get Senate Republicans to sign pledges vowing to oppose McConnell.

 

“No, I haven’t signed pledges. I didn’t sign Grover Norquist’s pledge,” Barrasso said on Wednesday, referring to Grover's anti-tax long-time famous pledge. “I’m not a guy that signs pledges, and I’m going to vote for whoever I believe is in the best interests of the people of Wyoming.”

 

But as the two sides spar, Senate Republicans are trying to demonstrate that the party’s agenda is moving forward despite all the infighting.  They are also failing in their relations with the White House.

 

 

Still, those GOP donors who are friendly with Senate Leader McConnell welcomed the effort to thwart Bannon’s attempts to shape the 2018 contests and that have rattled McConnell as the Senate Republicans are trying to work with Trump.

 

“Absolutely, and why not?” said Al Hoffman, a major Republican donor and McConnell ally. “You’ve got to get rid of the Bannon banner.”

 

Regardless of who wins this political debate, it just shows how divided the Republican party is today.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017