Departure of Trump’s GOP critics in Senate leaves a void

[Right_in_Virginia]

Departure of Trump’s GOP critics in Senate leaves a void
Associated Press, Jan 1, 2018, Kevin Freking

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s most prominent GOP critics on Capitol Hill are days away from completing their Senate careers, raising the question of who — if anyone — will take their place as willing to publicly criticize a president who remains popular with nearly 9 in 10 Republican voters.

Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee engaged in a war of words with the president on myriad issues over the past 18 months, generating headlines and fiery tweets from a president who generally insists on getting the last word. Those battles put them on the outs with many in their own party, and they paid a price. Both decided to retire rather than take on a difficult re-election campaign.

Flake was far and away Trump’s most consistent critic among Senate Republicans. Corker weighed in less often, but his description of the White House as an “adult day care center” rankled the president, who dubbed him “Liddle’ Bob Corker.” The feud continued as Corker headed for the exits, with Trump asserting that Corker’s promise to serve only two terms was not the real reason he retired. Rather, Corker “wanted to run but poll numbers TANKED when I wouldn’t endorse him,” Trump tweeted.  [...]

Two other Republicans, Sen.-elect Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, have both had their public run-ins with the president.  [...]

But Cooper said he doubts that’s a mantle Romney wants to take on, at least not right away. After serving as governor of Massachusetts, Romney will be focused on proving that he’s an advocate for Utah, Cooper said.

Sasse has frequently criticized Trump for what he considers the president’s uncivil rhetoric. Sasse has also said he “regularly” considers leaving his party and becoming an independent. He is up for re-election in 2020 and has said he’ll decide by the summer whether to seek a second term. It would be tricky terrain for Sasse to publicly battle with Trump, who won the state in 2016 by 25 percentage points.


More:  https://www.apnews.com/c7291ffd58a84249bc1527d7def953a3

[bilo]

I think the Pubs still have a large number of Rino's who will under cut Trump. We still have Collins, Murkowski, Sasse, Romney, Graham, Rubio and I'm sure I'm leaving out a few.

Other than confirming judges that the Federalist Society recommends I don't think the Senate will be of much help to Trump.

[Mesaclone]

I think the Pubs still have a large number of Rino's who will under cut Trump. We still have Collins, Murkowski, Sasse, Romney, Graham, Rubio and I'm sure I'm leaving out a few.

Other than confirming judges that the Federalist Society recommends I don't think the Senate will be of much help to Trump.

First, I wouldn't pair Rubio/Graham with Collins/Murkowski as RINO's...country club Republicans, perhaps, but there is a big gap ideologically between those two pairings. Sasse is just an idiot and Romney is smart enough to learn from Flake's self-destructive path...he will make some motions of standing up to the President but will be reliable on Supreme and Fed Court appointments.

And what matters here, are the courts...with the ability to lose 3 GOP votes, Trump has much more flexibility in making these key appointments. And that's a big deal.  Sasse, Rubio, Romney and Graham will all support conservative judges...they all hope to have a future leading the party.

We can now lose the two uber-RINO NT's of Murkowski/Collins...and even another vote...without blowing a nomination. That means, I would guess, that Trump is going to go hard right with someone like Amy Coney Barret when it comes time to put the next Supreme spot up for nomination. Picking a truly conservative woman to replace RBG will make the Dems go absolutely coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs!

[bilo]

First, I wouldn't pair Rubio/Graham with Collins/Murkowski as RINO's...country club Republicans, perhaps, but there is a big gap ideologically between those two pairings. Sasse is just an idiot and Romney is smart enough to learn from Flake's self-destructive path...he will make some motions of standing up to the President but will be reliable on Supreme and Fed Court appointments.

And what matters here, are the courts...with the ability to lose 3 GOP votes, Trump has much more flexibility in making these key appointments. And that's a big deal.  Sasse, Rubio, Romney and Graham will all support conservative judges...they all hope to have a future leading the party.

We can now lose the two uber-RINO NT's of Murkowski/Collins...and even another vote...without blowing a nomination. That means, I would guess, that Trump is going to go hard right with someone like Amy Coney Barret when it comes time to put the next Supreme spot up for nomination. Picking a truly conservative woman to replace RBG will make the Dems go absolutely coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs!

It looks like that's about all we can hope for.

[Fishrrman]

"Departure of Trump’s GOP critics in Senate leaves a void..."

Now they know how many 'holes it takes to fill the Senate hall...

[Frank Cannon]

Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee engaged in a war of words with the president on myriad issues over the past 18 months...

And became laughing stocks except to the tragically stupid. Sasse is going to lose reelection because his state despises him so much he won't be around much longer. All that leaves is the carpet bagging douche bag from UT. It's always good to keep one of these morons around to point and laugh at.

[rustynail]

"Mitt Romney Kicks of New Year With WaPo Op-ed Attacking Character of President Trump…"
washingtonpost.com/opinions