Might be time for Republicans to panic about Trump

[struggle4progress]

By Chris Cillizza June 17 at 1:01 PM

The Republican National Convention begins in Cleveland in 31 days. That means that one month from today, Republicans will (almost certainly) start the process of nominating Donald Trump as their presidential nominee to take on Hillary Clinton in the fall campaign.

That prospect looks increasingly problematic — somewhere between a stone-cold loser and a long-shot gamble. With not only the White House at stake but also Republicans' Senate majority and maybe even their House majority in real peril, the idea of nominating Trump should be cause for a growing sense of panic within GOP ranks ...

... The more Trump is exposed to a general electorate — at least in the early days of his time as the presumptive Republican nominee — the less that electorate likes him. (Seven in 10 voters in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll said they have a negative opinion of Trump.)

There is, of course, plenty of time between now and Nov. 8 for Trump to turn things around. But there is very little evidence he (a) sees any problem or (b) feels it at all necessary to overhaul his approach. Trump has repeatedly insisted that he won't change anything about himself in a general election. And with each passing day, he shows that his brash and bullying persona — and his willingness to clash with fellow Republicans — isn't a glitch, it's a feature ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/17/dear-republicans-heres-why-it-might-be-time-to-start-panicking-about-donald-trump-in-1-chart/

[Cassiopeia]

1. They may roll the dice.

I would. If they had a chance to try it and come up 7, this is it.

[gratuitous]

2. Well, maybe if they had been warned

Warned, that is, by somebody other than a bunch of dirty fucking hippies, who were all telling Republicans that they were in the process of making a grave mistake. How could they know that the same people who had been so right about Afghanistan, Iraq, the housing bubble, the Potemkin presidency of George W. Bush, and a couple of other equally insignificant matters would be so very, very right about Donald Trump?

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I think panic has already set in. Have you noticed the look in their eyes when they talk about him?

They all get that empty, glazed, deer in the headlights stare.

They know he's a train wreck, and they don't see any way to control him. If they try to replace him now, they risk having his supporters revolt and they lose the election. If they nominate him, he will continue to implode and they still lose. Either way they go, they are screwed. The damage Trump has done to the Republican party will follow them for years.

[Surya Gayatri]

4. "They all get that empty, glazed, deer in the headlights stare."

Here's a classic example (Brian Kilmeade/FOX & Trump):

Trump on Obama and the Orlando shooting

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Lol. That's the look.

[FLPanhandle]

6. At this point, the GOP has written off the 2016 presidential election

It's all about saving the downstream candidates and not having the party brand damaged beyond repair.

They will try to dump Trump knowing his replacement will lose badly, but it's got to be done.

As a Democrat, I hope Trump hangs on until he is officially the nominee, but I'm losing hope.

[Sam_Fields]

7. If hillary gets indicted in October he wins!

The republicans own this tar baby so they might as well as go along for the ride.

[leeroysphitz]

8. "it isn't a glitch it's a feature" lol that about sums it up. n/t