Is GOP establishment learning to like Donald Trump?
Is the Republican establishment 鈥� or at least some of it 鈥� coming to terms with the possibility that Donald Trump will be the GOP presidential nominee?
A number of signs in recent days indicate that鈥檚 the case. Or, to be more specific, there鈥檚 evidence that when weighing Mr. Trump versus rival Ted Cruz, many Republican leaders think Senator Cruz the greater danger. That鈥檚 an implicit admission that they鈥檙e beginning to think Trump might not be, you know, so bad.
Let鈥檚 go to the list: Earlier this month, right-leaning New York Times columnist on Cruz, saying the Texas senator鈥檚 speeches are full of a sort of 鈥減agan brutalism.鈥� Since then, two former Republican Senate majority leaders, Trent Lott and , have indicated they think a Cruz nomination would be cataclysmic for the GOP and lead to widespread losses down the ticket.
Then this week, the Republican governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, that he hopes anyone but Cruz wins his state鈥檚 first-in-the-nation caucuses. True, Governor Branstad cited Cruz鈥檚 opposition to ethanol subsidies, crucial to Iowa鈥檚 economy, as the reason for his opposition. But the open and vehement nature of the anti-endorsement indicated a high level of political enmity.
鈥淚t is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode,鈥� Cruz told reporters after hearing of this news.
Why does this imply anything about Trump? Well, the Iowa caucuses are now less than two weeks away. The New Hampshire primary is within three. The primary season moves quickly through South Carolina and other states after that. If the Republican Party as an entity is to exert influence on the nominating process, now is the time.
Many have expected Republican leaders to band together against Trump, given that some party figures see him as an existential threat to the GOP in its current form. That doesn鈥檛 seem to be occurring.
鈥淭he sort of GOP effort against Trump that many anticipated is happening instead vs. Cruz,鈥� political analyst Richard Skinner on Thursday.
Yes, this description of the state of play is a bit simplistic. The Republican establishment is not a cohesive entity chaired by the ghost of Nelson Rockefeller. Many GOP journalists and public intellectuals continue to worry that Trump, with his belligerent populism, will push the party so far from its small-government roots that it will become unrecognizable.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing is the attempt at the normalization of Trump on the right, and defining conservatism down. Can be resisted and defeated,鈥� right-leaning Weekly Standard editor William Kristol earlier this week.
But the fact remains that the legislative, Washington wing of the party now seems inclined to cut Trump slack. Mr. Dole, the party鈥檚 nominee in 1996, a New York Times interview that Trump could probably work with Congress, because 鈥渉e鈥檚 got the right personality and he鈥檚 kind of a dealmaker.鈥�
It may be as simple as that. Trump, for all his insults, is the kind of person members of Congress understand. He鈥檚 a businessman who knows that deals aren鈥檛 all one-sided, and a political neophyte who would be willing to defer to their judgment. That鈥檚 the theory, anyway.
Cruz? He鈥檚 proved that the only legislative opinion he listens to is his own, in the view of the establishment. Many in the GOP believe he pushed them into the 2013 government shutdown and then blamed their lack of courage for the shutdown鈥檚 inevitable collapse.
Consider this: Back in the 2008 campaign, questions arose about whether nominee John McCain was a 鈥渘atural born citizen,鈥� and thus eligible for the presidency under the Constitution, because he was born in the Canal Zone. The Senate quickly moved to pass a nonbinding resolution affirming Senator McCain鈥檚 citizenship. When Cruz became embroiled in the same question, because of his Canadian birth, that did not happen.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think the Senate ought to get into the middle of this,鈥� Mitch McConnell of the issue on ABC News鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� earlier this month.
Does the GOP establishment think it can block Cruz, then turn to oppose Trump and boost someone else? Maybe, but it鈥檚 getting late to pull off that kind of maneuver. Trump may rocket through the first primaries, and then, who could head him off? Jeb Bush? (Hey, he鈥檚 at 10 percent in some New Hampshire polls!)
Are GOP figures counting on influencing someone who鈥檚 not that easy to push around? Sure, Trump knows little about the day-to-day operation of government. That doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檒l be Silly Putty in Senator McConnell鈥檚 hands. He鈥檚 a billionaire with little vested interest in the party per se.
鈥淗e might well completely ignore Congress鈥檚 wishes and just do whatever feels right to him on any given day. Trump鈥檚 primary goal over the past several decades has been to enhance the Trump name. What policies that translates into is anyone鈥檚 guess,鈥� at Vox.
Or does the party leadership still think that somehow or other, without its involvement, Trump is just going to lose?
