Remember Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA Republican youth organization guy who has a cantaloupe-dimensioned face on a watermelon-sized head? (No really, google images for the name — he’s just odd looking!) Anyway, he’s attempting to flex on the RNC in ways that are roiling that already roiled organization, according to WaPo (gift link):
In a Monday email to the 168 members of the Republican National Committee, [Kirk] told them that donors and activists would desert the party unless it changed. The result, he said, would be colossal failure in the 2024 presidential election.
“How do we plan to win in 2024 if you so boldly reject listening to the grassroots, our donors, and the biggest organizations and voices in the conservative movement?” he asked in the message, which was obtained by The Washington Post. “If ignored, we will have the most stunted and muted Republican Party in the history of the conservative movement, the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations.”
The extraordinary message came in the midst of a bitter GOP leadership contest, with incumbent RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel seeking to beat back a challenge from Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney and committee member from California who has been paid for legal consulting by former president Donald Trump’s political action committee, among numerous clients. Kirk and his allies have vigorously promoted Dhillon, hosting her on various media platforms and staging a straw poll at a recent Turning Point summit in Phoenix.
There’s an intraparty slap-fight here in Florida between Dhillon and McDaniel proxies too, and I can’t quite suss out what’s behind it as it’s not breaking down across known GOP fault lines. Known by me, I mean. Maybe y’all know? Anyhoo, rooting for injuries, let us savor, etc.
Open thread!
ETA: I get that the GOP faithful are pissed off about underperforming in three straight cycles, but is this a pin-the-loser-tail on McDaniel thing? Because it looks like Dhillon and McDaniel are both pretty Trumpy. And he’s the loser. Is this a function of denial? A refusal to see the gigantic, loser-stinky orange elephant in the room?
trollhattan
Is it more complicated than a power play? Seems foremost is always pocketing the most money, and getting jerks elected is the bonus trip past the dessert buffet.
ETA crap, CDC just placed the county on its “high” covid level.
Case Rate per 100,000 population: 214.62
New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population: 16.6
% Staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19: 9.4%
Tom Levenson
I hope the contest is prolonged, bitter, painful to all involved, and imperfectly resolved, so they can do it all again next year.
Santa: that’s my holiday wish. Not too much to ask, amirite?
p.a.
The infighting is harder to figure than the old USSR/Kremlin power rankings. All claim to want Republican nirvana *shudder* but who are the true believers, who are the scammers and grifters, and who are a mix?
H.E.Wolf
Ronna Romney McDaniel.
Like Newton Leroy Gingrich, apparently she’d rather her middle name not be used.
Bobby Thomson
McDaniel has been in charge while bad things happened, so it’s not unusual a lot of people would want someone new. This isn’t like when Steele got sacked despite good results.
JanieM
If there’s anything in it besides what @trollhattan: said, maybe they’re each sure the other one’s doin’ it ‘rong. I.e., *they* would be handling Clickbait more effectively.
Jeffg166
More purity purges in the GQP. Hope the last one standing turns out the light.
Ladyraxterinok
I read Dhillon’s resume. and the info about the lawyers working for her firm. The resume and info seem (to a non-lawyer) to be quite impressive.
She appears to be very smart. It seems like she’d be a strong force helping GOP candidates.
And what is behind her resume statement of ‘civil rights work’?
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
Maybe the true believers are getting ticked at the grifters? I mean the lines can be a bit blurry, but that is the best I can come up with. If they tossed the con-artists out and went full fascist, we would really have a problem on our hands. Its disturbing how much that appeals to a segment of the population.
Mike in NC
On the plane I started reading “The Destructionists: The Twenty Five Year Crackup of the Republican Party” by Dana Milbank. Starts with the greatest hits of the 1990s, like Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, and Karl Rove.
Pat Buchanan went from lunatic fringe of the GQP to mainstream MAGA, if not RINO.
WereBear
@Mike in NC: You mean he should have seen it coming.
NotMax
Tempest in a tea party pot. Victor will be whomever can massage the wallets and egos of steady money with vigor.
Frankly, I don’t give a damn.
Kelly
So New York Guv Hochul said she never wanted to have a political litmus test in response to objections to LaSalle’s record on labor/abortion rights.
Weird. I think of a litmus test as a simple, reliable, easily understood way to test for ph. What’s wrong with simple, reliable, easily understood political tests?
MattF
It’s all quite difficult to figure out. The two groups believe different sets of impossible things and have only contempt for the sorry, misguided libtards on the other side who believe the wrong impossible things. And, viewing it all from the elevated position of an actual libtard, both sides appear to be entirely cuckoo. Hmmmph..
Another Scott
I assume it’s the usual faction trying to take over the party to tilt the playing field for faction’s candidate(s) power play.
