A Washington insider explains how the Republican establishment wants to weaken and make President Trump irrelevant.
Robert Kagan of the Brooking Institution described how it would be done in a recent Washington Post column. A coalition made of up Democrats and some Republicans would work jointly to block passage of the President’s agenda and put together veto-proof majorities that could pass anti-Trump legislation.
Kagan pointed to the way Radical Republicans in Congress seized control from President Johnson during Reconstruction, routinely overriding his vetoes, impeaching him in the House of Representatives, and coming within one vote of conviction in the Senate.
We have already seen the early signs of this policy. A handful of Republican Senators joined with all Democrats to block every effort to repeal ObamaCare. Once that had been accomplished, they began working on a “bipartisan” bill to expand ObamaCare.
When President Trump announced that he would phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Democrats quickly found Republican allies ready to defend DACA and support overturning Trump’s action. They included the usual suspects – John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, and Susan Collins. Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin was optimistic enough to talk openly about getting the Republican votes needed to override a presidential veto.
According to Kagan, there is a possibility that the anti-Trump coalition will go beyond this ad hoc bipartisanship and give their anti-Trump alliance an institutional basis. This would be done by forming an official committee, modeled on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction that masterminded the destruction of President Andrew Johnson.
Kagan believes that even Republican congressional leaders may be ready to give their blessing to this anti-Trump bipartisanship. Given his excellent Washington connections, his prediction cannot be ignored.
But however much the Washington establishment may hope to strip President Trump of power, they can only get their way if the voters allow it.
Republican primaries may be the key element in derailing the establishment strategy. If anti-Trump Senators are defeated (or intimidated into abandoning the anti-Trump coalition), President Trump can still put together a majority in Congress for his measures.
This winning strategy may already be bearing fruit. Roy Moore, the anti-establishment candidate in Alabama’s special election for the Senate, has consistently led in the polls despite overwhelming establishment backing for his opponent. Senators Dean Heller and Jeff Flake, after talking at great length about their support for ObamaCare, listened to their voters and ended up voting for the repeal bill that came within one vote of passing the Senate.
Next year’s primaries will give voters a chance to pass judgment on Heller, Flake, and Robert Corker.
FedUp PAC wants to be a major player in the 2018 primaries. Knocking off a couple of anti-Trump Republicans will not only bring new, pro-Trump Senators to Washington, it will also be a warning shot to all those who are calculating whether it is safe to go into opposition to the President.
You can help FedUp PAC work on behalf of President Trump’s populist-conservative agenda in these upcoming primaries by sending a donation of $25, $50, $100, $1,000 or more.
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Whether you send $25, $50, $100, $1,000 or more, you will be helping kick anti-Trump establishment Republicans out of Congress and replacing them with others who will help President Trump keep his promise to Make America Great Again.
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