County GOP Opts to Go Down With the Trump Ship
After 15 years as Chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County, Tony Krvaric has stepped down.
During his tenure the local GOP went from being a dominant force in local government to a minority at both the city and county level.
The party shed roughly 50,000 registered voters in the county as Democrats gained more than 200,000 and overall registration grew by 500,000. Their candidate for president won 37.46% of the vote in November 2020.
So you’d think with that kind of track record, the Central Committee of the local GOP might be considering a change in direction. But you’d be wrong.
South Bay realtor Paula Whitsell now has the top job. Via Voice of San Diego:
Thursday, Whitsell issued her first statement as chair denouncing the House of Representatives’ vote to impeach President Trump for the second time after he incited a mob to attack Congress. Whitsell wrote that Democrats only pursued the impeachment because of their animosity to the president and the party’s “long program” to damage any critics.
Democrats were joined by 10 Republicans in the impeachment vote.
“We believe that it is time for the nation to heal and for Speaker Pelosi and her House colleagues along with President-elect Biden to bring our divided nation together,” Whitsell wrote.
Whitsell has deleted a tweet she wrote before the Jan. 6 attack on Congress in which she endorsed a statement from Dinesh D’Souza who wrote that any Republican who didn’t vote to overturn the presidential election Jan. 6 would have no future in the Republican Party.
“President Trump had the backs of the American people for 4 years. The least we can do now is stand up for our President! We got your back!” Whitsell had written.
Visiting Whitsell’s twitter feed gives insight into what her priorities are. She’s pinned the Republican National Committee condemnation of violence at the Capitol to the top, so that’s a good thing.
From there it goes downhill. (It’s mostly retweets, so there’s that.)
Supporting the GOP’s objection to certifying the election of Joe Biden
Accusing China of weaponing the COVID-19 virus.
Calling Todd Gloria a dictator for wanting to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.
Questioning vote totals for the 2020 presidential election.
Supporting people who refuse to wear masks in businesses.
Talking about the globalist dictatorship agenda and mentioning George Soros.
And so it goes.
https://twitter.com/VanceUlrich/status/1349936399185637378?s=20
Nationally, the picture for Trump lovin’ Republicans is grim. A Pew survey released this morning has voter approval for the way Trump is handling his job at 29% (down from 45% in 2020) with most of the decline coming from GOP/lean GOP respondents.
A Washington Post poll shows roughly 6 in 10 Americans say Trump will go down in history as a below average or poor president.
Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight, which averages polls according to their overall credibility reinforces the notion of Trump tanking:
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1350102667067076614?s=20
I don’t think things are going to get better for Republicans anytime soon. Majority leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to postpone the start of the Senate impeachment trial just gives more time for bad news to accumulate.
Via Reuters:
Federal prosecutors offered an ominous new assessment of last week’s siege of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters on Thursday, saying in a court filing that rioters intended “to capture and assassinate elected officials.”
Via the Washington Post:
The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 came perilously close to Vice President Pence, who was not evacuated from the Senate chamber for about 14 minutes after the Capitol Police reported an initial attempted breach of the complex — enough time for the marauders to rush inside the building and approach his location, according to law enforcement officials and video footage from that day.
Via ABC News:
Three of the key advisers who helped engineer Donald Trump's' rise to the presidency in 2016, and who fell from grace under the weight of federal criminal charges, resurfaced during Trump's final days in office to help engineer his ill-fated attempt to cling to power.
Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn all participated in efforts to promote the Jan. 6 "Stop the Steal" event that ultimately devolved into a riotous and deadly melee at the United States Capitol, leaving five dead and causing Trump to become the only president to be impeached for a second time.
https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/1350149675098238978?s=20
This morning House Speaker Pelosi called for the criminal prosecution of any member of Congress who aided and abetted the attack on the Capitol.
While there are signs pointing to insider involvement in the insurrection, no charges have been filed yet. I suspect that any agency seeking to prosecute a member of Congress will want to make sure all the i s are dotted and t s are crossed before taking action.
The paranoia among members of Congress is real. Many who have lived through months of death threats fear those who made them may have been moved to take action by the President’s rhetoric.
From NBC:
Two lawmakers, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and freshman Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., both claim that some GOP colleagues voted to overturn the election results or against impeaching Trump out of fear that their families' lives may be put in danger. Other Republicans urged against impeachment in part to avoid inciting further violence, effectively conceding that pro-Trump extremists pose a continuing threat.
Meijer said in an appearance on MSNBC that he and other members were buying body armor.
"It's sad that we have to get to that point, but our expectation is that someone may try to kill us," he said.
Circling back around to where I started with this post, the local Republican Party has a new leader; just like their old leader. And as long as they base their organizing and outreach on conspiracies and falsehoods and are associated in the public consciousness with domestic terrorists, I suspect the party has a big uphill climb in front of them.
https://twitter.com/leedrutman/status/1349737988381675520?s=20
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