This time they really mean it, you guys. No, really. After months of trying to get up their nerve, some members of the freaked-out-by-Trump Republican establishment are going to try to do something to beat him.
In what will be the first sustained ad assault Mr. Trump has faced since the final week before the Iowa caucuses, the anti-tax Club for Growth has reserved $1.5 million in cable television time in Florida, the conservative America Future Fund has reserved $1.75 million in broadcast time and the “super PAC” supporting Mr. Rubio, Conservative Solutions, has laid down another $1.75 million.
Our Principles PAC, which is devoted solely to defeating Mr. Trump, is also expected to begin running ads in Florida. All told, the anti-Trump groups are likely to spend more than $7 million in the state
The focus is on Florida because this isn’t just an effort to defeat Trump, it’s an effort to prop up Marco Rubio. Even though Ted Cruz is well ahead of Rubio in states and delegates won at this point, Rubio is still the establishment’s golden boy and if they can push him over the finish line in Florida by dragging Trump down, they’ll take it as a sign he was always meant to be.
The Republican presidential field, whittled all the way down to four by Ben Carson’s characteristically vague semi-departure from the race, will be debating on Fox News once again on Thursday night. And this time, Donald Trump’s not running scared from Megyn Kelly. But what can we expect?
At the last Republican debate, both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz aggressively went after Trump, a tone that Rubio then took out on the campaign trail and raised to absurd levels, before reining it in a little. Will Rubio and Cruz repeat their Trump attacks, or, coming out of a Super Tuesday in which Cruz won three states to Rubio’s one, will they go after each other? Rubio blames John Kasich for Rubio’s second-place finish in Ohio, so will he train his smirky 12-year-old attacks on the Ohio governor?
Then there’s the moderating. One of the big questions is obviously how Trump will handle being asked questions or challenged by Megyn Kelly, who he skipped a pre-Iowa debate to avoid. Kelly says she plans to ask him the same questions she would have asked him in that debate. Meanwhile, her co-moderator Chris Wallace has some lofty goals. He wants to elevate the tone of this debate over the crosstalk-heavy last debate, in which:
"I didn't see anyone acting presidential, that’s my point, less of a comment on them and more a comment on their behavior and tenor of the debate. I thought it was an embarrassment to the party," Wallace said in an interview on Tuesday. "I’m not sure is talking about people’s hands or hair or tans is going to get any of them elected president."
Donald Trump and anti-Trump Republicans are trading third-party threats as Trump’s lead in the Republican presidential primary has grown and some Republicans are finally taking steps to try to beat him. Trump is once again deploying the threat that helped protect him from attacks earlier in the race:
“I am watching television and I am seeing ad after ad after ad put in by the establishment knocking the hell out of me, and it’s really unfair,” Trump said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “But if I leave, if I go, regardless of independent, which I may do — I mean, may or may not. But if I go, I will tell you, these millions of people that joined, they’re all coming with me.”
And, with some prominent Republicans finally coming out and saying they would never vote for Trump even if he’s up against Hillary Clinton, there’s starting to be talk of a third-party challenge if Trump is the Republican nominee:
William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard magazine, said he would work actively to put forward an “independent Republican” ticket if Mr. Trump was the nominee, and floated Mr. Sasse as a recruit.
“That ticket would simply be a one-time, emergency adjustment to the unfortunate circumstance (if it happens) of a Trump nomination,” Mr. Kristol wrote in an email. It “would support other Republicans running for Congress and other offices, and would allow voters to correct the temporary mistake (if they make it) of nominating Trump.”
Thing is, Trump is much more likely to follow through and more likely to draw a substantial number of votes if he does. It looks like that threat is no longer enough to fully protect him from attack. But on the flip side, he’s probably not lying awake at night worrying about Bill Kristol recruiting a senator few people have ever heard of to mount a third-party challenge if Trump is the nominee.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (who insists Republicans aren't being political in preventing President Obama from naming a Supreme Court justice) met with conservative groups this week to rally them in the political fight against Obama.
The meeting in the Capitol included a wide range of right-wing organizations, such as the National Rifle Association, Heritage Action, Judicial Crisis Network and National Right to Life, among others. […]
McConnell (R-Ky.) and Grassley (R-Iowa) — who have vowed no hearing or vote for whomever Obama chooses — told attendees that the "left was organized but so are we," and urged them to stay vigilant in the weeks and months ahead. […]
And Grassley—who is up for reelection in November—made what an attendee described as a "passionate speech" saying Republicans "need to do what is right" and refuse to let an Obama nominee move forward. Republicans argue that a lame-duck president should not be allowed to fill a Supreme Court vacancy during his final year in office. Democrats, however, counter that there is no constitutional prohibition on doing so and to blockade Obama's right to fill the Scalia vacancy will leave the Supreme Court at only eight justices for well over a year.
