Free Advice To Republican Candidates Tired Of Seeing Trump Steal The Show

The GOP is officially freaking out over Donald Trump's poll standings.

The head of the Republican National Committee, responding to demands from increasingly worried party leaders, spent nearly an hour Wednesday on the phone with Donald Trump, urging the presidential candidate to tone down his inflammatory comments about immigration that have infuriated a key election constituency.

The call from Chairman Reince Priebus, described by donors and consultants briefed on the conversation and confirmed by the RNC, underscores the extent to which Trump has gone from an embarrassment to a cause for serious alarm among top Republicans in Washington and nationwide.

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Priebus’s decision to reach out to Trump came after days of talks with Republican donors and officials about how best to manage Trump’s outsize presence on the airwaves. Many financiers who are influential at the RNC have been fuming about Trump’s ascent and told Priebus that he must ensure that the RNC’s efforts over the past year to win more of the Hispanic vote is not harmed.

Funny but I don't remember anyone telling Mitt Romney to cool it while he was busy attacking every Republican in the field 4 years ago. What GOP donors and consultants want, GOP donors and consultants get.

Let's be honest, Trump's give a damn level about the fortunes of the GOP is as non-existent as mine. This was just some more failure theater...look like you're trying to do something about Trump but having no expectation of actually delivering on it. It's nice that the donor class is getting a taste of what we get on a daily basis.

As I've argued before, Trump is a symptom of a problem the GOP is either unwilling or unable to deal with...there's a significant part of the party's base that feels it's not being served by the party. Trump for all his ridiculousness and liberal history is at least giving some alienated voters the sense they are being heard and represented. An imperfect messenger is better than one that tells you, "shut up, I don't care what you want."

So here's a crazy idea for some of the back of the pack but respectable candidates...represent this group and take up their causes.

I get it's too much to ask a Republican to actually oppose amnesty but how about making the cause of religious freedom and personal liberty one of the organizing principles of your campaign?

Why there's even a handy example to rally around.

I get this is the kind of issue that makes professional Republican consultants recoil in horror as if you've just served them a steaming pile of pig entrails but people actually do care about this stuff and it's important.

The religious angle will play well in Iowa and South Carolina while the desire to fight back against the ever expanding state should resonate with a fair number of New Hampshire GOP voters.

Or you know, guys like Marco Rubio could simply keep saying, tough luck but the left has won so move on. Oh and be sure to keep talking about how Americans need to work longer hours. They love that.

And then the GOP professionals will continue to wonder why Trump is ruining their fun.

But hey, maybe if the GOP just tells Trump's supporters have much they hate them and what rubes they think they are a few more times that will sink Trump.

I'm pretty sure I know which path the GOP will go down but you can't say I didn't suggest an alternative.

*One thing I should have included in this is I'm mainly talking about a candidate or candidates that aren't already identified as primarily social conservatives. Guys like Cruz and Huckabee will talk about this but they will be seen fairly or not as niche candidates playing to their existing base.

posted by DrewM. at 11:13 AM

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