Robert Costa used to be the supposed “reasonable Republican whisperer” but he doesn’t seem to have had much to say about this (other than recently noting the #2 person at the RNC resigned).
Injuries, YAY!!1 Otherwise, we need to keep our eyes on the ball.
Cheers,
Scott.
cmorenc
@Ladyraxterinok:
Pure speculation on my part, but to RW sensibilities that could mean working on behalf of hard-core evangeleicals claiming special privileges / exemptions from laws and regulations. Or on behalf of small business-folk claiming special privileges / exemptions from laws and regulations, or objecting to such. Or maybe “reverse discrimination” work on behalf of white folks. (??)
Delk
Why does Ronna even want the headache?
NotMax
I don;’t follow RWNJ outlets much (if at all). Anyone in the know about what the most recent “war on Christmas” outrage du année might be?
sukabi
Does it matter WHY they’re fighting? I say we hand them knives, spill barrels of gas and throw in a couple of lighters and let them go at it…
Burnspbesq
Dhillon was a board member of the NorCal chapter of the ACLU for a while. For many Republicans, that’s a per se disqualifier.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@sukabi: Sure it matters why they are fighting. If we don’t understand the basis of the divisions, how are we going to exploit them for political gain?
schrodingers_cat
From the other end of the horseshoe
AWOL
@Kelly: She’s a DINO. Pure trash.
WaterGirl
@H.E.Wolf: Funny how they liked to use Barack Obama’s middle name – surely a sign of respect.
Citizen Alan
@NotMax: I’d not heard of any thus year, other than Tuckums claiming that Zelensky “declared war on Christianity” when he, as a Jewish man, wished everyone a Merry Christmas during his speech to Congress (or something like that).
Amir Khalid
RIP Thom Bell.
WaterGirl
@cmorenc: I deleted the two duplicates.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I don’t get into the weeds on their spats, but I thought Dhillon was charging with Rhona notRomney with insufficient fealty to The Beast
@Delk: to paraphrase what Tom Nichols says about these people, you think Rhona wants to go back to Grosse Pointe? and spend next August auditioning for Tucker and Laura’s guest hosts? seeing Uncle Willard’s grimace of benign disapproval from across the whitest potato salad you ever did see?
WaterGirl
I want whoever is the least competent to head the RNC. No idea which one that would be.
H.E.Wolf
Well, it is when I use it! :)
H.E.Wolf
“…there’s small choice in rotten apples.”
ETA: omg, that’s Shakespeare! Big Will knew what he was talking about. :)
wonkie
What does asshole Kirk want to change? It seems to me that a big reason why the Republicans are losing races is because of shitty policies (God loves rape babies) and rhetoric that is both stupid and irrelevant to real problems facing the voters (Wokeism is destroying America!). Does he think they can win by being even more hateful?
Splitting Image
@NotMax:
I have no idea what they are raging about specifically, but I’ve noticed this year that a lot of businesses went without the Christmas music throughout November and December. A few people I spoke to were quick to agree, in the “a guy on TV said the same thing” kind of way.
I mean: it would be a good thing if more businesses got rid of the schmaltzy music. Everyone has their favourites that they play during the season, but everybody has different favourites and nobody likes hearing the same 20 songs played over and over again for two solid months.
sab
@WaterGirl: I am with you on that.
E.
I think it is just the right wing of the GOP using whatever outrage they can come up with to further purify the party. This is the same playbook that has been used forever — most recently in the Newt Gingrich-Tom Delay- Michelle Bachmann – Donald Trump – Josh Hawley lineage. It ends either in holocaust or major reform of the party in time to oust the fascists. Cf. Nazi Germany, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Spain, various South American regimes plus the main two, and I suspect in the Central American right-wing regimes too.
cmorenc
@WaterGirl: Sorry bout that. My laptop sometimes lags giving feedback that I have actually pressed “enter”, and acts as if the Chrome window has hung up.
gwangung
@Amir Khalid: Aw, man….another part of my coming to age music gone away.
Quick! Protect Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson!
lollipopguild
@p.a.: They are ALL scammers and grifters. These are two gangs fighting over who gets to steal the most.
Geminid
The knives are really out for Kathy Hochul. Not a great way for her to start her first full term as Governor.
Almost Retired
@cmorenc: you’re pretty much exactly right. I’ve known of her since early in my career. I am a plaintiff side employment lawyer first in San Francisco and now (mostly) Los Angeles. She was a competent attorney defending employers. I was never up against her but my colleagues were. She used to be asked to join panels at Bar events as the “reasonable conservative.” She was smart and engaging. Trump broke her brain and she started filing all sorts of the kind of legal actions that you described. But she could be dangerous if she’s not too sloshed with MAGA Kool-aid. I hope the feckless miss former Romney prevails.
NotMax
@Splitting Image
But- but- Walkin’ ‘Round in Women’s Underwear is a classic!