(Just for the record, since Politico is leaving it out, the Constitution and history say the Democrats are right.) So Grassley is passionate about not doing his job. He is passionate about beating President Obama and the Democrats. He is passionate about giving a Supreme Court nominee to the next president‚ whoever that may be—including Donald Trump. And he says that's the "right" thing to do.
McConnell and crew are busy trying to distance themselves from Trump, to pretend that they condemn him and that they can run against him. It's going to be damned hard to do that when they're so willing to hand the Supreme Court to him on a silver platter.
Let's hop in the wayback machine for a quick trip to 2009, when President Obama was a newly minted leader and Republicans were just beginning their concerted efforts to delegitimize his presidency. It started with judges.
President Barack Obama should fill vacant spots on the federal bench with former President Bush’s judicial nominees to help avoid another huge fight over the judiciary, all 41 Senate Republicans said Monday.
In a letter to the White House, the Republican senators said Obama would “change the tone in Washington” if he were to renominate Bush nominees. […]
“Regretfully, if we are not consulted on, and approve of, a nominee from our states, the Republican Conference will be unable to support moving forward on that nominee,” the letter warns. “And we will act to preserve this principle and the rights of our colleagues if it is not.”
So there's some remarkable consistency in Senate Republicans, as far as this president is concerned. He couldn't pick his own judges in his first year in office, and he can't pick them in his final one. Let's see, that gives Obama a 6/8ths or 3/4ths presidency, which I guess is at least better than 3/5ths numerically, never mind the intent being the same.
Mitt Romney eagerly accepts Donald Trump's 2012 endorsement.
Mitt Romney eagerly accepts Donald Trump's 2012 endorsement.
Hoo boy, Donald Trump better look out now. The Republican establishment is bringing out the big guns against him … Mitt Romney will attack Trump Thursday. Trump is surely quaking in terror as the Romney camp releases speech previews like these:
"Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud," Romney said in his talk, set for delivery later Thursday. "His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.
Romney adds, "His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgement to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill," referring to Ronald Reagan's famous depiction of the U.S.
Oh, well, if someone as notoriously authentic and plain-dealing Mitt Romney is using words like phony and fraud, game over. Especially with zingers about how “all we get is a lousy hat.” Seriously, who is this supposed to convince? Trump, of course, had a series of answers ready, pointing out that Romney is a loser and asking:
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Why did Mitt Romney BEG me for my endorsement four years ago?
Hardcore Trump supporters will doubtless be fired up by this attack from a stiff, condescending rich guy who couldn’t even beat Barack Obama, and while there may be some soft Trump supporters out there who could be peeled away from him, it’s again hard to see Romney as the right messenger. This all feels more like an ego trip on Romney’s part than an effective move against Trump.
Darth Obama, accompanied by his Imperial Stormtrooper guard
Darth Obama, accompanied by his Imperial Stormtrooper guard
Leading Off:
●FL-Sen: We've spoken often about how Rep. Patrick Murphy has locked up the support of the Democratic establishment in his bid for the Senate, but this takes it to a completely different level: On Wednesday, Murphy earned endorsements from no less a pair than Barack Obama and Joe Biden, two figures who seldom involve themselves in primaries. It's a sign that the very highest echelons of the party believe in Murphy and care deeply about winning this race, which could determine who controls the Senate next year.
In fact, Biden will also head to Florida at the end of the month to campaign for Murphy, who faces a fight with fellow Rep. Alan Grayson for the Democratic nomination. Grayson's response was, to put it mildly, completely berserk:
"These endorsements are a last-ditch effort by the DC Establishment to try to blunt our large and growing command of the race. […] The anti-Democratic Party Establishment is desperate to drag Grayson's opponent, their do-nothing, errand boy for Wall Street, over the finish line. But Florida voters in both parties are fed up with egregious manipulation by outside forces to dictate our candidates. These arrogant Empire-Strikes-Back efforts by the Democratic politburo will be no more successful than the similar failed attempts by Republican party bosses. This is the year when the voters decide."
Uh, wow. Grayson just seriously compared Barack Obama—a man who is extremely popular with Democrats—to Darth Vader and the Soviet Union in one press release! This is not, as we understand reality, a winning move.
Speaking of crazy, a deeply hilarious report emerged in the late hours of Super Tuesday, one that will make you laugh if you haven't heard about it yet: Some Republicans are supposedly encouraging Ben Carson to quit the presidential race, pull a reverse snowbird, and head down to Florida to run for Senate. It is, of course, a psychotic idea for so many reasons, not least the fact that Carson is from a different state, and possibly from a different planet as well.
Carson also proved himself a spectacularly awful campaigner, and his entire fundraising operation was nothing but a churn-and-burn scam. Just as absurdly, NBC reporter Hallie Jackson says that these same enthusiasts have promised to "open up the field" for Carson and make sure he has all the "goodies." Right now, the GOP field includes two self-funding rich guys, two members of Congress who are giving up their seats in the House to run, and the state's lieutenant governor. These people are not going to step aside for Ben friggin' Carson.
