I just heard Nicolle Wallace say something that makes me think she's had a true epiphany, unlike

[catbyte]

temporary allies like Rick Wilson, David Frum, Steve Schmidt, etc. who are just Never Trumpers. I was listening to her show and there was a segment about voting. She was talking about how she hasn't voted for a republican in years and that she "never will again." I think she's permanently come over to our side. She must've been really traumatized by working for Sarah Palin then along comes trump. I'm glad. She's sharp as a tack.

[Dem4Life1102]

1. It may of started before Palin

After the 2006 mid-terms she said something like 'I'm sick of Republicans being the stupid party'.

[stopbush]

3. She's my TV girl friend/wife.

[Dem4Life1102]

37. Palin?

[stopbush]

40. Nicolle!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

11. I remember Bobby Jindal saying roughly the same thing a few years later.

[Cha]

2. Good to hear.. TY, catbyte.

[ecstatic]

4. I feel like Rick Wilson might be done too

Rethugs *with the ability to do something* have sat on their hands as trump has ripped our country and constitution apart. Nobody with a shred of decency would ever return to such a disgusting group.

[BannonsLiver]

7. I think Rick knows he's likely burned a ton of bridges

And it’ll be hard for him to work in GOP politics in the years to come. But at the same time, he’s also carved out another career in the process.

[empedocles]

5. We have 6 months of 'chances various' to get through. We need allies from wherever,

not true blue litmus tests.

[catbyte]

6. No "litmus tests" here. Why do you think I said temporary allies? You don't think they'll jump

ship the minute that thing is thrown out of the White House? They hate him, not gop policies.

[empedocles]

9. Schmidt for one, exposed palin early on - and thoroughly. Book and movie helped crater

palin. That was 12 years ago. 'Temporary'? Can we give him a small promotion from 'temporary' ?

[catbyte]

10. Steve Schmidt didn't quit the gop until June of 2018 & he supported Romney in 2012.

[tblue37]

27. He also worked for the Starbucks billionaire when he tried to campaign for president.

Schmidt is too dazzled by wealthy politicians and wannabe politicians.

[empedocles]

34. All sort of fair enough against Schmidt. A pure flip would be interesting.

However, Schmidt, Joe S, et al, may be more influential to the big middle that we need by November, than the pure flippers, from a pragmatic point of view.

[tblue37]

35. Probably. nt

[rufus dog]

26. Franken grilled him hard in his radio show

Al kindly went after him. Basically said why did it take tRump for Schmidt to see the light since the Repub party was rotting for years.

Schmidt finally explained his Priest was busted for abuse and he gave up on the Church. When he saw the rot of the Repukes he was slow to cut the cord because he didn’t want to give up on another core belief.

Could it be bullshit. Yes. I sure as hell wouldn’t leave him alone in my house. But, at least he has an explanation.

[BannonsLiver]

8. I agree

Or as someone else here put it, during a zombie apocalypse I’m not going to question the motives of the person handing me a gun.

[uponit7771]

12. 2016 was an emotional trauma event for her, republican world turned upside down. Frum ...

... Wilson etc they think this is temporary glitch while the rest of us know this has been the kGOP since Nixon.

[LiberalFighter]

13. My gut feeling is she wants what is right.

She didn't fit into the mold of other Republican women.

[Blue_true]

14. I believe it is because she is a mom and her kids are growing up and

challenging what she once believed.

[Bev54]

22. I think she has only one son who is still quite young

[Hekate]

23. One child, age 8 now. She's mentioned him from time to time since coming to MSNBC...

Things like: "Even my 5 year old knows better than to tell lies like that!"

I've always like that about her -- motherhood is a touchstone for most women, and she's real about it. Nowadays she's working from home like the rest of MSNBC and she mentions him often --brings up the reality of home-schooling while working ("I know he's upstairs building Legos instead of doing math&quot -- brings on medical guests to inform us about children getting COVID and admits the prospect scares her spitless.

[NellieStarbuck]

15. Love her. She's for real.

[iluvtennis]

17. + agree. took 6 months last year for her to grow on me...but her show is now on daily DVR list. nt

[calimary]

18. Welcome to DU, NellieStarbuck!

I like her, too. I do like her show.

She seems like one of the most reasonable of the recent refugees from the GOP, and one of the most genuine in a change-of-heart. But with everybody who says they used to vote republi-CON, or maybe are just anti-trumpers, I'm not running toward them with arms wide open and/or guard all the way down. MAYBE she's one who's had a real conversion. I hope so. It often sounds like it. But old affiliations die hard.

[KT2000]

16. Steve Schmidt has a conscience

and is grappling with letting go of the republicans. I expect him to vote Democratic for some time. He cannot support them as they are now. His interview with Al Franken revealed his struggle.

