So ... you really think that Trump is going to see Sanford's run as a reason for him not to seek re-election? Seriously.
Well, that's not what I said,
@libertybele. I said he could be "part of the constructive pressure" brought to bear to convince Trump not to run for re-election. I want to see a changing of the guard, not internecine warfare that would destroy the party.
Trump was right for 2016, but he isn't right for 2020. Consistently low approval ratings, despite a booming economy and jobs to be had, is a sign of both danger and the unlikelihood that Trump can or will do anything to change things. We don't need a change in direction, we just need a new leader. It's what smart companies do all the time. First they succeed with a change agent at the helm, then they switch to a leader who can preserve and protect the ground gained.
That's where we are now, with the price of failure unacceptably high given the Dems' obsession with radicalism. Trump must be replaced as the nominee, by the constructive bringing of pressure. Sanford can be a part of that, I think, since he represents a serious and constructive critique that attracts traditional Republicans, those who are animated by such things as fiscal discipline and responsibility. He's not a gadfly like Weld or a nutball like that Eagles guy. He can be. at least for now, the place where the sensible critics of the President can coalesce.
Others must also get word to Trump that there is more at stake than his ego - GOP control of the Senate and the means to confirm Constitutionalist judicial nominees, for starters. McConnell, I think, ought to be able to get through to him that perhaps his greatest legacy will be those judges, serving decades into the future, and it is critical to keep the Senate as a firewall.
/ . . unless there is truly a viable GOP candidate who can fill Trump's shoes . . .
I think there is.