The Republican National Committee has mishandled the Donald Trump situation from the word “go”. Rather than recognizing him for what he was—a toxic interloper who would rain destruction upon the party brand—it instead treated him just like any other candidate.
It looked the other way as Trump insulted John McCain and Megyn Kelly last summer.
It sanctioned a debate format—nine or so candidates, with each getting just seconds to talk—that made Trump, the master of quips, but otherwise vacuous, look good.
It responded to his threats to run as an independent with a nonsensical pledge, which only hurt those decent Republicans like Jeb Bush who refused to endorse him.
It sat idly by as Trump trashed the process at the Colorado and North Dakota nominating conventions.
It set up a joint fundraising and campaign effort that Trump decided to rely on, rather than build his own organization.
It squashed efforts at the convention in Cleveland to hold a vote on conscience rights, even going so far as to gavel to silence Mike Lee, a sitting United States senator, during a rules committee debate.
It generally took every opportunity to demean and insult those of us who see Trump for what he is: poison to the Republican party and to the conservative movement.
And what has Trump done in return? According to a blockbuster Bloomberg Businessweek story by Joshua Green and Sasha Issenberg, he’s used the RNC’s resources to set himself up for years to come (emphasis added):
That’s right. The RNC handed Trump the tools he needed to build his own database of loyal followers, which he can cultivate after the election. So, our Trump troubles will not end on November 8, thanks in large measure to the Republican National Committee. He will be around for as long as he pleases, causing trouble as he sees fit.
If current polls are to be believed, Hillary Clinton will be declared the winner of the presidential election at approximately 9:01 PM EST on November 8, 2016.
At 9:02, the top officers of the RNC should resign. That includes Reince Priebus, chairman; Sharon Day, co-chairman; Tony Parker, treasurer; Susie Hudson, secretary; John Ryder, general counsel; and Lew Eisenberg, finance chairman. Bruce Ash, chairman of the rules committee, should also resign.
If the RNC were a publicly traded company, the shareholders would demand such a house cleaning. It’s not unreasonable for conservatives to demand the same.
