This is RealPolitik, pure and simple.
It’s good to see that even the hard-core conservative populists are waking up to the fact that we cannot have a strong, conservative agenda continue without Republicans who will vote for some or all of the agenda.
Having Democrats take over the House would lead to nothing but obstruction, obstruction, obstruction from the regressive left. Bear in mind that crazy, left-wing forces have already infiltrated the Democratic caucus, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and also Ayanna Pressley.
The Democratic caucus is going to be even more split, even more left-wing.
So, whether we like it or not, we need to vote Republican. As much as possible we need to send more members of the President’s party to Congress to ensure the further enactment of our President, and our, agenda.
Bannon says right must support ‘RINOs’
President Trump’s controversial former chief strategist Stephen Bannon is making an uneasy peace with the Republican establishment as he returns to the battlefield for the midterm elections.
This will not last long, and it should not last long.
Bannon, who made his name as a populist firebrand eager to attack GOP leaders in Washington, is now urging Trump loyalists to hold their noses — even if the party’s candidate in their district is someone they might deride as a Republican In Name Only, or RINO.
Citing one example, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Bannon told The Hill, “One of the things we have to convince people of is, it doesn’t matter that Pete Sessions is a RINO. He’s a vote for Donald Trump and that’s all you have to think about. And not just, you have to vote for him — you’re going to have to go out and work a precinct, and ring doorbells, and do a phone bank for him.”
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| Steve Bannon (Cred. Gage Skidmore) |
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| Steve Bannon (Cred. Gage Skidmore) |
This firebrand got behind Judge Roy Moore in Alabama. More people have started to realize that they are called “The Establishment” for a reason. They have established means, resources, and a clear-cut game plan. They know how to work the precincts and the polling stations. They understand that the media is savage and destructive, but they need to realize that they media can be beaten at their own game, too.
Sessions’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bannon was speaking with The Hill to coincide with the release of his new film “Trump @ War,” a 70-minute, unabashedly pro-Trump documentary that is intended to fire up the president’s base in advance of the midterm elections.
Yes, let’s face it. Sloppy Steve wants to make a big name for himself again. After hearing some of the frustration from other White House staffers about Bannon, that he was out for himself and taking credit for what the President and other members of his team had accomplished during the campaign, Trump and company had had enough.
Other sources, including those who had worked with him at Breitbart News before he became a campaign strategist for the Trump campaign. I share his common commitment to protecting and promoting the United States, as a country is far more than an economy.
Our nation is a civil and civic order worth fighting for, worth protecting at all costs.
Bannon claimed the movie cost between $1.5 million and $2 million to make — funds he said came primarily from “a couple of big donors” as well as out of his own pocket.
That’s a pretty slim budget for a film. I hope that his documentary gets some kind of traction.
The movie got its first national airing on the conservative One America News Network on Wednesday night. Bannon says he is planning to screen it at rallies in crucial districts, “in union halls and church basements,” in the run up to Election Day on Nov. 6.
Great idea. We are finally seeing conservatives and pro-American activists taking on the culture wars, not just the political wars, to win for the short-term and the long-term. This is the kind of activity that was needed during all the previous Republican administrations bent on creating a conservative pro-American civic order once again.
Yet if Bannon is willing to make nice toward the establishment he once targeted, he is candid that he is doing so only to maximize the chances of the president’s party holding onto its House majority.
“Look, I detest the Republican establishment and they detest me. I got it. I’m fine with that,” he told The Hill. “That’s a fight for a different day.”
Sometimes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We better get the wall, though. We better get all the other parts of Trump’s very clear-cut America First Agenda passed into law as soon as possible.
Bannon was a pivotal figure in the final stretch of Trump’s 2016 campaign but he departed the White House after just seven months, soon after John Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as chief of staff.
Would the Hill like to go one step further and just admit that it was John Kelly who had Bannon removed from the White House. That sure seems like the argument that they are trying to form. Not sure if I believe it, however. One of the “Blockbuster” books that went public exposing the Trump White House suggested that he was leaking information to the press.
Not very professional or statesmanlike, almost as though Bannon was only thinking about … Bannon.
He was sent into deeper exile by Trump after the publication of Michael Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury,” at the start of this year. Various unflattering quotes, including some about Trump family members, were ascribed to Bannon. Trump mocked his former lieutenant as “Sloppy Steve” and said he had “lost his mind.”
But the strategist has remained a news-making, polarizing figure.
Critics accuse him of stoking outright racism — a charge that Bannon fiercely denies.
It’s not true. Period. The race card is a useless fraud at this point, a shameless, desperate ploy for a shameful, despairing political order.
Earlier this month, The New Yorker magazine scheduled a public interview between its editor, David Remnick, and Bannon as part of its annual festival. After an outcry from celebrities and some staff members, the invite was rescinded. Bannon called the decision “gutless.”