// :)
Ken
Who has Trump picked?
(I forget whether it was The Peter Principle or Parkinson’s Law that advised companies to be on the lookout for executives who were always wrong, and keep them around so the company can simply do the opposite of what they recommend.)
H.E.Wolf
Alas, that’s not uncommon for women in leadership positions. I think of it as the misogyny tax.
WaterGirl
@cmorenc: The thing is, WordPress should always catch duplicates – it’s built into WordPress itself, not our site. So it’s a mystery.
Cameron
Ms. Cracker, apropos nothing, but y’all on!y have until the end of the month to take in Cabaret at the Asolo. Astonishing theater. Well worth the trek to this neck of the woods.
Horatius
@Kelly: Kathy Hochul is Cuomo in a skirt. She’s nominating an Amy Coney Barrett equivalent to the NY State Supreme Court to entrench a conservative majority. When will Democrats learn!
Geminid
@Almost Retired: This fight over the GOP Chairman spot might be a proxy battle between the Trump and DeSantis forces. I recall that Charlie Kirk’s outfit sponsored some appearances by DeSantis this summer for Republicans running in Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: In this case, it seems that it’s because she is fucking up with the judges, right? I don’t see why we would attribute the displeasure about that would be related to gender.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Geminid: Eric Adams has also made an odd choice for a storm that’s been looming for almost a week now. Big City mayors need to be visible in storms (and that’s the first I’ve heard of a fire on SI)
Who the hell doesn’t know that “resting” is not a good thing to say about a politician? unless I missed the news of some medical event
Geminid
@H.E.Wolf: I think that may be part of it. Also, New York Democrats seem to have a longstanding feuds that are never far from breaking out into the open.
Tom Watson has covered this new controversy some on his Twitter feed. Watson’s a NYC resident and seems to be a knowledgeable and honest observer. There will be a confirmation battle in the state Senate, and Watson thinks that the position New York’s labor unions take on this nomination will be an important factor.
schrodingers_cat
Is Dhillon still a Sikh or has she changed her religion like Nikki Haley? If yes how will that go down with the evangelical wing of the R party.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: I did not say anything about gender. But now that you mention it, I’ll posit that it might contribute to the vehemence of Hochul’s critics.
I think a woman might be more attuned to this than me, though.
cain
@NotMax: Strangely, it’s very quiet – I think it’s because we are nominally in charge of congress. Next year though it will be lit.
The Jan6 stuff also quiet them down a bit.
Almost Retired
@schrodingers_cat: I am fairly sure she is still active in the Sikh community, and IIRC she has brought discrimination actions for Sikh employees. As for the evangelicals, I think they can be remarkably accepting as long as you do absolutely nothing to challenge their world view.
dm
Probably a dead thread, but…. this kind of fight is going on in the Massachusetts Republican Party, too, though they’re so irrelevant I haven’t paid attention to the details. They turned their back on one of the most popular Republican Governors in the country (Charlie Baker), and went more-or-less full MAGA (this in a state that gave Trump 33% of the vote), and there’s some teapot-tempestry going on between the Olde Guarde and the Red Capped upstarts. They might be better off to fold their tent and just let the Libertarian Party run candidates against Democratic incumbents.
Geminid
@dm: The same thing happened with Maryland Republicans this year. The radicals grabbed the steering wheel and wrecked the car.
But Wes Moore was a good candidate and I think he’ll make a good Governor. Larry Hogan’s pick probably would not have beaten him. She would have come closer than the wingnut who won the primary, though.
Geminid
@dm: Have you heard anything about Scott Brown? He moved back to Rye, New Hampshire after his stint a Ambassador to New Zealand, but he’s given a couple of interviews to Massachusetts newspapers about that state’s politics. Brown has one foot in the Bay State already; he’s the girls basketball coach for Amesbury High School.
Brown tells reporters that being a head coach has always been on his “bucket list.” Makes me wonder what else is on his bucket list. At age 65, he might still have political ambitions.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: Oh, sorry, it was someone who had replied to you who said that.
karen marie
@p.a.: Someone else probably already said it but I’m going to say it anyway: AOT,K.
Tom Q
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It was a fire on the Staten Island Ferry. They had to evacuate passengers onto tugboats.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: No problem.
I’m curious enough about this matter to look up reporting in state newspapers. Democratic infighting is always a hot topic there. The nomination was announced yesterday afteroon so there ought to be a lot of reporting tomorrow.
Although I imagine the battle is already raging on Twitter. Like I said, that’s one feuding state party, and people all over the country are always ready to join in.
Jackie
@H.E.Wolf: I thought TFG MADE her drop *Romney* as a proof of loyalty to MAGA?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Tom Q: Shit, that sounds scary. Can’t believe it’s not getting more coverage
lowtechcyclist
@schrodingers_cat:
You be you.
