The leftist media outlet The Hill reported on May 13 that anti-Trump Republicans will not be winning the battle for the soul of the Republican Party anytime soon, as Rep. Liz Cheney Jr.’s (R-Ariz.) overwhelming voice vote to oust the House Republican leadership on Wednesday made clear.
However, Cheney and the rest of the anti-Trump Republicans are not giving up. In an interview with NBC on Thursday morning, Cheney Jr. promised to fight aggressively to keep her congressional seat and keep the door open for a presidential run in 2024.
Nonetheless, the notion of a Cheney Jr. presidential run seems mediocre and self-indulgent at best. According to The Economist’s Interactive Poll Tracker, only 18 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Cheney, while 61 percent are simply adamantly opposed to Cheney Jr. Even Republicans who oppose Trump don’t see Cheney Jr. running for president, and Trump remains the favorite candidate of Republican voters.
On Thursday, 150 conservatives signed on to an effort calling itself “A Call for American Renewal” to reverse Trump’s grip on the Republican Party. The group expressed some noble-sounding principles that open the door to a third party. However, even the most ardent Trump critics see the merits of a third party as questionable.
First, no one realistically believes that a third party candidate can win. The number of anti-Trump Republican voters is too small, and Democratic voters will not abandon their party’s candidate to support a conservative whose ideas are all at odds with each other except anti-Trump.
In addition, Washington Post columnist David Olsen wrote this week, “Right now, there aren’t enough disaffected, anti-Trump Republicans to mount a credible challenge. But ambitious Republican politicians and big-dollar donors are going to support the winners, not the spoilers.”
Recent Comments