#NeverTrump GOP endorsements LATEST: Graham and Lee voted McMullin

[mencken]

Donald Trump gave a strong, unqualified endorsement of John McCain, in sufficient time for the Arizona GOP Senate primary.  This is politics; I can't think of a better way to say "I'm sorry!" than such a gesture. 

That's not good enough for Jeffy Flaky?  Wowsers!  One of two things is true.  Either (A) he just doesn't get that politics is a team sport, or (B) he's one of these "free trade" neocon Republicans that never intended to support Trump because of the support they get from those who profit off of "free trade".  There's nothing Trump could have done to get Flake's support, period. 

And good for Trump to show he's not going to be pushed around by the "demands" of folks like Flake.  Flake wants Trump to damage his campaign with "apologies", which are never accepted, and do nothing but convince Trump's enemies that they were right all along about him.  He shouldn't have made some of these comments, but this is politics, and the demands that he apologize from folks like Flake are insincere.  He needs an excuse for the 2018 primary voters he'll surely have to face.

You are criticizing Jeff Flake for not being a team player at the same time as you are supporting Trump?

I'm making the observation that, as Rick Santorum accurately said in 2012, "Politics is a Team Sport".  In that vein, I view the failure of a politician in elected office (and, especially, at the state or national level) who doesn't support their party's national ticket as a one-way bus fare to ineffectiveness and oblivion. 

The Presidential nominee who, while in high office, was the coolest to his party's nominee prior to running for President, was, undoubtedly, Jimmy Carter in 1972.  Even there, Jimmy Carter, while noting that McGovern was losing Georgia 2 to 1 (he ended up losing it 3 to 1) made it clear that he would vote for McGovern, even though he would not campaign with him.  Ronald Reagan's differences with Ford were overstated in the press; he made an unqualified endorsement of Ford and repeated it several times during the campaign. 

No politician in history has done what, say, Ted Cruz has done and been nominated for the Presidency.  No one has done what, say, Joe Lieberman or Zell Miller have done and been nominated for the Presidency.  Indeed, mere failure to support their party's opposition ticket has made toast of more than one career.  George Romney.  Nelson Rockefeller.  William Scranton.  George Wallace.  (Had Wallace remained a Democrat and NOMINALLY supported the Democratic ticket, even if simply by saying "I'm voting for the ticket, but I'm not asking anyone else to.", he may well have been the 1976 Democratic nominee, and not Carter.)  A number of Nixon Democrats or, at a minimum, non-McGovern Democrats in 1972 lost their committee chairs in 1974.  A number of 1972 Democrats who did not support McGovern lost primaries afterward, including Lester Maddox, Dolph Briscoe, and Ed Edmondson. 

The Republicans who refuse to back Trump will be toast, all in due time.  If Donald Trump is not elected, Mike Pence, the SUPERSTAR of this fall's election, climbs to the top of the 2020 GOP heap, and NO ONE will supplant him.  And Pence will not reward those who abandoned a ticket with him on it.  Flake, who's kind of stupid, IMO, will be one of those folks.  He's worked to find a way to NOT support Trump, and he's found it.  And he'll be primaried out of office in 2018 because he's too stupid to be loyal.

The #NeverTrump crowd is in the process of destroying their political careers as Republicans.  For many of them, the only hope they'll have is the option to become Democrats, and then, they'll have to hope that their switch is credible.

Trump supported the impeachment of the 2004 Republican nominee, and got nominated 12 years later.

[mencken]

Will be fascinating to see how the NeverTrumpers vote on legislation in the next Congress. While the GOP may have a Senate majority, the NeverTrumpers could unite with Democrats to form a majority against Trump.

What about in the House? Will there be 218 Representatives who endorsed/supported Trump? I have to assume so, but it won't be many more than that.

So the cocktail Republicans from the "reasonable" wing of the party are going to become complete obstructionists? (Since that is ultimately what it would take to "stand up" to a man who prides himself on his negotiating skills)