Another Scott
@Tom Q: That’s bad. :-(
I assume that it wasn’t the decommissioned one that Jost and Davidson bought to supposedly turn into a night club.
(I mean, it couldn’t be the same one, but it just seems weird that both are in the news less than a year apart.)
Cheers,
Scott.
H.E.Wolf
@Geminid:
Thank you for the additional info. “Inside baseball” details are always interesting!
Meanwhile I suppose we’ll have to take advice from a prior NY politician, and practice Patience And Fortitude. :)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1098075.Patience_And_Fortitude
H.E.Wolf
Might could be. :-)
Another Scott
@Another Scott: For completeness, SILive.com says it was a new ferry and the fire was caused by a fuel leak.
Cheers,
Scott.
la caterina
@H.E.Wolf: Sorry, but she deserves it, Her pick for the Court of Appeals is anti-choice and anti-worker, to name just two of his bad qualities.
eachother
Open Thread
Hurricane coming from the North.
Category I right now out of the North. All kinds of weather records. Huge area of impact.
Keep the water pipes warm and in your thoughts.
mrmoshpotato
Let all of them slap the living shit out of each other.
Geminid
@H.E.Wolf: So, New York political journal City and State put up an article today about the LaSalle nomination titled ” ‘It’s on life support’: Hochul’s judge pick faces existential opposition.” The “life support” remark came from a labor leader who added, “They just haven’t pulled the plug.”
. The article also cites a Carpenter’s Union spokesman who said that while the union recognized “the historic nature of Judge LaSalle’s nomination (he would be the state’s first Latino on the Court of Appeals), it could not support his promotion to the state’s highest court because of his pro-management rulings.
Seven members of the state’s congressional delegation including Nydia Velasquez and Yvette Clark have come out on favor of the nomination. The politicians who will decide are the state Senators though, and the labor official says the votes for confirmation are not there. I guess we’ll find out for sure next month, unless the nomination is withdrawn first.
H.E.Wolf
@la caterina:
@Geminid:
No worries – I’m in agreement with you about the disappointing (I’m being tactful) judicial pick.
ETA: Maybe it’ll fall through and the Gov. will choose better on the 2nd nomination. We can live in hope….
Anyway
@Geminid:
LaSalle is also anti-choice which should be a big fat NO for a Dem-appointed justice.
Geminid
@Anyway: Is he really anti-choice, though? I understand that LaSalle had a bad ruling regarding regulation of “pregnancy crisis centers” but I don’t know that he has ruled against a woman’s right to choose.
I’m not saying LaSalle is an acceptable nominee, and I think it’s a good thing that he likely will not be confirmed.
But I am saying that maybe Governor Hochul is being smeared by means of exaggeration. I’ve seen LaSalle called “another Amy Coney Barrett,” but I don’t believe intelligent and staunchly pro-choice Congresswomen like Yvette Clark and Nydia Velasquez would support him if he was.
There have been people with an anti-Hochul ax to grind ever since she took office. They tried to scapegoat her for the Democrats’ poor performance in the midterms and now they’re slagging her as “Cuomo in a skirt.” Kathy Hochul deserves fair and good faith criticism over this nomination but some people just see an opportunity to prosecute one of the New York Democrats’ many feuds.
Another Scott
@Geminid:
Made me look. BoltsMag.org:
He seems like a needlessly antagonistic nominee for a Democrat to pick.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Geminid
@Another Scott: I think you are correct in your conclusion, and the comments here bear this out.
But I was speaking to the question of Governor Hochul fitness, and the nature of the attacks on her. I think there is an animus towards her that is independent of this questionable nomination and that people with an anti-Hochul ax to grind are using it to tear her down. That’s what I meant when I said “the knives are out for Hochul.”
They are and if people think that cutting up the Governor will be good for the New York Democratic party I disagree. I don’t believe LaSalle’s nomination will be confirmed and I hope it is withdrawn before it gets to the floor of the New York Senate.
But the effort to damage Hochul will continue because some Democrats and third party members never liked her and never will. They will use this matter to discredit her long after it is over, whether or not she is a good Governor.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: I agree with Scott’s conclusion.
I also think that if you have enemies and you know they are going to attack you whenever they can, the smart and pragmatic move is to not do things that will anger and disappoint your supporters while also giving your detractors a big fat opening for attack.
Double fail on Hochul’s part.
Especially dumb when the Democratic governor before you was hated by his own party because he enabled Republicans.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: I just replied to the commenter that “I think you are correct in your conclusion” (#77).
I’m not disputing the proposition that LaSalle was not a good choice. I’m questioning the more general conclusions that some people are pressing as to Hochul’s fitness for the office.
Geminid
@Geminid: I would better to have said, “Hochul’s fitness as a Democrat for the office.”
That’s more to the point.