Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

[Sue U]

The GOP has given you a party. (Pretty sure wesw brought the balloons; Jim, however, apparently was not invited.)

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel was accused of threatening Republicans who don’t support Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda over an ominous message she posted on social media yesterday.

On Wednesday evening, McDaniel took to Twitter to warn people of the dangers of opposing the president. "Complacency is our enemy. Anyone that does not embrace the @realDonaldTrump agenda of making America great again will be making a mistake," McDaniel wrote.

Following her post, social media users quickly criticized McDaniel’s tone as threatening.

Newsweek

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Mark Sanford is the latest Republican to learn a tough lesson - challenging President Donald Trump can be political suicide.

The South Carolina Republican congressman’s upset loss on Tuesday to a primary opponent who questioned his commitment to Trump, along with a recent setback for Trump critic Martha Roby in Alabama and the Senate nomination of a controversial anti-establishment Trump supporter in Virginia, reinforced the degree to which loyalty to Trump has become a party litmus test.

***

“It’s Trump’s party now. If you criticize the president, you will face the wrath of the Trump voter,” said Republican strategist John Feehery, a former congressional aide.

‘A CULTISH THING’

Republican Senator Bob Corker, who declined to run for re-election in conservative Tennessee after tangling with Trump, said on Wednesday the party was now in “a strange place,” and not a good one.

“It’s becoming a cultish thing, isn’t it? And it’s not a good place for any party to end up with a cult-like situation as it relates to a president that happens to be of, purportedly, of the same party,” Corker told reporters.

Reuters

ETA:

BTW, did I mention that the "controversial anti-establishment Trump supporter" nominated for Senate in Virginia -- who Trump enthusiastically backs -- is an actual Nazi sympathizer?

[Econoline]

Looks like someone came up with the *PERFECT* birthday present!

[dales]

I evacuated my bowels in honor of the occasion.

[RayThom]

[Lord Jim]

Jim, however, apparently was not invited.)

No, but they still invited me to sign his card, and of course make a donation...

BTW, did I mention that the "controversial anti-establishment Trump supporter" nominated for Senate in Virginia -- who Trump enthusiastically backs -- is an actual Nazi sympathizer?

I saw this embarrassing moron interviewed by Fredo Cuomo a couple of days ago where he said this:

“I take support from whoever wants to give it to me,” Stewart told Cuomo Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean I support their views.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... supporters

No pecker snot, you do not have to accept support from whoever wants to give it to you. (I suppose by that same "reasoning" he'd be happy to get an endorsement from NAMBLA...)


Here's a really good example of how a principled person responds to the support of racist scum:

”Those of us in public life can only resent the use of our names by those who seek political recognition for the repugnant doctrines of hate they espouse,” the president wrote. ”The politics of racial hatred and religious bigotry practiced by the Klan and others have no place in this country, and are destructive of the values for which America has always stood.”

-Ronald Reagan (reacting to the endorsement of the KKK, 1984)

And here's another:

"If there is anyone who has mistakenly attached themselves to our party in the belief that we're not open to citizens of every race and religion, then let me remind you, tonight this hall belongs to the party of Lincoln and the exits, which are clearly marked, are for you to walk out of as I stand this ground without compromise,"

-Bob Dole (1996 nomination acceptance speech)

[Gob]

. "Complacency is our enemy. Anyone that does not embrace the @realDonaldTrump agenda of making America great again will be making a mistake," McDaniel wrote.

Following her post, social media users quickly criticized McDaniel’s tone as threatening.

Snowflakes

[Lord Jim]

Yeah, the implications of that statement are plenty depressing enough without trying to interpret it as some sort of physical threat...

[Sue U]

Yeah, the implications of that statement are plenty depressing enough without trying to interpret it as some sort of physical threat...

Jim, I posted the OP largely with the thought that, according to its own members, the GOP has now become a cult of personality rather than an actual policy-based political party. It seems to me this is the end result of a process that started with the purge of moderates from the party during the Bush II administration, then using the "tea party" to make the GOP a tool of frankly fascist far-right interests, both economic and social. The remaining party apparatus is now overrun with Trumpists, many of whom seem to be in it for their own grift, or formerly "establishment" politicians whose cynicism and/or cowardice has caused them to throw in with Trump as well. I really have difficulty seeing any way forward for the party in the aftermath of Trumpism. Do you?

[Lord Jim]

I really have difficulty seeing any way forward for the party in the aftermath of Trumpism. Do you?

It's certainly not easy to see one...The Trumpanzees (assisted by the acquiescence of the feckless Vichy Republicans) are clearly in the drivers seat of the party apparatus at the moment...

And they are driving it over a cliff...

I'll post a more detailed response sometime over the weekend...

[Burning Petard]

the feckless Vichy Republicans And now we have POTUS, the experienced old hand negotiator returning from a meeting with a stone cold killer-tyrant, declaring that we need not fear atom bombs falling on us. I am surprised he did not declare we have peace in our time.

snailgate.

[ex-khobar Andy]

I am surprised he did not declare we have peace in our time.

snailgate.

He would not get the reference. The phrase 'Vichy Republicans' - I love it - have not seen it before - was that your coinage LJ?* - would also be lost on him.

Reminds me of the State Dept spokesperson who remembered D Day as an example of our 'strong relationship' with Germany.

And despite my loathing of Reagan, it never for a second occurred to me that he wanted anything but the best for the American people. It's strange that we now regard his statement (quoted above by LJ) as being indicative of some sort of depth of character when in those days I took it for a normal human response.

* Edited to add: OK I looked it up and it dates back to 2016, at least according to Wikipedia which is always reliable. But thanks for bringing it to my attention LJ.

[Lord Jim]

The phrase 'Vichy Republicans' - I love it - have not seen it before - was that your coinage LJ?*

I'd like to be able to claim credit for the term Andy, but it's been in use for a while; it began during the campaign:

Invoking the war-era Vichy government of France – run by French sympathizers and appeasers of their Nazi German occupiers – has become a popular tactic among Republican establishment figures seeking to maintain the mantle of the GOP as their own.

Among these figures is Bill Kristol, founder of The Weekly Standard and a leader of the “Never Trump” movement.

“Vichy Republicans,” he said once GOP establishment figures such as House Speaker Paul Ryan began falling in line behind Trump, were “in full appeasement and self-abasement mode.”

Their support for the New York real estate tycoon is “foolish and dishonorable at once,” Kristol said, adding: “Vive la resistance!” Reporters, too, are using the term, such as correspondent James Fallows of The Atlantic. After Jon Huntsman – former diplomat, politician and founder of No Labels, an organization discouraging partisan politics – said he would support the Republican nominee, Fallows questioned his endorsement as “a puzzling part of the Vichy GOP lineup.”

It has since been applied enough to warrant its own Wikipedia entry, which defines the term as Republicans “who support Donald Trump due to political expediency rather than genuine agreement with his beliefs or campaign.

“Vichy Republicans have been described as ‘collaborationists coming to terms with the occupation of their party’ by Fascists,” the entry continues, quoting George Will, a prominent conservative columnist for The Washington Post who no longer considers himself a Republican due to Trump’s success.

https://www.jpost.com/US-Elections/Dona ... con-462338