Turns out when Trump tweeted early Thursday morning that we “must fight” the Freedom Caucus in 2018, that wasn’t just idle time-wasting while he was sitting on the can.
Interesting that Dan Scavino, Trump’s official social-media guy, would zero in on Amash for threats instead of, say, Mark Meadows or Rand Paul, both of whom were more prominent critics of the failed House health-care bill. Amash’s sin seems not to be that he helped take down TrumpCare but that he’s been lippy about it.
It didn't take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump. No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment. https://t.co/9bDo8yzH7I
Trump admin & Establishment have merged into #Trumpstablishment. Same old agenda: Attack conservatives, libertarians & independent thinkers. https://t.co/ALcV59iHXx
Wouldn’t be the first term someone’s come at Amash in a primary. Business-class Republicans dislike him because of his libertarianism, which makes him a reliable “no” vote on federal spending. They recruited a primary challenger for him in 2014 with backing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; that candidate, Brian Ellis, accused Amash at one point of being “Al Qaeda’s best friend in Congress” due to his civil libertarian stances. Amash won that race 57/43, then went on to win the general election that year by nearly 20 points. Last year he won by more than 20 and in so doing outperformed Trump, who won Amash’s district by just 10 points over Clinton. Ousting Amash, you see, won’t be easy. And given how ideological he is, it’s a cinch that not only won’t he bend under Scavino’s threats (see the last tweet above as Exhibit A), he’ll use the extra media attention he’ll get from it to amplify his criticism. If Trump goes all-in now to try to beat him in a primary and Amash wins anyway, it’ll be the Renee Ellmers humiliation all over again but times 100.
Relatedly, it was three weeks ago that the Examiner reported that Trump had warned House Republicans in a meeting that he’d back primary challenges to them if the health-care bill went belly up. The White House pushed back hard on that story at the time, insisting it never happened — which was smart spin given that the bill was still in play and a public rift between Trump and the Freedom Caucus would have only made it that much harder to find consensus. How does that Examiner story look now, though, three weeks later, with Trump vowing to “fight” the Freedom Caucus in 2018 and Scavino singling out individual members as targets? Amash isn’t even the only conservative to receive a communique from the White House that his seat is on the line. Mark Sanford claims Mick Mulvaney delivered a threat from Trump personally:
The South Carolina Republican told The Post and Courier that Trump chose to convey this message through an intermediary: White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, a former member of the S.C. congressional delegation, co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and a friend.
“‘The president asked me to look you square in the eyes and to say that he hoped that you voted ‘no’ on this bill so he could run (a primary challenger) against you in 2018,'” Sanford said Mulvaney told him.
He added that Mulvaney made it clear he did not want to deliver the message but did so at Trump’s insistence.
Sounds like the president’s planning to fight a two-front war against the left and right in 2018. Just what you’d expect a man with the massive political capital that comes with a 41 percent job approval rating to do.
Here’s Amash on Thursday comparing Trump’s strongarm tactics to how fifth-graders try to persuade critics. An interesting catch by the Hill, meanwhile: Sean Hannity addressed Trump’s tweet about “fighting” the Freedom Caucus on his show on Thursday night and … seemed to side with the Caucus, claiming that Trump’s anger in scapegoating them for the bill’s failure was “misplaced.” Populist conservative media is going to be in a jam if the Trump/HFC feud escalates. Whom do they side with, the big-government populist president or the small-government conservative House faction? Does it depend on how many of Trump’s initiatives the Freedom Caucus ends up blocking?
I don't think they have identified an opponent yet.
If you send to the RNC, they'll likely just bank it. And it may be that the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee will both choose to keep their hands officially clean and rely on outsider organizations like Chamber of Commerce to be the main funders, along with a PAC or two.
It's pretty hardcore for a president to try to primary a House member.
You may recall that Trump endorsed Renee Elmers and was quite embarrassed by the entire fiasco when she got beat like a rug, despite his endorsement.
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), the recipient of Donald Trump's first congressional endorsement this election season, also became the first incumbent to fall in a 2016 primary when she lost Tuesday’s North Carolina Republican congressional race to George Holding, a congressman who currently represents North Carolina’s 13th District, by 30 points.
I think you are greatly overestimating Trump's power within the party. So is Trump. His quirks aside, Amash is still a lot more conventional conservative Republican than Trump is. And everyone knows it.
Yeah, when he was the unqualified buffoon who could never beat Hillary in a million years. Back then, a Trump endorsement and 10 cents would buy you a cup of of of coffee.
But Trump IS President and already has done a lot for the State of Michigan. And Amash stabbed him in the back.
Back then, a Trump endorsement and 10 cents would buy you a cup of of of coffee.
You do know you haven't been able to buy a cup of coffee for 10¢ for the last 50 years, right?
But Trump IS President and already has done a lot for the State of Michigan. And Amash stabbed him in the back.
I'm not sure how much Trump has done for Michigan just yet. Trump trying to keep or get plants doesn't seem to involve plants in Michigan as much as in other states where GM/Ford/Dodge have plants.
Has Trump saved a factory in Michigan or got one of the Big Three to agree to build a factory in Michigan? I don't recall one offhand.
"You do know you haven't been able to buy a cup of coffee for 10¢ for the last 50 years, right?"
Obviously you don't know that's an expression. If I said it would be like closing the stable door after the horse ran out, would you argue there weren't any horses involved in our discussion?
Do you really take things literally, Mr. All-politics-is-local?
"Has Trump saved a factory in Michigan or got one of the Big Three to agree to build a factory in Michigan? I don't recall one offhand."
More importantly, has Amash done so in the 6 years he's been in office? Trump is trying to make America great again and people like Amash are getting in his way. That's the takeaway.
If I said it would be like closing the stable door after the horse ran out, would you argue there weren't any horses involved in our discussion?
I'd think you were born in the nineteenth century.
More importantly, has Amash done so in the 6 years he's been in office?
He's voted no a lot. About as often as Ron Paul used to.
You know how it works. There's a vote by acclimation.
Chair: "All for the motion?" House: "Aye." Chair: "All opposed?" Amash (from the back bench): "NAY!" House: {facepalm}
It kind of pisses them off that they can't ever get unanimity. Which makes me laugh.
Ron Paul had a reputation for this sort of thing, earning his title of Dr. No. After he retired, they attached that nickname to Tom Coburn of OK (also a doctor) because he was a no-guy too and liked to gum up the Senate by placing holds on nominees and filibusters.