It's probably just as much a fantasy as the Pharaoh's grain storage pyramids, though: Jackson says that Carson apparently "hasn't expressed any interest" in the idea. But in his typically somnambulent way, Carson did just kinda-sorta drop out of the presidential race on Wednesday, so who knows? Florida's a very relaxing place—the perfect spot for Carson to continue his nap.
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We’re still trying to find an appropriate label for the Wednesday after a Super Tuesday. But at least we have some results to examine now that the day is done. Greg Dworkinrounded up the relevant headlines and commentary on Republican Trumpmatic Stress Disorder, Chris Christie’s Stockholm Syndrome, and other related maladies.
Except there’s a problem. Kasich by a little and Rubio by a lot trail Trump in their home state. So, that’s why March 15 is so crucial (FL, OH) though MI and a few others come first.
And Mitt Romney is supposed to speak today. Nothing like an establishment figure telling the establishment-hating base what to do.
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Romney is perfect front man for elite GOP donor effort to stop guy who is winning GOP voters by running as scourge of plutocrats.
Can Trump be stopped? Dozens of articles say he can; just as many say it’s too late. The truth is, nobody knows. After Tuesday, he is far ahead of his rivals in the race for the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination; their best hope is not to overcome him but to prevent him from getting a majority, so that they can fight it out on the floor of the Republican convention in July.
Over the past week, the Trump resistance began in earnest, an anguished outpouring of fed-up conservatives who swore they’d had enough and would block him at all costs. A Trump nomination, they said, would be the end of everything they had worked for and believed in. “A generation of work with African Americans—slow, patient work—I can’t tell you how great it is that we’ve pissed that away because of Donald Trump in one day,” sputtered Rick Wilson, a Florida admaker who had been agitating for months that Trump needed to be stopped.
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Marco Rubio needs to win two-thirds of all remaining delegates. His only real hope is a contested convention.https://t.co/65w2mbT857
MSNBC host Chris Hayes noted how Donald Trump has turned conservative mistrust of the media towards the very network that stoked that mistrust as marketing ploy, Fox News:
For years, right-leaning outlets like Fox News and talk radio have been telling their audience, day after day, that any information coming from outside of conservative media is not to be trusted. It's has been an ingeniously effective way to consolidate their own influence, and insulate themselves from any external criticism.
Not only has Trump adopted that tactic, attacking usual suspects like TheNew York Times and TheWashington Post, but he's turning it back on the conservative media who invented it in first place. After starting a blood feud with Fox News, something no Republican presidential candidate has dared to do before, Trump seems to have successfully undermined the network in the eyes of its core audience -- with perception of the Fox News brand among Republican adults hitting its lowest point in three years, according to a new YouGov survey. And after being asked about his tax returns at last night's debate, Trump initially dodged the question by insulting moderator Hugh Hewitt, using Fox News' favorite method of taunting, ratings. [...]
I had crazy experience when I was talking to voters at the Nevada caucus the other night in Vegas. Voter after voter after voter, these are Republican, you know primary voters, caucus-goers saying "I don't listen to Fox anymore, I can't trust Fox anymore, I'm over them." And these were all Trump supporters, who he had successfully sort of pried their trust, away from the thing they have been trusting for years. And now, when Megyn Kelly says something about him they just dismiss it, because it's not -- It's all considered the source. It's not evaluating the information on its own, it's just consider the source.
The problem, after all, is that if your hosts have spent a decade conditioning conservatives to discount any news or scientific reporting they don’t like as being a conspiracy peddled by the movement’s enemies, that audience is going to be very, very receptive to someone else telling them that whatever news makes them look bad is a conspiracy peddled by their enemies. It’s now baked into the movement psyche.
The polls are always wrong; the science is always out; the facts are whatever the loudest person in the room says they are. And there’s nobody who can beat Donald Trump at being the loudest person in the room. Nobody.
Remember the New Deal? You know, that 75-year-old collection of programs without which the Great Recession would have been an even worse disaster than it is? The AFL-CIO remembers. And it's pushing a New Deal-style jobs proposal focused on infrastructure and funded at least partly by a tax on securities transactions. Great idea. Something in line with the many good ideas raised nearly three months ago at the White House job summit and since ignored by Congress in favor of watery legislation that utterly fails to deal with the reality of 8.4 million jobs lost in the past 26 months.
The proposal, promoted under the populist rubric of "Jobs Now Make Wall Street Pay," is slated to be announced sometime in the next couple of days during the AFL-CIO's executive council meeting in Orlando, Fla. A handful of notables such as Warren Buffett and John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Group, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown support the concept of a transaction tax.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Greg Dworkin & Joan McCarter round up headlines from Super Tues., Trumpmatic Stress Disorder, and Christie’s Stockholm Syndrome. Will Ryan roll over for Trump? Will Republicans pass a budget? Apple wins an opening round. Cheney remains horrible.
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