Loyalty to Donald Trump is new normal for the Republican Party
Fealty to Donald Trump is the new Republican normal. Those who cross the boss should be prepared for his wrath and his backers’ rejection. Recent results in Alabama and South Carolina tell the story.
In Alabama, GOP Rep. Martha Roby was forced into a runoff after she failed to garner a majority of the Republican primary vote. Back in 2016, Roby called on Trump to exit the presidential race after the Access Hollywood tape hit the airwaves. The fact that Roby was a four-term incumbent was not enough to get her past the 50 percent-threshold on primary night.
On Tuesday, South Carolina Republicans sent Rep. Mark Sanford packing, just hours after Trump tweeted his disapproval of the Palmetto State’s one-time governor. Trump’s primary day endorsement of state Rep. Katie Arrington, Sanford’s opponent, likely sealed Sanford’s fate. Sanford was a fiscal conservative, a fan of free markets, and pro-life. But the one thing Sanford wasn’t -- blindly loyal to the president -- that is what mattered most to Trump and his voters.
Trump’s stock within his owned party has soared. Back in 2016, it took Trump until April 19th and the New York Primary to win a primary with an actual majority. The uncertainty that characterized the presidential nominating contests has since disappeared. At the 500-day mark of his presidency Trump rates as the second most popular president within his own party, holding an 87 percent approval rating.
http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/392471-loyalty-to-donald-trump-is-new-normal-for-the-republican-party
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