Machinations of Loser-in-Chief vs. party he destroyed?

[lostnfound]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.
In 1972 we had a stinker of a president, and the vice president wasn’t any better. Richard Nixon’s vice president was Spiro Agnew. The drip drip drip of Watergate had not quite permeated enough to cause Nixon to lose the election in 1972, but the end was coming. Roll the clock forward after that election: In less than one year, Spiro Agnew resigned, after pleading guilty to tax evasion related to taking bribes and money laundering the previous office. Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford to replace him two days later. After confirmation in December 1972, Ford spent eight months as VP, then Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.

It was almost its own type of “orderly transition of power”. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon to close the narrative of Watergate.

Carl Albert, the Democratic Speaker of the House, could have refused to consider the confirmation of Ford as VP, kept himself as second in line to the presidency, and attempted impeachment of Nixon Or waited for resignation. During that two months of Ford’s confirmation process, Albert was given a contingency plan by Ted Sorensen, and he was receiving CIA briefings and increased security appropriate for second-in-line.
But the apple cart rolled smoothly from “Agnew Out to Ford In” to “Nixon Out and Ford Inaugurated”to “Nixon Pardoned”. Guess Democrats didn’t have the “kill” instinct back then, either. One can only imagine what steps Senate Majority Leader McConnell would have taken, had he been in Carl Albert’s shoes.

The condition of the United States is far far worse than it was in 1974.

So what are they plotting now?

Any “sane” elected member of the GOP has to see that the horse they are riding on is crumbling — politically, mentally, and physically. The future is beyond bleak, for them.
What if they replace Pence with Nikki Haley? Anyone who would vote for Trump anyway would still vote for Trump, and Haley might give some wavering GOP voters the self-justification to stay with the party. What if they could persuade Trump to make the switch, but also persuade him to back out “health reasons” before Election Day?

Trump himself would be in a worse position the minute he replaces Pence. Nixon could be made to see the unpleasant facts of life, but Trump’s denial is infinite. Pity the poor guy that has to have the conversation with trump — “Haley will pardon you”.

Perhaps trump’s chaos is directed not ONLY at Democrats but at those in his own party. Does vote-by-mail enter into this? Absentees are money-in-the-bank. Harder to manipulate, so of course he wants to stop Democrats from using them. But also, those Trump voters who are fanatically loyal to him may not show up on Election Day IF Trump has already resigned. He needs maximum leverage against backroom power deals that might arise between now and Election Day. He needs the GOP Senate and House members to be beholden to him and to need his cult voters.

They act stupid in public, but i suspect that more than half of GOP congress and many party leaders can’t stand Trump either.

GOP local leaders worry that Trump’s anti-“vote-by-mail” rhetoric is “scaring our own voters”

Pence pressured navy to recommission disgraced former GOP governor Greitens despite objections from navy chiefs (Greitens kidnapped, bound, threatened his ex-lover)

Press won’t be allowed at RNC convention

[True Blue American]

1. Attorney General

John Mitchell went to jail, too. Remember how they abused Martha, calling her a drunk and everything else. Republicans have not been good since IKE. Even he gave us Tricky Dick.

[Beakybird]

2. I was thinking that the RNC might be barring press so that they can get rid of Trump by secret vote.

[crickets]

3. Another reason to bar the press is to avoid the expected performative speeches.

In this climate, who in their right mind wants to stand up and praise trump while running for their own reelection? Not only that, the country is its current situation in large part because of Republican support for trump's blatant ineptitude. They have no real praises to sing for themselves either.