According to Chris Stirewalt of Fox News First the other day, a political party is a mechanism which is used to win elections. It’s just a tool, really, with no identity of its own. Trump had the votes in the primaries, so he won the use of the tool. Republicans who still resist him just refuse to admit they lost.
One of Trump’s Stepford Wife Spokeswomen was on some show, declaring that Paul Ryan needed to support Trump “…for the Party.” As though it was his now. As if he ever cared “for the Party” himself. But now that he’s probably the nominee the loyalty he never had is due to him.
Curly Haugland, the National Committeeman from North Dakota isn’t buying it. The Republican Party, when it’s assembled in Convention, is subject to no Rules, but those of its own choosing. If the delegates don’t want to nominate Trump, they don’t have to. Trump’s brain trust, Roger Stone, knows this, and acknowledges it. That’s why he tried to intimidate delegates who might choose independence.
At the moment the will to take control of its own destiny seems to be lacking within the GOP. But one thing we’ve learned — Trump is capable of anything. God only knows what idiocies he may spout in the next two months. Come Cleveland, maybe people will see the debacle ahead, and decide to dump him. If it was up to me and Curly we’d do it, but timidity reigns. If this generation of Americans was around in 1776 we’d still all be bowing to the Queen.
Cruz is hanging on to his delegates, asking them to go to Cleveland to fight for the Platform. It will be interesting to see the Platform Committee at work this year. Will it do as it’s told by Trump, or declare its independence from him? Will the delegates on that Committee be men or mice? On the other hand, Trump doesn’t really care about the Platform. He’ll ignore it, unless it is part of a larger theme, which would be rewriting the nomination rules to prevent a Trump from ever winning again. And also deciding for itself who the next Party Chair should be. Essentially, the delegates in Cleveland can declare their independence from Trump, and take control of the Party. Why not? It might embarrass Trump, but no more than he embarrasses himself on a daily basis.
No, the argument against Republican independence from Trump is simple — stop Hillary. But as bad as she’d be, who can say with certainty that Trump wouldn’t be worse. He’s an ignorant man, surrounded by sycophants, with total confidence in his own instincts. He doesn’t need experts. We shall see.
On cue, the WaPo was out with a front page story about Trump and Howard Stern. Two thirteen year olds talking about women’s body parts. Keep it up, WaPo. I smell a Pulitzer exposing Donald Trump.
Polls right now are as meaningless as they were when they showed Bush 3 leading for the nomination. The Queen Bee, the NYT, and all her hive lie in wait. This fall they emerge in a swarm. It’s going to be ugly. He’s such easy pickings.
I got in touch with Jeff Golden of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who’s working on Gov. Abbott’s Texas Plan. What’s clear to me after three years with the BBA Task Force is that if you don’t have the money, honey, I don’t have the time. There’s a ton of good, conservative money sloshing around Texas. The TPPF has gotten in to some of it. They need to get some serious, Texas money going behind Article V. The Task Force would be at 34, or close to it, if we had some money.
Ton Llewellyn of the Task Force and I are working on getting Article V in the national Platform, and he tells me things went well at ALEC in Pittsburgh. They may even have a donor. A former backer of the Compact approach to Article V, which is deader than a doornail, has seen the light. Why does it take so long for these money people to figure things out?
The last couple nights on my walk I’ve seen a peacock hen, and last night a big old cock was chasing her all over the hillside. I kept hoping for him to corner her, and show off his plumage. It was incredible how disabling all those peacock feathers are on a male. Somehow this poor bastard has to make a living in the woods carrying a fourth of his weight in ornamentation. The hen was plain as day, but she had what he wanted, and he’d do whatever she wanted to get it.
You learn important lessons about life in the woods.
reaganproject.com 