Right wing pundit Erick Erickson dips a toe in the water:
For these same Republicans who want to be as mean and nasty as the Democrats, the question must be asked: Is it time to ditch Donald Trump for a candidate who can win? The short answer to the question is no because Trump deserves a reset. But if the GOP does not get it right, I suspect after a loss some of his supporters will wonder about the ruthlessness.
The Republicans want to see Biden’s stepping back from the 2024 Presidential Democratic nomination as being a same-party coup, and that’s not entirely a fantasy. It’s not clear that Biden would have stepped back on his own, even after he contracted Covid and almost certainly could not fulfill his Presidential duties and campaign effectively simultaneously. Yes, even though he’d effectively defeated Mr Trump in their one debate, he presented as low energy and confused, despite the fact he eventually did reach the right answer on most or all the debate questions. I do the same when afflicted with a head cold, and I recover – but Biden’s age is a concerning factor, as I’ve said a few times.
So, by ruthlessness, Erickson means Republicans abandoning their disastrous allegiance to Mr Trump and replacing him as the Republican nominee for President. If they can.
Now, I’ve recently mentioned that his replacement presents a conundrum of its own, as no prominent member of the Republicans seems to have the gravitas to lead an Administration. Even Nikki Haley, former Governor of South Carolina and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, who won Vermont and the District of Columbia during the primary season against Trump, was obviously unconvincing to the bulk of Republican primary voters.
This campaign has been a course of campaign events punctuated by rarities: The two oldest candidates ever, an assassination attempt, a withdrawal by a sitting President, a SCOTUS which most knowledgeable folks are scorning for decisions such as Dobbs, more lies than you can shake a stick at, and VP picks that have drawn unusual attention. Each of these punctuations has caused momentum changes, and the selection of Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) by Mz Harris to run as her Vice President candidate has been an exclamation point to the momentum change that began with President Biden’s withdrawal and endorsement of Mz Harris for the nomination.
The Republicans surely have seen that. Indeed, in their eyes their imminent victory is slipping away, even if that imminent victory still had to survive 100+ days of campaigning and revelations, not to mention that it was the product of a chronic Republican overconfidence that they explain away as a consequence of electoral cheating, rather than the honest, if humiliating, evaluation of themselves as a bunch of arrogant twerps and grifters who are desperately out of touch with the majority of the American electorate.
I’ve been hearing a little about the possible sacking of Mr Trump, but it involved personalities such as Nick Fuentes, a far-right extremist far better suited to digging holes in the ground than working in politics. But if a radio host, a social influencer such as Erick Erickson, is beginning to make noises about the futility, even dementia, of Mr. Trump, we may indeed be seeing the exit of Mr. Trump in the not-too-distant future.
Or the immolation of a Republican Party wedded to Gingrichian precepts, Christian arrogance, and being sucked dry by charismatic – if you say so – cheats.
I’m not going to expect, precisely, the sudden retirement of Mr. Trump, as its impact on his ego might be too catastrophic for him to endure, but it may occur. And it would contribute to the most dramatic Presidential contest in living memory, a point that might appeal to Mr. Trump’s diminished intellect.
ADDENDUM
I just saw this in another post from Erickson, published earlier today. He’s just finished up his annual (?) political meeting called The Gathering, and I suspect it’s not hard to guess Mr. Trump’s sacking may have been a part of the agenda:
Forgive me. I am exhausted. Instead of writing on the subject, please just listen to this from yesterday’s show. I’m in the post-Gathering phase of exhaustion, and there’s no rest for the weary. [Follow the above link if you wish to listen to what he has to say — HAW]
The bottom line, however, is this — voting for Kamala Harris to stop Trump or save conservativism only tells Democrats that they need to do nothing to earn your vote. They do not have to moderate their position because no matter how extreme they are, you’ll vote for them if you have allowed Trump to radicalize you against him.
The better option for evangelicals and conservatives is to show up and vote and leave that line blank. That registers your disgust and makes you a meaningful demographic that both parties will want in order to win. That will force change. Voting for a pro-abortion candidate who will advance far-left positions just because you think the other side is bad will only ensure the side you vote for keeps moving left. They’ll treat your vote not as a vote against Trump but as an endorsement. You’ll be their cheap date.
Erickson is being squeezed by zealots on both sides, and he’s liable to explode. Or drop out. Or even go independent. But it’s clear that Mr. Trump is becoming unacceptable to large numbers of Republican voters, if I’m to read Erickson’s plea between the lines, and he’s saying, Please vote for Republican candidates except Mr. Trump, if you must.
Unfortunately for him, while most of those candidates lack the public profile of Mr Trump, they are, in their ways, just as bad and disconnected from the American public. The suppression of those who refused to back Mr Trump has purified the Republicans, but the purity is of their poison, not their goodness.
My goodness, this November may see a blow out of the Party who thought victory was imminent.