During Bannon’s tenure in the White House, internal enemies blamed him for fomenting division.
This suppression of open dialogue and debate begins and ends with the left. Steve Bannon was willing to appear in a forum promoted by They New Yorker magazine. The outrage from the SJW glitterati was stunning and disgusting all at once. As much as many conservatives feel like “Sloppy Steve” was out for himself during and after the 2016 Election, his presence within the Trump campaign made all the difference, and no one should dismiss any of that.
But he sees a measure of vindication in Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear”, which includes scenes in which figures including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and former economic adviser Gary Cohn work to thwart Trump’s wishes.
Breitbart was all over the conniving actions of Gary Cohn, a full-on globalist, along with Henry McMaster, who is thankfully gone for good. Henry McMaster is gone, as well. As for James Mattis, he has fought for this country in combat many times. Mattis can second-guess the President as often as he needs to, in my opinion. I trust Mattis enough on these matters.
Trump and his administration have bombed the hell out of ISIS.
The Korean peninsula has been steadily denuclearized. Our allies respect us and our enemies fear us once again. Mattis can criticize and take steps when necessary that will differ with the President. I would further add that Trump’s decision to prolong our presence in Afghanistan needs review. We have been in that country for 17 years. It’s time to move on.
We need a clear-cut, effective exit strategy. There must be a better way than to tolerate non-stop incursions against American troops in the Afghan wasteland.
Bannon argues that Woodward’s reporting supports his view that a cabal within the administration has been undermining the president.
Mattis is a good man, though. His efforts are sound and in line with proper policy, in my view.
“You basically have…a coup,” Bannon said, referring sarcastically to “the Committee to Save America, which was that group of [Rex] Tillerson and [James] Mattis and [John] Kelly and [Gary] Cohn.”
Bannon no longer speaks directly with Trump, even though he remains connected to others in the president’s circle.
That’s all for the best. The populist movement requires winning elections, and it is essential that Republicans get into office, even if they are establishment leaning.
Detractors will see the movie as part of an effort to put himself back into Trump’s good graces.
The same goes for the outside group he is now spearheading, Citizens of the American Republic. Bannon claims the group has a 25-person “war room” and is already ramping up its efforts, animated by his belief that Trump faces near-certain impeachment if Democrats take the House.
We need the war room to come to California. I don’t care if Bannon is pushing Trump’s agenda for himself, for the country, or for both causes. All of that is fine with me. Bannon’s conservative populism means a great deal to me.
“The White House, to be honest, on the political side I think is a little slow off the mark. I don’t see the sense of urgency at the campaign, I don’t see the sense of urgency at the White House, and I think there is a huge sense of urgency,” he said.
There needs to be a sense that all of it could be gone in one election. We need clear majorities in both chambers of Congress to ensure that Trump’s agenda is not unfairly dragged down. A whole bunch of establishment-lite Republicans have dropped out or have been pushed out of office. Let’s hope that freedom-minded, MAGA-minded conservatives take over.
Having once predicted that the GOP could lose more than 50 seats in the House, Bannon has recently been expressing greater confidence.
But he also says there are crucial differences that make success in the midterms a steeper climb than was the case even in Trump’s White House bid.
Referring to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, Bannon said, “One of the biggest advantages we had [was that] they didn’t take us seriously. They thought Trump was a clown. One of the biggest things we had was the ability to sneak up on them.
Right. Very good observation.
“That’s not happening now,” he added. “This thing won’t be stolen from anybody, You won’t steal a march. You’ll have to grind it out.”
Final Reflection
So, where do we go from here?
Republicans need to get energized if they are not energized now. We cannot sit this out. We should not let our small-time disappointments with the current Congress depress us into not voting, not going to the polls and making a difference.
It is essential that Republicans remember that Congressional elections and US Senate elections are all about getting the most support for the President and his agenda. Yes, I want the wall built. Yes, I want Obamacare repealed. I want to see leadership and conservative reforms rolling out in a fashion like never before.
The President has implemented a number of good policies and fulfilled many of his promises. Yes, there is so much more work to be done. We aren’t going to get anywhere near those final goals if we lose either chamber of Congress to the Democratic Party.
Bannon is right to call a truce with the GOP Establishment. The US Senate caucus is crucial to ensure solid judicial nominees to all the federal court vacancies. We cannot lose this. If Democrats take over the House, expect articles of impeachment. Expect them to send over massive spending bills.
What’s worse, weak Republicans heading for the 2020 cycle in the US Senate will likely go along with some of these really crappy proposals. We must, must, must hold the House and the US Senate.
Fight for this country, and get out there and vote!
The State of the Union 