It seems to me...

[kentuck]

...that the present political predicament, that the Republicans have put our nation in, has been a good time in the making.

It began with the war and the huge blunder by George W Bush, and coupled with the massive deficit spending, it drove a lot of Republicans to leave their Party and join the "Tea Party". They felt they had been betrayed. They felt that they had been lied to. They felt almost embarrassed by the Republican Party incompetence.

Many in the "Tea Party" movement were quite libertarian. It was a motley crew of Republicans.

And when they felt betrayed and lied to, with the last Republican Senate and House, they gravitated toward the persona and message of Donald Trump. They liked their guns and they wanted a wall built around Mexico. They became loud and threatening. Many citizens stepped back to take a second look. And they did not like what they saw.

The Republican Party establishment disavowed him. Paul Ryan told his members to follow their own conscience. The cat got Mitch McConnell's tongue - he just doesn't want to talk about it at all.

The polls, for what they are worth, are saying that Trump's "unfavorables" have gone up to 70%. That is across the board, across all Parties.

The Republicans have created a dilemma of their choice and they see that they only have two choices: 1) Get behind Trump and follow him over the cliff, or 2) Divorce themselves from Trump because he is not a "true conservative". Either choice is very painful.

[Trust Buster]

1. We warned the Republicans and right wing media for years that their vitriol was hurting this

country. They conditioned a large portion of their base to respond to a carnival barker like Trump. They will be hoisted on their own petard.

[passiveporcupine]

2. I think he may be trying to hold them hostage

For as much money as he can get.

Want to invest in America? Former Donald Trump adviser says candidate might drop out for $150M

Rebellious Republican delegates are trying to figure out how to change the convention rules so they can make a last-stand revolt against Donald Trump's presidential nomination in Cleveland next month.

They might be better off passing the hat among all their friends.

On Friday, Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger tweeted that a "former Trump adviser" speculated that a big payday would convince the presumptive GOP nominee to abandon his unusual campaign and go back to real-estate deals and reality TV.

Tweets:

Ben Schreckinger
@SchreckReports
On the phone with a former Trump adviser: "I bet if someone offered him $150 million to drop out, he would."
1:01 PM - 17 Jun 2016

Ben Schreckinger
@SchreckReports
Via email, @mcuban tells me he thinks Trump would drop out for $5 billion. Considers $150 million too paltry https://twitter.com/SchreckReports/status/743896479174172672 …
2:09 PM - 17 Jun 2016

Bill Kristol
@BillKristol
Done. Dinner in NY Monday, private room at Daniel, reservation under name of @Reince. 15 billionaires, $10m each. https://twitter.com/SchreckReports/status/743896479174172672 …

http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/06/want_to_invest_in_america_form.html#incart_river_home_pop

I don't know what's sicker. Him becoming President, or him being paid 5 Billion dollars not to.

[leeroysphitz]

5. Kristol's reply is a hoot. n/t

[Cassiopeia]

3. They have a 3rd choice and it's not all that bad for them.

Ignore the potus race this year and focus on the House and Senate. They'll likely end up with Hillary who will give them 99% of what they really want anyway and they get the benefit of blaming her for their hard work of fucking over the American people in the name of profit.

That's really a win/win for them.

[kentuck]

4. And that is the one they are most fearful of....

Because they need Trump supporters to win, even in their House districts. It will be very difficult for them to win anywhere if their voters become pissed off at them.

[Cassiopeia]

6. I don't think they are too worried about that.

They have everything gerrymandered so well that they can hold the House and likely the Senate. Hillary will have a depressed turnout as well after all.

It's a very fine line. They really need a corporate loving POTUS, but they need it to be a Democrat they can blame everything on. The one thing they DON'T want is full absolute control. Whenever they get that, they start losing power because they do what they do and the people finally stand up and vote them out like we did in 2008.

If they do the incredible and buck Trump out and replace him with just about anyone (except maybe Cruz) they'll win the WH easily. They need to be very careful in whatever they do so they don't risk losing Hillary.

[kentuck]

7. They had the Senate, the House, and WH under GWBush...

and they screwed up royally. Yet, they are back in power again. They never seem to pay much of a price?

[Cassiopeia]

10. No, they never do.

However, they also get their best work done when they have full control of Congress and a Dem POTUS.

Just look how they changed banking and social safety net laws. They're chomping at the bit to get the more conservative Clinton in office. They might get their favorite scapegoat this time, social security.

[JHB]

8. You're forgetting the Salome Caucus of the 90s...

...who wanted the head of Bill the Clinton brought to them on a silver platter, and ousted Newt because he couldn't deliver.

[CBGLuthier]

9. It began before that and the Clintons were part of it.

Their bestest buddies the Bushes just bookended the Clinton's particular assault on the middle class, minorities, and gays.