“When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team. Now I get to be a little bit more myself.”
Ronna McDaniel, on Meet the Press
Trump asks too much of loyal Republicans.
It will haunt them.
At some point Republican Party officials and officeholders will take off the logo-wear of being loyal Trump-supporting, MAGA-compliant Republicans. Ronna McDaniel is giving us an early look at what I expect will take place. Forgetting. Denial. And disassociation.
She wasn't really being herself, she said.
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| Now she says it: "The violence that happened on January 6th is unacceptable. It doesn't represent our country. It certainly doesn't represent my party." |
McDaniel, a Michigan voter, claimed fraud. Michigan's Department of State said they had investigated and audited the election and said her claim was false. The Trump/McDaniel telephone call was part of the plan for Michigan GOP partisans to meet secretly and sign documents claiming that Trump's electors were "duly elected." Throughout the past three-plus years McDaniel has backed Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that the January 6 Capitol riot was "legitimate political discourse."
There is a problem once a person attempts to move on from Trump. Trump's actions are out in public. He is a scofflaw. He insists on things that are observably untrue. He proudly and openly sought to overthrow the election. He proudly and openly took classified documents, shared them casually, hid them and lied about it to the courts, but asserts today that doing this is OK. He sat quietly and watched his supporters ransack he Capitol, and now he calls them patriots and heroes. To be a Republican in good standing one needs to be on board with Trump. As RNC chair, McDaniel was loyal to Trump, but not loyal enough. She was replaced by Trump's daughter-in-law.
Now McDaniel wants a new life, back again as an American in good standing. Now she says that people convicted of crimes on January 6 deserve to be in prison.
In the aftermath of the German surrender in 1945, most Nazis and Nazi sympathizers said they weren't really Nazis. We were just caught up in the tragic madness of the era, they said. Their forgetting, denial, and disassociation mostly worked, and the world moved on. The victors focused attention on top leaders and the participants in death camps, not the rank and file people who made the Nazi war effort possible.
As time passes, Republicans will try to move on, as McDaniel is doing now. It will be difficult for them. There are videotapes, phone records, memories, and motivated accusers. Liz Cheney called out McDaniel in a tweet:
Ronna facilitated Trump’s corrupt fake elector plot & his effort to pressure MI officials not to certify the legitimate election outcome. She spread his lies & called 1/6 “legitimate political discourse.” That’s not “taking one for the team.” It’s enabling criminality & depravity.
Chuck Todd condemned NBC for "normalizing" McDaniel by paying her $300,000/year to be a network contributor. We saw her lie to the American public on matters of great consequence, Todd said.
Officeholders in current good standing as Republicans have a record. Nearly all are going along with Trump. They must. He demands loyalty. Candidates are stuck with Trump and his claims. Democratic strategists are elated that the most Trump-compliant of Republican nominees are winning key primary elections. They carry Trump baggage.
In the fullness of time, I suspect Republicans will try to shed that baggage. Do Republicans really support overthrowing elections? Do they really think prosecution of crimes done openly constitutes a witch hunt? Are they really OK with Trump's grift and lawbreaking? Some are indeed OK with it. Others, I suspect, are uneasy and are just going along with the team. They are caught up in the tragic madness of the era.
In the bright light of a general election in 2024, Trump and his claims will be a handicap for Republicans. He sounds wildly dishonest. Not to everyone, but to a majority of Americans. As time passes, in the post-Trump world perhaps 10 years from now, I suspect support for Trump will look indefensible.
What were we thinking?
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13 comments:
You need to understand that there are two factions in the Republican Party; the establishment country club RINOs, and the conservatives. They are at war with each other for control of the party. The establishment members include the George Bushes, Dick and Liz Cheney, Paul Ryan, and Mitt Romney. They are gradually being pushed out of power. They are not well-like in conservative circles. Rona Romney McDaniel (niece of Mitt Romney) is part of the establishment group, and she's massively disliked by conservatives, who have wanted her gone for a long time. Conservatives include Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, and Josh Hawley. Conservatives think that Rona Romney has not fought hard enough for their cause, and she's more concerned about spending GOP money on her hair, make-up, clothing, and travel. She's gone now because she's a RINO outlier in where the conservative party is going. Rona Romney would have been replaced even if Trump were not in power. She is widely disliked, and she's performed poorly in the past few elections. I do have a problem with Trump naming his daughter-in-law Lara as GOP 2nd-in-command. I dislike nepotism, and Trump practices it.
Today’s post has nothing to do with the real news coming out today. Trump’s $450,000,000 is due in just a few hours. Who is going to pony up for him? You would think a billionaire could pull that out of his spare change. But Trump would never think of using his own money. Let someone else who loves him do it. I wonder who the sucker will be?
I am still guessing Yass.
He has the money, I presume. His association with Trump already gives him all the downside. He might as well enjoy the upside of being the guy who stepped up.
His 2% stake in Truth Social gives him additional reason to protect his investment.
He has time now. Yass will be in the news soon, I predict.
For the rats to leave the ship, it needs to be sinking. Let’s hope that is the case. It took a war to remove Hitler and it took the brevity of life to remove Stalin.
Shame on Ronna Romney McDaniel. I wonder what her relationship with Uncle Mitt and his family is like these days. She sold out her country and her family. As I recall, her grandfather was governor of Michigan for more than one term. She is an ugly stain on the family's political legacy.
Appeals Court just lowered it to $175,000,000 and 10 days to comply. I wonder who he knows there?
Ronna Romney McDaniel is the granddaughter of 3-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Ms. McDaniel is 51 years old (born in March 1973) and a member of Generation X. Gen X came of age during the Reagan/Bush years.
I turn off the TV any time someone from the bush administration comes on tv, and continue to do the same for the TFG's administration.
This op-ed posits one way he might raise the new Bond (and warns potential investors).
Trump’s new stock deal is just another pig in a poke
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/25/trump-truth-social-stock-2024/
Trump has already stated in the news today that he personally has the $175 million to pay the bond, so now that's a moot point.
I do the same. I'm going to miss Nicole Wallace and Chris Hayes.
"My last boss sucked and here's why, " explains disgruntled person.
Over the weekend we heard about a girl who didn't get an abortion at 13 because she heard Alabama didn't allow for it when it was Democrat sources that told her so, even though the law actually allowed for it.
Today Trump had his bond lowered, gets traction with his Mar-A-Lago valuation, starts the first full week with his lawsuit against media who claimed "rape" vs "sexual assault" because the words have different meanings even in Oregon.
It would be a shame if someone made false statements online because feelings that aren't protected by "anonymous sources" and actually admit that they intended to use that language in the comment. Trump might end up owning a Southern Oregon Winery in a few years.
Hate begets hubris.
And away she goes!!
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