There is no shortage of moderate GOP resistance to Donald Trump. Former Pence advisor Olivia Troye’s Republicans for Accountability, Matthew Dowd’s Country Before Party, The Lincoln Project, and former Trump DHS assistant Director Miles Taylor’s group The Republican Alliance For Integrity And Reform. They’re all over the place, working different angles to bring the moderate majority base of the party back into control.

And now it looks as if they may have their opening. According to a new poll shown on MSNBC tonight, only 33% of registered GOP voters Support Donald Trump over the Republican party. On the other hand, 62% support the GOP over Donald Trump. Folks, that’s not even close. A two thirds majority of registered GOP voters prefer the party over the demagogue. This is the opening they’ve been waiting for.

But here’s the problem. What are they going to do about it? This is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. But as I’ve pointed out before more than once, it’s that 33% Trump base that shows up to vote in the primaries! The moderates have the numbers, but they don’t have the votes! Especially not in the primaries. And the primaries are the keystone. That’s where you get the general election candidates.

In this scenario, it’s actually Miles Taylor who is the one best suited to lead the charge. His organization has spent three years trying to educate and motivate moderate GOP voters to show up at the polls for the primaries to defeat Trump acolytes before they can get on the November ballot. And that’s the secret sauce.

When I think about all of these groups chomping at the bit, I’m reminded of the speech that actor Christopher Walken gave to the central African rebels as a mercenary leader in The Dogs Of war, Look, we’re here for you. We’re here to provide logistics, we’re her to provide tactics, we’re here to provide planning, and we’re here to fight. But it’s you who have to want it, it’s you who have to listen, it’s you who have to get it done! Kimba? Kick his ass! 

And if all of these GOP groups want to take their party back, they had damn well better listen to Christopher Walken. With the exception of Taylor’s group, all of the rest are based on a multiple cycle rebuilding process. There isn’t time! With all of this controversy, and with the MAGA House’s pathetic showing, the time is now. These groups all have to come together, and spend the next nine months motivating all of their bases to show up in the primaries to vote out Trump acolytes.

Because if they don’t, then it’s too late. The only thing left to do is to vote for a Democrat in the general election. The important thing to remember is that safe GOP districts are gerrymandered to be GOP safe, not Trump safe. Moderate GOP voters far outweigh the number of Trump friendly voters ibn the districts. And it’s moderate GOP voters in districts that can turf out abominations like Machine Gun Marjie, Sugar Daddy Matt Gaetz, Gym Bag Jordan, and Pistol Packin’ Lauren Boebert.

As Snake Plissken said in Escape From LA, The future is now. The question is do the moderates have the balls to come together and take back their party in the primaries, which is the only election that really matters this cycle? We shall see.

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Yes. the opening is there. Again. It’s not, as was the case when prior opportunities came up the actual opportunity that’s the problem but the WILL. The guts to fight, and take casualties along the way. You’ve written before about a couple of GOP “post mortems” that came up with some practical recommendations to establish all the gains they’d made since Reagan for multiple generations. Ways to retool and take away Democrat’s ability to win elections and especially the WH. It would have meant some temporary setbacks for a cycle or two but I agree with you the GOP would have emerged stronger in the end. But the powers in the GOP said nope. Yes, the monster we created has gotten awfully difficult to control but we can still ride that beast. Despite evidence to the contrary it started getting loose and corralling it and putting the leash & chains back on was getting increasingly difficult. However, flush with power McConnell and others kidded themselves into believing they’d always be able to maintain control

    Then Trump came along and not only turned it loose put that beast on steroids.

    The GOP faces the same choice now as it has before. ONLY the electoral price for at least one, more likely two and possibly a third will be much higher. For the good of the country and the free world it needs to be done – a purging of Trumpian elements from the GOP. After one general election MAGA will be badly wounded and crawl back under the rocks like the Klan has done in the past. (not that there’s much, if any difference!) It will take at least one cycle for an appreciable number of the MAGA goobers to start coming back to reality and so I say again the GOP is going to have to endure some significant pain. Like giving up a chunk of their liver for a relative’s transplant. (Fun fact. For those who don’t know – when you donate part of your liver what was taken grows back.)

    I just don’t see the GOP leadership, the ones with actual knowledge and political skill being willing to do that. History, as in 50 or more years from now would applaud them but these are people who think in terms of “what can I get for ME, and NOW!” And for those who might actually give a shit about their families maybe they want to “bequeath” them their own political careers which of course won’t happen if they cross Trump/MAGA.

    They CAN do it. But they won’t. Too goddamned selfish to make real sacrifice for others.

    • Remember when the dems changed their primary dates? The ‘pubes were all oooh, Iowa and N. H., they really hate your type of america-you know, crap like that. The ‘pubes are keeping their primary schedule which is going to reward the most extreme pieces of shit available to run as prez. It was, of course, the very reason the dems moved theirs: it was not representative of the country (and certainly not of the democratic party). If trump runs, can run I mean, before the halfway point of the nominating process, he’ll have it tied up.

      If there are moderates in the ‘pube party, any at all left after decades of racing to extremism, I’m betting they wish the party changed up the primary schedule. I question whether there are any moderate ‘pubes out there. Seems to me like they likely drifted to the Independents.

  2. I agree Joe, but everyone lies along a continuum, a path they have agreed with to one degree or another. He got 74 million votes AFTER destroying thousands of children at the border, telling 30,000 + lies at the time, shitting on gold star families although daddy got him out of service, not visiting the heroes at Normandy, and shitting on the military at every turn, breaking numerous laws time and again to use the office to promote his brand, standing in front of the world at Helsinki siding with putin over the USA AS PRESIDENT, pardoning convicted felons to cover his involvement in crime, and many more examples. To answer a poll is a small thing. Voting is a big thing. Maybe they’re telling the truth when asked. Maybe not. I happened to catch the end of a southpark episode where Satan is waging a war with heaven. He’s frustrated and asks his evil advisor what he should do. His advisor says,” we’ll do what we always do…turn to the republicans.” Exactly.

  3. This is a meaningless poll. Of course they are going to tell pollsters they put the party over Trump, BUT the Republican party IS Trump. He is still ahead of any of his competitors within the party, and his favorability within the party is insanely high. His closest competitor is trying to out-Trump him. Trump didn’t change the party, he just revealed them, and they love him, because he is openly as awful as they wish they could be. So, no, the “moderate” Republicans don’t have a chance in hell, probably not for decades.

    • Unless trump is no longer a factor. Fraud/national security–those are big charges he might be facing. His candidacy becomes more imperiled when Jack shows courts/juries/etc. the goods he has on him. Don’t get me wrong, I still see the mango moron slithering away from even these latest possible legal pot holes, but it’s getting harder to do.

  4. The only way this can happen is if voters send enough sensible republicans to congress with nerve enough to combine with democrats nd expel the extremists who aren’t ultimately indicted. It takes a fertile imagination to believe that either will happen, as we haven’t seen much but private complaining from the more sensible ones up to now. They don’t like what is happening to their party but refuse to act against the united front that brought us to this disastrous point in the first place.

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