NH: A boneheaded play by the GOP

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

A boneheaded play by the GOP

By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
December 11 at 4:00 PM

President Trump excoriated the Democratic Party in 2016 for favoring Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). So naturally he wants his party to do the same for him. Politico reports on the machinations surrounding the New Hampshire primary:

In the most far-reaching move, Donald Trump’s allies are looking to scrap the state GOP’s tradition of remaining neutral in the primary — to clear the way for an endorsement of the president. They’re also moving to install one of their own as head of the state Republican Party.

The efforts wouldn’t stop a moderate Republican like John Kasich from taking on Trump. But they are designed to shield the president from the kind of damage that a serious primary fight could do to him heading into the general election. An endorsement would provide much more than just a verbal statement of support: It would enable the New Hampshire Republican Party to throw the weight of its entire apparatus behind Trump against any GOP rival.

All of this may not dissuade potential challengers such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich (“A top strategist to Kasich said the attempt to stack the deck for the incumbent will have no bearing on whether the outgoing Ohio governor decides to run, or on his ultimate success given the significant bloc of independent voters there.”) However, it could inflict real damage on the GOP in no less than six ways.

First, no one, let alone notoriously independent New Hampshire voters, likes to be told the fix is in. That was Trump’s point in 2016. It reeks of smoke-filled rooms and establishment arrogance.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/11/boneheaded-play-by-gop/

[JDC]

1. Lewandowski lives in NH last time I checked. Sounds like his doing

The Republican Party in NH has taken an ass kicking over the last election or two. They better get some ideas, rather than sticking to il douche. That boat had sailed.