Category: Never Trump

Never-Trumpers Will Gather In D.C. This Week To Discuss 2024 Presidential Race

Posted on by Becky Noble

In their ongoing attempt to sabotage former President Trump, a group of Never Trump Republicans will gather this week in Washington D.C. The meeting will be part cheerleading session for Jan. 6 Committee members Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and discussion of a possible viable Never Trump presidential candidate in 2024.

The conference is entitled, “Principles First: The Summit,” and also will include a show of support for several state officials who refused to allow any investigation into possible election fraud.

RELATED: Is She Getting Ready To Switch Parties? Tulsi Gabbard Will Give Headline Speech At CPAC

Interesting Timing

The timing for the Never Trump Summit is interesting. It will fall on the same week as the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. The gathering is the biggest annual conference of conservative personalities and activists.

Republican attorney and founder of Principles For America, the organization hosting the event, Heath Mayo says that the timing of the two events would “certainly be counterprogramming of CPAC.”

He continued,

“We want to come together in a visual show of support for people who have taken stands for ideas when it hasn’t been comfortable. You don’t see those folks, yet, in rooms that are energized. But I think the energy is there. We’ll see how many folks show up.”

Speakers for the “Principles First Summit” is a list of the usual Never-Trump suspects.

In addition to Cheney and Kinzinger, speakers will include, GA Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, and some new additions to the Never Trump club, Capitol Hill Officer Harry Dunn and retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

RELATED: Capitol Police Reinstall Fencing As American ‘Freedom Convoy’ Heads To Washington

Other Topics

Another item on the Principles First agenda is sure to be the recent censure of Cheney and Kinzinger by the Republican National Committee. Both were censured for their roles as members of the Jan. 6 Committee.

For some members of the RNC, censure did not go far enough. They pushed for full expulsion from the House GOP Caucus. But karma may soon be catching up to both Cheney and Kinzinger.

As congressional district lines are being redrawn, Kinzinger’s district is being eliminated and has opted for retirement rather than run against another GOP incumbent for the new district seat.

RELATED: Bill Maher: School Mask Mandates ‘Creating A Generation’ Of ‘Germ-Paranoid’ Kids 

Liz Cheney Also Has Problems

Liz Cheney has her own unique set of problems since she voted for impeachment. In addition the the RNC censure, in November, the Wyoming GOP voted to no longer recognize Cheney as a Republican.

In January, Cheney’s primary opponent Harriet Hageman trounced Cheney in a Wyoming GOP straw poll, and recently, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy officially endorsed Hageman for the Wyoming GOP primary. Last spring, Cheney was ousted from her position as GOP conference chair.

Heath Mayo remains confident that the Principles First Summit will draw a crowd.

“I believe there is a lane here for 2024. The party is completely stuck in a rut talking about if the last election is legitimate and if Liz Cheney, [Maryland Governor Larry] Hogan, or someone else is compelling and wants to run, I think a lot of people would listen.”

The post Never-Trumpers Will Gather In D.C. This Week To Discuss 2024 Presidential Race appeared first on The Political Insider.

Republicans Release Plan to Target Vulnerable Democrats, Take Back The House

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a list of 47 “vulnerable Democrats” they plan to target in 2022 in an effort to take back the House.

The memo reminds voters that Republicans are “just five seats short of a majority” following some unexpected successes in the 2020 election.

NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer says that in the first few weeks of the Biden administration, Americans are already “seeing the job-killing initiatives House Democrats support.”

House Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee, for example, are pushing for a $15 minimum wage proposal, despite warnings from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that it would put 1.4 million Americans out of work.

“We will relentlessly hold House Democrats accountable for their socialist agenda,” Emmers adds, “and ensure voters understand the damaging impact policies like defunding the police, government-run health care, and ending the Keystone XL Pipeline will have on Americans’ everyday lives.”

RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails

Republicans Will Target Democrats, But They’re a Target As Well

While House Republicans will be targeting Democrats to win back the majority from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, some of them will be targets themselves.

Former President Donald Trump is reportedly setting his sights on possible primary challenges to “Never Trump” Republicans, according to Newsmax.

His son Eric was floating the idea even prior to the impeachment fiasco.

“I will personally work to defeat every single Republican Senator/Congressman who doesn’t stand up against this fraud,” he tweeted regarding the 2020 election. “They will be primaried in their next election and they will lose.”

We doubt things have been patched up after the events that followed.

In mid-January, 10 Republicans in the House voted to impeach the former President for “incitement of insurrection.”

RELATED: 64 Percent Of Republican Voters Would Join Trump If He Started A New Party

What Will Trump Do?

The ability of Republican candidates to target their Democrat counterparts may very well come down to what Trump does going forward.

Anger over Republicans joining Democrats in the impeachment effort has boiled over – a report notes that 7 out of the 10 GOP lawmakers who voted in favor of impeaching Trump are already facing primary challenges for their congressional seats.

