Several here at the PDog remind us over and OVER that some polls have Donald Trump’s support at up to 80% of Republicans…
Here’s few looks at this….
FiveThirtyEight…..
Critics of President Trump want Republicans to do more. The argumentgoes something like this: Some Republicans like Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona have cast Trump as historically dangerous, leading a “daily disassembling of our democratic institutions,” in Flake’s words. Trump critics argue that, if this is their view, this moment in history compels them to do everything possible to limit Trump — to oppose Trump more than just rhetorically. With McCain suffering from brain cancer and not on Capitol Hill, the Senate is basically divided between 50 members who vote with the GOP and 49 who vote with the Democrats. Flake or any other Republican senator, their critics argue, could single-handedly grind Trump’s entire agenda to a halt. They could prevent a vote on Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court, or force a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.
Instead, the few Republicans in the Senate willing to criticize Trump1 have mostly done only that, spurring some eye-rolling exasperation from people who want action, not just words. But we think this vein of criticism of Trump-skeptical Republicans is, well, kind of wrong. It ignores the power of words to serve as a reminder that Trump isn’t an entirely normal Republican, and that he doesn’t have complete Republican support — at least, not all the time. It’s true that Flake and other Trump-skeptical Republicans could do much, much more. But that doesn’t mean what they’re doing now is meaningless….
CBS News….
Half of Republicans say that hearing criticisms of President Trump on the Russia issue makes them want to defend him more. Another 42 percent say they want to wait to see what the facts show.
Seventy percent of Republicans call the Russia investigation a “witch hunt,” while Democrats call it a “critical” matter of national security (77 percent). Democrats, however, say they believe the issue speaks to the president’s character (79 percent) as well as national security, but Republicans disagree, seeing it as a deliberate attempt to slow the president’s agenda (81 percent) and feeling he is facing more resistance from the political establishment than other presidents have (86 percent)…..
Daily Kos….
….the events of the last month or so have shattered his invincibility with his base. Tough guys don’t back down, and Trump had to back down on his immigrant kidnapping scheme. And he looked pathetically weak in doing so. And as much as invertebrates like Marco Rubio may grasp the “Should have been wouldn’t instead of would” straw from Trump, nevertheless, it was the weak showing of a kid called to the principals office. And while Trumpaholics will continue to shout his praises from the rooftops, remember this, you can always tell when somebody bought a piece of shit car, by how loudly they proclaim what a great deal they got. With Trump’s name not on the ballot in November, a Duck Dynasty marathon may prove to be a tantalizing reason to not bother driving over to the high school gym to pull a lever. The Democrats have already targeted at least 40 districts as being vulnerable, and each of those representatives on the GOP side has an uncomfortable decision to make regarding Glorious Bleater.
But more dangerous to Trump is the fact that GOP incumbents are slowly, and in some cases not very meekly, peel away from Trump. Texas GOP representative Will Hurd just wrote a blistering NY Times op-ed, saying that Trump had been openly “manipulated” by Putin on the world stage, embarrassing not only himself, but the US as a country and it’s intelligence services. Hurd is not ensconced in some ruby red district, he’s in a competitive swing district. If incumbents like Hurd start campaigning against Trump, no matter how gently, it is a disaster for Trump. If they run against him and lose, that means a Democrat in that seat, opposing Trump. And if they run against him and win, then they are on a short leash, and they are going to have to pay attention to constituent concerns, and oppose him when necessary in congress to be reelected again in 2020. Either way, his House caucus is weakened….