Steve Bannon is no doubt quaking in his boots at this news: The Washington Post reports that "Allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared open warfare on Wednesday against” him, with a super PAC ready to spend big attacking Bannon personally as he wages primary campaigns to move the Republican Party in an “anti-establishment” and even more white supremacist direction.
The McConnell wing is showing where its principles aren’t with a series of amusing omissions.
The effort reflects the growing concern of Republican lawmakers over the rise of anti-establishment forces and comes amid escalating frustration over President Trump’s conduct, which has prompted a handful of lawmakers to publicly criticize the president.
Yet the retaliatory crusade does not aim to target Trump, whose popularity remains high among Republican voters. Instead, the McConnell-allied Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) will highlight Bannon’s hard-line populism and attempt to link him to white nationalism to discredit him and the candidates he will support. It will also boost candidates with traditional GOP profiles and excoriate those tied to Bannon, with plans to spend millions and launch a heavy social media presence in some states.
One comment, one question. The comment: It’s so interesting that they didn’t have a problem with this when Bannon was a top White House adviser. The question: Do they expect this to be as successful as their effort in the Alabama Senate primary, in which establishment candidate and sitting senator Luther Strange was defeated by Roy Moore?
Bannon’s critics argue that he is causing unnecessary internal divisions that could make it harder to pass tax legislation — and to win general elections next fall. They also point to Sen. Luther Strange’s defeat in last month’s Republican primary in a special Senate election in Alabama as an example of a dynamic they worry could repeat itself across the next year if left unchecked. The SLF spent more than $10 million to help Strange.
We spent $10 million to help our guy and he still lost. Obviously we should repeat the strategy. Mind you, even as the McConnell-aligned super PAC is getting ready to spend to attack Bannon because of his role in helping make Roy Moore the party’s Senate nominee in Alabama, the Republican Party is getting in bed with Moore for fundraising purposes and the Senate’s second-ranking Republican has endorsed him.
The Senate Leadership Fund also attacked Bannon on Twitter, which reportedly caused him to actually laugh. And why not. “Mitch McConnell’s pet super PAC” does not exactly spell “sick Twitter burns.”