[calimary]

19. I'm holding off trusting him completely, however I'd MUCH rather have him fighting with us

than against us.

Maybe it's just one of those "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" kinds of things.

[JI7]

20. He already left the Republicans

[JHB]

25. He'll go back.

[JHB]

24. Yeeeeaaaahhhh, I'm gonna say... "Let's see what happens"

The bread and butter of Schmidt's career was putting conservative Republicans in office. He and the other Republican messaging/conservative media professionals who count themselves as NeverTrumpers have carved out a niche for themselves that, at least in some cases, has actually boosted their income.

Once Trump's gone that dries up and they need to earn a paycheck again. And they'll earn it the same way they've always done.

Let's discuss who was right in, say, 2026, after they've had a chance to show their true colors.

[Hamlette]

29. Not necessarily

my Dad was a Goldwater republican. As conservative as they come. The rest of us were Dems and could not change him. Then came Reagan. My father left the party, never voted for a republican again and was a godless commie pinko until his death, 20 years later.

He thought Reagan and the whole party was irresponsible in the way they talked about war and the use of nuclear weapons.

[JI7]

30. Goldwater himself no longer cared for the republican party in his

final years. he opposed the impeachment of Clinton and didn't like the Republicans opposition to gay rights and abortion rights.

[Rhiannon12866]

31. I remember seeing Barry Goldwater on with Jay Leno back in the day

And Jay tried to start something by asking him what he thought of President Clinton. But Goldwater wasn't taking the bait - he said that Clinton was "my president, too." He was an American first.

[Judi Lynn]

33. Interesting! Wouldn't have expected that. He was better than I realized. Old style Republican. n/t

[JHB]

36. Did your Dad's livelihood depend putting Republicans in office?

More to the point for what I'm talking about, did your dad spend the 1960s and 1970s fostering a cavalier attitude about nukes in order to get Republican politicians elected, yet was somehow appalled and astonished in 1980 when his party elected a guy who leaned heavily on all the hot buttons your dad (in this hypothetical scenario) had spend his entire career pushing?

Because that would be the analogy for what I'm talking about here. There are plenty of ordinary supporters and party members who can hit their "balk" line.

But the political and media professionals, the ones who made their livings by getting republicans elected and promoting conservative spin, they will not be comfortable out in the wilderness. They don't express any regret for their role in creating Trump's base. What has Rick Wilson had to say about surgically removing something Rev. Wright said in a sermon and wrapping it around Barack Obama to paint him as a militant black nationalist? These guys want to turn the clock back to their comfort zone, which looks a whole lot like the Bush administration. Where zealots still drive policy, but at least it has a smooth coat of varnish over them.

Those ones will go back the moment the coast seems clear, and the informal group that might as well be called "Money For A Presentable Republican Party" will follow them.

Like I said, let's discuss who was right in, say, 2026, after they've had a chance to show their true colors. No skin off my nose if I'm wrong. It would be a pleasant surprise. But that's not the way to bet, nor is it the way to plan.

[Hamlette]

41. he was military

he was in the air force reserves and his civilian job was working on nuclear submarines. He believed in nuclear weapons as a deterrent and he thought the Republican party looked out for the best interests of the military and his job. So, not an exact match but I would argue closer than you think.

Not only that, his wife, grown kids and all of our extended family were bigly into Democratic politics. One aunt headed the Dem party in her state and one ran for office and was a delegate to the Democratic national convention. None of us could break him. But when his party did, that was the end for him.

I agree that some of these operatives may go back to the GOP once Trump is gone but I think some of them will not.

[Hamlette]

28. was that on her show Deadline or another show (if you remember)

I've liked her for ages. I think she is one of us and always will be.

[Judi Lynn]

32. So good to hear that, catbyte! Have been increasingly impressed by her on MSNBC

since she started there, knowing she had worked for Bush had made me afraid to hope too much!

If she has awakened, it's a wonderful thing to witness. She's an excellent purpose. I feared her being raised to be a Republican might have blinded her permanently.

[Faux pas]

38. When

she started on msnbc I didn't plan on liking her, with her being a bushie and all. To my surprise I liked her immediately because she's a real human being. She's smart and funny. I hope she's around for a long time to come. Rock on Nicolle!

[Hortensis]

39. Never's a long time. You mistake all those people who are far

more than just Never Trumpers. They're all the kind of thoughtful moderate conservatives, some of them extremely intelligent, who once helped create the New Deal and also joined with Democrats to keep extremists, on both the right and left, in check. We could never have had the peace and prosperity we did without the mainstream voters and pols on both sides who united to create the disagreeing but cooperative and stable majority a democracy must have. They're the ones who didn't follow the leaders' piping over the ideological cliff.