The result is where Republicans are now. Caught in the mealy-mouthed zone of mumbled half-endorsements, embarrassed support, and reluctant promises to vote Trump. That expression you see on Republican faces? It's fear.
“The bottom line is, whatever they do, they risk alienating a major bloc of votes they’re going to need to prevail in the general election. So if you disavow Trump, all those people who turn out at his rallies and stick with him despite his sort of daily stumbles will be potentially alienated,” said Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. “It’s not just the polls, it’s the volunteers, it’s the Republican primary electorate that is largely still with Trump.
That’s why a number of Republicans haven’t just dumped Trump, they’ve left the party. The Republican Party, the voting base of the party, is Trump’s. That’s a done deal. Trying to hang in the GOP and not support Trump’s positions at this point is like being a vegetarian at an Argentinian Steakhouse; you can do it, but it’s going to be a very uncomfortable fit.
Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus have made the calculation that, at least for now, the party is better off largely lined up behind Trump. And even most of the lawmakers facing tough reelection fights have not completely severed themselves from their nominee. The calculus is that whatever votes they would gain in the independents and moderate Republican turned off by Trump would not make up for what they would lose in base turnout -- which, in this hyper-partisan age, is key to winning elections.
Except that in this “hyperpartisan age” — a term which means the Republicans move ever deeper into the crazy and anyone who doesn’t follow is regarded as moving left — the problem is that neither pole has enough voters to form a majority. Winning requires getting at least some of the voters who are not in your hat-wearing hive mentality, and Trump seems to be doing everything he can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
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