North Carolina conservatives have spent the last week or two dealing with the fact that Richard Burr had subpoenaed Donald Trump, Jr. in spite of the Mueller report having no evidence of any type of ongoing conspiracy involving the Trump campaign with the Russians. They also have had to deal with the fact that Tillis was feted at a Washington event sponsored by an interest group that advances LGBTQ issues.
Tillis had experienced a major backlash among the party base when he initially refused to support Trump's emergency declaration to build a wall at the southern border. He quickly flip-flopped and pivoted. Now he is presenting himself as a MAGA guy, especially given the fact that Garland Tucker was announcing his candidacy in the GOP primary race for Senate next year.
It is a fairly safe bet that Tucker is more conservative than Tillis, although his website is fairly content-free. That he can finance his own campaign is a major plus. GOP primary voters need to look at his candidacy closely; although it seems likely there will be at least one or two major gaps with regard to his stands on the issues. After all, he is a Republican.
Dan Bishop's resounding victory in the 9th Congressional District primary brings another strong social conservative to the race. Of course, the corrupt media nationwide were quick to identify him by his sponsorship of HB 2, which should never have been repealed.
Bishop has openly critiqued fellow Republican elected officials as being "risk-averse". He was referring to their tendency to clutch their pearls and run for the hills when the media targets them. He had recently written:
The crisis in our leadership today, I think, is aversion to risk. Elected officials enjoy their status, take symbolic votes and plot reelection. Very few are willing to put themselves on the line. It’s time to change that.
Bishop's Civitas Action score this year is 83.3; and his lifetime score is 87.23. That kind of lifetime score is not bad for a Republican; but again there will be gaps.
One writer at Carolina Journal quoted a political science professor who referred to Bishop as the establishment choice in the primary.
Meanwhile, President Trump is sending Mike Pence to appear at a Greensboro fundraiser for Tillis. Daniel Horowitz observes the following:
The reality is that every Republican will come to Trump in a time of need. But they will not be there for him when he needs support in the Senate. Just the opposite: They will sandbag him with media virtue-signaling at every turn...
The president needs to think long and hard what his second term will look like if he continues supporting Republicans like Mitt Romney, Thom Tillis, and Lindsey Graham.
The Greensboro fundraiser is being hosted by a high-roller couple that has been a major donor to Elon University-- a school affiliated with the United Church of Christ which is the most liberal of the liberal mainline denominations. In fact, one of the members of this power couple served on the university's board of trustees. This is the crowd hosting Tillis and Pence.
There is reason to believe that Richard Burr was doing the bidding of Mitch McConnell when he subpoenaed Trump, Jr. Consider the words of Chris Buskirk:
My view is that this is part of a cold war between Trump and McConnell that goes back to 2015.
McConnell has never been a Trump supporter. He’s never supported the America First agenda which he has consistently resisted and subverted. McConnell is emblematic of the permanent Washington class who think they can wait out Trump’s presidency, use him to further their own goals, and then return to business as usual....
He’s also delayed confirmation of many of the president’s appointments, including key White House staff. Establishment candidates move swiftly through the Senate while known supporters of the America First agenda languish for months on end. That isn’t an accident...
They have fought the president on immigration and border control, on fair trade, and just about everything else, even encouraging the president to take a more interventionist stance in foreign policy.
It’s helpful to consider the subpoena in that context and then perhaps it makes more sense as a signal to the president that McConnell has power and is willing to use it, not just to stymie policy but to harass the president’s family. It’s worth noting that McConnell’s family’s wealth is tied directly to China and he is likely unhappy with the president’s trade policy. It’s good for the country but it might not be so good for the majority leader’s family.
Richard Viguerie and Craig Shirley comment further:
The next serious challenge Trump faces will be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the GOP swamp that he leads...
(H)e is very much threatened by Trump’s agenda of disruption. McConnell knows he is now the most serious and sophisticated political tactician who can protect the Chamber of Commerce, K Street-based benefits and emoluments that establishment Republicans have developed for decades...
Establishment Republicans like McConnell are risk-averse and prefer to avoid public fights with Democrats and the media... (Editorial note: compare with Dan Bishop's comments above.)
McConnell’s primary post-Mueller report role in stopping Trump’s agenda will be opposing or slow-walking conservative nominees for key posts in the Trump administration. Good potential nominations, such as former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for Homeland Security Secretary, are being shot down by McConnell, not because the nominees are not good, but because they agree with the president who nominated them...
The basis for McConnell’s perfidy has deep historical roots in the Republican Party.
We know that both Burr and Tillis are McConnell's stooges. A good question is where Tucker and Bishop will shake out. Stay tuned.
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