Further complicating matters, some have speculated whether or not Trump would be better served to start his own party due to a fracture with the GOP.

A poll from earlier this month shows an overwhelming percentage of Republican voters would join a new political party established by the former president.

It seems the NRCC might want to focus on shoring up support from the former President if they are to have any chance of regaining a majority in the House.

The post Republicans Release Plan to Target Vulnerable Democrats, Take Back The House appeared first on The Political Insider.

John Kasich Tells Don Lemon That Some Trump Supporters Might Still Be Redeemable

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Former Ohio governor John Kasich, in an interview with CNN anchor Don Lemon, suggested some Trump supporters “are redeemable.”

Kasich (R), who unsuccessfully ran against former President Trump in 2016 and endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, suggested to Lemon that supporters must confess their sins before being welcomed back into the fold.

In other words, confess that the Capitol riots were as bad as the media portrays and the whole event is all Trump’s fault.

“Honestly, Don, what we have to ask ourselves are, who’s redeemable?” he said. “Who we bring over to say this is — this is just wrong. This never happened this way.”

“And we’ve got to figure out how to talk to some of those people and reach them, Don, and get them back.”

“Some of them are redeemable. I can tell you they are. And you know that some of them are, don’t you?” Kasich continued. “You’ve met them. They’ve gone up to you and said, ‘Lemon, you’re right.'”

RELATED: Dead On Arrival: 45 Republicans – Including McConnell – Vote That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Unconstitutional

John Kasich Tells Don Lemon Some Trump Supporters Are Redeemable

For his part, Lemon wasn’t buying the notion that some Trump supporters are redeemable, as John Kasich suggests.

“How do you reason with unreasonable people?” he asked.

“No matter how many times you show them video of Trump supporters and people – hundreds – 150 or so, or close to it, who have been arrested from the Capitol … that is not living in reality,” Lemon added.

“Why would you even want to reason with those people?”

‘Not living in reality’ is Lemon, who is super-despondent over what happened at the Capitol but denied the reality of leftist-led race riots over the summer.

Lemon suggested rioters setting cities ablaze in the name of racial justice were comparable to American revolutionaries.

“Our country was started because, the Boston tea party. Rioting,” the CNN flak said as footage of arsons and looting were emerging.

“So do not get it twisted and think this is something that has never happened before and this is so terrible and these savages and all of that,” he continued. “This is how this country was started.”

Was Lemon ever taken to task for inciting violence, for voicing support for the overthrow of law and order?

RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Hammers Schiff, Brennan As ‘Domestic Enemies’ More Dangerous Than Capitol Protesters

Trump Supporters Need to Be Deprogrammed

Kasich’s argument that some of the “redeemable” Trump supporters could one day see the light is reminiscent of several liberals who have suggested they need to be deprogrammed in some way.

Television personality Katie Couric recently asked, “How are we going to really almost deprogram these people who have signed up for the cult of Trump?”

Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Eugene Robinson, likewise, said Trump supporters are “members of a cult” and that they need to be both “deprogrammed” and “reprogrammed.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that “white supremacy” is a poison represented by President Trump, then suggested the government needs to “double, triple, or quadruple the funding” into programs that “deradicalize” brainwashed white supremacists.

People like AOC, Lemon, and Kasich don’t want unity, they want you brainwashed just as they have been.

The post John Kasich Tells Don Lemon That Some Trump Supporters Might Still Be Redeemable appeared first on The Political Insider.

Dead On Arrival: 45 Republicans – Including McConnell – Vote That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Unconstitutional

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

A majority of Republicans – including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – voted Wednesday that the impeachment trial of Donald Trump is unconstitutional.

Senator Rand Paul forced a vote on the matter.

In an op-ed written over the weekend, Paul (R-KY) called the impeachment process against the former President a “farce” and said it should be dismissed.

“The Constitution says two things about impeachment — it is a tool to remove the officeholder, and it must be presided over by the chief justice of the Supreme Court,” he wrote.

Neither of those elements exists in this case, as President Trump is no longer in office and Chief Justice John Roberts has declined to preside over the trial.

RELATED: Poll: Republican Voters Are Siding With Trump Over Mitch McConnell

Paul Declares Unconstitutional Impeachment Vote Is Dead

Paul called for a procedural vote regarding holding a trial, claiming the Senate shouldn’t address the article of impeachment against Trump because he is out of office.

In a speech prior to the vote – a speech that went viral – the Kentucky Republican blasted Democrats as “hyper-partisan” and suggested  they “are about to drag our great country into the gutter of rancor and vitriol the likes of which has never been seen in our nation’s history.”

The Senate voted 55-45 to end debate on Paul’s point of order, but the point, in reality, was made. Only five Republicans joined the Democrats, well below the 17 that would be needed for a vote of conviction.

“If you voted that it was unconstitutional, how in the world would you ever vote to convict somebody for this?” Paul told reporters. “This vote indicates it’s over. The trial is all over.”

