http://nypost.com/2015/12/12/republicans-hurt-themselves-by-turning-away-donald-trump/News
Republicans hurt themselves by turning away Donald Trump
By Michael Goodwin
December 12, 2015 | 10:17pm
Because timing is everything in politics, Friday’s arrival of a special offer from something called the GOP Store was oh-so appropriate. The e-mail pitched the Republican National Committee’s “brand new travel tumbler” so “you can let everyone know that it’s time for America to wake up.”
Sure enough, it pictured a splashy red cup with a stylized elephant over the words “Wake Up America.” By using a promo code, I would get 10 percent off!
But something was missing — there was no price listed. Ten percent off what? It was such an obvious error that I thought the e-mail must be a hoax or a joke.
You know, like the Republican Party itself.
A priceless tumbler is a priceless metaphor for a party leadership that is foolish enough to openly conspire to thwart the front-runner of its presidential field. The meeting where the pashas and pooh-bahs discussed how they could block Donald Trump was described as hush-hush. That makes sense only if you think 20 well-known Republicans could meet in a DC restaurant and nobody would squeal to The Washington Post.
So let’s assume boss Reince Priebus, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others wanted word to get out that they were aiming to dump Trump. Given that national polls show him with twice as much support as his closest rival, their scheming borders on political malpractice.
It signals that the quaking core of the GOP establishment is more afraid of Trump than of a President Hillary Clinton.
Instead of seeing an opportunity in the fact that Clinton herself is confused about how to handle Trump, his party leaders have decided they can’t stomach him.
To be sure, The Donald has that effect on many people, but most are not Republicans. While the leaders claim to be looking for a winner in November, they are overlooking the fact that no candidate of their liking has been able to command the support of more than a small fraction of the party’s actual members.
It’s not just Trump the leaders don’t like. They are also not fond of Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. In effect, they don’t like anybody that actual GOP voters like.
By deluding themselves that Jeb Bush is going to rise again or that Mitt Romney is available for a draft, the leaders are revealing their ignorance and arrogance. When even the gentle Carson blasts the anti-Trump conclave and threatens to bolt the party if the nominating rules are changed, you know the plotting is a first-class screw-up.
Like it or not, Trump has captured the national mood of “HELL NO” better than anybody else. From illegal immigration to Islamic terrorism to America’s standing in the world, he offers visceral confirmation about voter concerns over decline.
Poll after poll shows that most Republicans aren’t looking for policy white papers; they want somebody who gets their angst and anger. Sizable numbers of independents and Democrats want the same thing.
Sure, Trump can be crude and vulgar and mean and his rogue campaign is way outside any box. But if his flaws are fatal, one of his rivals should be able to put together a march through the primaries and win the old-fashioned way — by getting the most delegates.
For the bosses to try to find a legal trick to manipulate that result would be an act of suicide. They don’t have to embrace Trump, but they should have enough respect for democracy and their own limits to let the process play out.
After all, nobody can say for sure what will happen in Iowa or New Hampshire or anyplace else. But it is certain that making Trump a victim of insider dirty tricks would be the fastest way to boost his outsider appeal.
And that could lead to the worst possible outcome for the party. If Trump is forced out and runs as an independent, it is more likely the Republican nominee would finish third than first, and Democrats would almost certainly win the White House and one or both houses of Congress.
In that event, the pashas and pooh-bahs could fill their unsold crates of priceless red tumblers with beer and have a pity party. They could even do it in public, and nobody would care.
