QOTD: A Senior Republican Senate staffer
by digby
“At this point, [Trump] could be caught walking out of a Federal Reserve bank with two giant sacks of money in his hands and no Republican would vote to impeach him for grand larceny,” said a senior Senate GOP aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“Our voters want two things from their congressmen: [dumping] on the media and blindly defending the president,” the aide added. “That’s what being a Republican has come to.”
I'm sure this observation does not come as any surprise to you. I mean, it's been obvious from the start,right? Trump supporters are conservatism stripped down to its bare bones: resentment, racism, insularity, fear of change. Under Trump they identify with him, failing to understand that his troubles stem from his own behavior and refusing, just as he does, to acknowledge that they made a mistake, instead doubling down and digging in deeper.
They are him and he is them. I'm sorry to say that about so many people but it's not possible to deny it and maintain a grip on reality.
I am willing to say that much of this stems from the toxic kool-aid that is right wing media, a destructive force that exploits them for material gain and power. (One can say the same about the rich greedheads who care about nothing but accumulating as much money as they can, by any means necessary.)
Still, these are all adults with agency. They have access to vast amounts of information if they choose to see it. They don't. Their temperaments and their tribal affiliations make them love the bubble in which they live and worship Trump as someone who speaks for them. That's all on them.
That quote comes from an article by Eli Stokels in the LA Times that draws a picture of a White House that's even more chaotic than usual. And that's saying something:
As soon as President Trump learned he was facing an impeachment investigation on Tuesday, he upended his meetings with world leaders near the United Nations and rushed to his soaring skyscraper a few blocks away in midtown Manhattan.
Then, back in his penthouse at Trump Tower, he sought solace at his favorite place — in front of a TV with his Twitter account in hand.
By Friday, as the crisis metastasized with cascading disclosures about Trump’s requests for Ukrainian authorities to investigate his political foes, and allegations that the White House tried to “lock down” the evidence, the president was still grasping for a strategic response. Other than issuing a slew of angry tweets, he stayed out of the public eye until an evening event with Hispanic supporters in the East Room.
One administration official described the president as “shell shocked” by the sudden political gut punch even as he insists the impeachment fight will help him win reelection next year by rallying his base and angering independents.
“I think he’s badly wounded right now,” said a Trump campaign advisor who is in frequent contact with the president, one of several aides who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions. “I’m suddenly very worried about 2020.”
A senior White House advisor, Kellyanne Conway, said Trump didn’t need the kind of “war room” that President Clinton deployed while battling impeachment two decades ago.
“He’s the most battle-tested person I’ve ever met,” she said. “Why do we need an impeachment war room when the other people should have the burden of showing why they’re impeaching the president?”
The Trump campaign sought to leverage the firestorm, announced a rare $10-million television ad buy to attack former Vice President Joe Biden, and use the impeachment inquiry to make the case that Democrats and the media are bent on ousting Trump by any means.
“They lost the election. Now they want to steal this one. Don’t let them,” the narrator says.
Trump has struggled to regain his footing after being blindsided by the swiftness of the scandal only months after he survived a grueling special counsel investigation into whether his campaign had improperly colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.
The final report by Robert S. Mueller III, released in April, concluded that Trump’s aides had welcomed Russia’s help but did not conspire with Moscow.
“I thought we had won,” Trump, sounding incredulous, said at a news conference Wednesday. “I thought it was dead.”
Aides say Trump is increasingly aware that he faces a more serious challenge now, and arguably a more formidable adversary, in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who is leading the impeachment fight.
At Trump campaign headquarters just outside Washington, aides are considering revving up the president’s fall rally schedule, taking his defense to cheering supporters, where he is likely to feel more comfortable and powerful.
There will be less to do in Washington anyway. Trump, who has also sought to portray Democrats as wholly consumed with ousting him from office, has warned that the impeachment inquiry could kill any thin hopes for bipartisan legislation on guns, immigration or other key concerns before the 2020 elections.
The White House, and other government agencies caught up in the impeachment inquiry, will be consumed in gathering records and documents that Congress is likely to demand for the investigation.
This is one of the major upsides of an impeachment process. It keeps the White House occupied. Gun legislation was never going to happen in this year or next, never. Trump doesn't have very many strategic insights but the on he has is that he needs to keep his base happy. Gun nuts are among his most ecstatic supporters. He would never in a million years defy any of his staunchest supporters in the run up to
.