He later tweeted that the impeachment trial was “dead on arrival.”

RELATED: Schumer Promises Quick Impeachment Trial, A Lot Of Witnesses Not Necessary

Who Joined the Democrats?

Of the five Republicans who voted with Democrats, you had your usual suspects. Typical RINOs who often hide their contempt for President Trump in the cloak of the Constitution, but clearly don’t understand its words.

Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Ben Sasse (NE), Pat Toomey (PA), and Mitt Romney (UT) all voted to table Paul’s point of order.

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution reads in part:

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

McConnell, surprisingly, voted against ending the debate.

McConnell has reportedly viewed the Democrats’ effort to impeach the president as a means to “help rid the Republican Party of Trump and his movement.”

A recent poll from Axios-Ipsos shows Republican voters have been siding with President Trump over McConnell on the matter.

A majority have said they do not hold Trump responsible for the Capitol riots, believe he has a right to challenge the election, and still prefer him as their nominee in 2024.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated earlier this week that President Trump’s impeachment trial would be “quick,” adding no decision has been made on the need for witnesses.

Evidence is beginning to point to this unconstitutional impeachment trial as a sham – perhaps even more so than the first one.

The post Dead On Arrival: 45 Republicans – Including McConnell – Vote That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Unconstitutional appeared first on The Political Insider.

Trump Reportedly Eyes Primary Challenges Of ‘Never Trump’ Republicans Instead Of Third Party

Posted on by Becky Noble

Former President Donald Trump has reportedly, for the moment, put the idea of a possible third party on hold, and is setting his sights on focusing on possible primary challenges to “Never Trump” Republicans, according to Newsmax.

After the inauguration of Joe Biden, it had been reported that Trump had been talking with allies about creating a new third party, the “Patriot Party.”

Aides close to Trump said the third party idea came about after he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had exchanged words.

McConnell blamed Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol building on Jan. 6. 

RELATED: Rand Paul Slams Impeachment “Farce” That “Should Be Dismissed”

Trump Thinking Senate Conviction Not Likely

New York Times Washington Correspondent Maggie Haberman reported that the third party was partly a means to stop Republicans from voting to convict him in the impeachment trial, but Trump does not feel that there will be any impeachment conviction in the Senate.

Seventeen Republicans would be needed to vote to convict in a Senate trial.

Haberman said Sunday, “In last 24 hours, after floating through a few folks that he was considering creating a third-party as a way to keep Senate R’s in line ahead of impeachment, Trump has been talked out of that and is making clear to people he isn’t pursuing it, per ppl familiar w his thinking.”

It has been nearly three weeks since Trump supporters protesting the certification of the electoral college votes stormed the Capitol building.

Many members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, have accused Trump of inciting the violence. 

Haberman went on to say, “Trump has started to believe there are fewer votes to convict than there would have been if the vote had been held almost immediately after Jan. 6, the people familiar with his thinking said.”

RELATED: House Republicans Call For Cheney’s Removal From GOP Conference Chair After Impeachment Vote 

Possible Primary Targets For Trump

While there is no official word from Donald Trump yet about primary challenges, his son Eric was floating the idea even before the certification vote.

There are several prominent “Never Trump” Republicans in Washington that could make possible primary targets.

Not only is Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in trouble at home and has already gained a primary challenger for 2022, several other Republicans have spoken out against Trump in recent weeks.

Immediately following the violence at the Capitol, Utah Senator Mitt Romney chastised Trump, “What happened at the U.S. Capitol today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States.”

Romney also stated that he believes that impeachment could bring “unity in our country.”

The Utah Senator has been famously “Never Trump,” since before the 2016 election.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also joined in by saying, “The mob was fed lies,” and went on to say that the Capitol riot was “provoked by the President.”

10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump could theoretically fire up Trump supporters for primary challenges. They include: 

  • Newly-elected Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer
  • Liz Cheney
  • South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice
  • Washington Reps. Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler
  • Never Trump Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who once considered a third party challenge for President against Trump
  • Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez
  • Michigan Rep. Fred Upton
  • New York Rep. John Katko
  • California Rep. David Valadao

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said impeaching Trump was “appropriate,” but has not said if she would vote to convict.

RELATED: Trump Leaves The National Stage – Or Has He?

Trump Considering Several Future Plans?

There has been much speculation as to what Trump’s future plans might include, besides starting a third party.

Rick Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence and one of Donald Trump’s most loyal Senior administration officials, said that Trump has said told him “personally, numerous times, he does want to run again.”

Grenell also said that “Trump needs the Republican Party as much as it needs him.”

Another possibility mentioned was Trump starting his own media outlet.

A report from Axios in November claims that Trump had told friends he wanted to start a digital media company to rival Fox News.

Many conservatives believe Fox made a huge mistake on election night by calling Arizona early for Joe Biden. 

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