How Trump’s intimidation tactics have reshaped the Republican Party

[DefiantMassRINO]

Trump won in 2016 because he ran against the Establishment Republican Brand as an anti-Republican.

The post-2000 Republican Party was easily re-shaped because it was led from behind by Bush-y wet-noodle windosock wimps.

[catfish1957]

By what wild metric should I vote for that? Why should I vote for the opposite of my beliefs in service of my beliefs? That makes no sense at all.

Don't think one moment I've given thought about the concept that Trump's liberalism will result in the GOP being blamed for his dirty deeds.
That will take decades to fix.

[roamer_1]

Don't think one moment I've given thought about the concept that Trump's liberalism will result in the GOP being blamed for his dirty deeds.
That will take decades to fix.

That's right - what he's done already... Not to mention what might be coming.

For that reason I would prefer that he loses... Because his influence on the right facing populists would finally be gone... After the appropriate amount of time allowed for anguish over the cheating, of course.

But in due course, a chance to rebuild old coalitions, and to set a course that will actually get us somewhere else. Somewhere we all want to be, without some of us held hostage to independent thought. Finding a place to be together. To agree.

Still, however frivolous, there is some schadenfreude  to be had from a Tumpy win. I like to point and laugh as much as the next guy. And I get to point and laugh at BOTH sides.

If it weren't for the overburden of expected cost, I might have voted for Tumpy just for the laughs... But there is that expected cost... To both the pocketbook, and to liberty.

For that cause I will abstain.

[GtHawk]

 

What you call Never Trumpers I call Establishment Loyalists because they really don't want any real change. They are very happy being able to pretend to be against the Rats while in reality being comfortable with the slow destruction of the republic. Trump pulled the curtain away and revealed how corrupt they all are and because of that the establishment has been trying to destroy him.

Don't buy into the silly arguments about how the Establishment Loyalists can't vote for Trump because he's too abrasive, or his supporters are too insulting. If the Establishment Loyalists wanted to save the Republic they would support Trump over the radical leftists of the Rat party no matter what. It's all a big act.

How was Trump not an 'establishment loyalist'  when he rubber stamped all those insane democrat spending bills? He never once said this is  its and I am vetoing it! Yes the dems could have/would have over ridden his veto but Trump would have stayed committed go what he promised and forced the dems to own the spending completely.

[collins]

Well, if you're a conservative/Republican  can't tell the difference between Donald Trump and that of Kamala Harris, you are definitely a neverTrumper. It's not so hard to define the term and it's quite common. Earlier I did give examples of some I consider neverKamalas, but they are few in numbers.

There's scads of neverTrumpers - the entire Bush family, a lot of the staff at NR, that obese guy from NJ, the Cheneys, the Romney's just to name a few. And they are establishment Republicans for the most part, though some do come around - Mark Levine, Nikki, other GOPe. The only non-GOPe neverTrumper that I can think of was Ted Cruz years ago, but he's not one anymore.

If Trump loses (don't think he will), it will destroy MAGA but it also could finish off the GOP, at least on the national level. California, one-party rule forever. I think neverTrumpers should skip the top of the ballot then vote R down ballot, but if they can't stomach Trump, they shouldn't vote at all for either.