Subject: Re: Trump kills the GOP
There are multiple dynamics in play right now within the Republican Party worth noting...

ONE -- Trump is essentially annointing two lackeys (including a daughter in-law) as "co-chairs" of the RNC. His daughter-in-law has publicly promised to ensure that "every penny" donated to the RNC will go to the re-election effort for Donald Trump. Note that such a goal, even if true, ignores the larger responsibility of the "Republican National Committee" which is to ensure Republicans in all races have access to funds needed to campaign to ensure Republicans have a chance to win control of the House and Senate.

TWO -- While "ONE" is taking place, Republican candidates across the country in federal and state races were noting throughout 2023 that campaign contributions from previously reliable big fish were dwindling or completely AWOL. News stories have since reported that some money has come back after some waited to see how the Republican Presidential race would turn out but a shortage of funds damages longer-term efforts to promote local, state and Congressional candidates.

THREE -- Republican organizations in multiple states have been roiled by infighting around cultural issues, personal scandals which point out the hypocrisy of the cultural issues being touted and other financial scandals. In Florida, the Republican Party state chairman and his wife were involved in scandals involving a planned three way tryst that morphed into a rape charge which was eventually dropped only to be replaced by a charge of video voyerism for recording the encounter with the second woman involved without her permission. In Michigan, state party officials attempted to oust their chair who had only been appointed in February 2023, citing fundraising problems and constant infighting. The chair, Kristina Karamo, refused to step down, requiring the national committee to review the situtation and issue its own edict supporting her ouster. In Arizona, the party chair stepped down after a recording of him appearing to offer to find loose cannon Kari Lake a cushy position on some company's board to get her off the Republican stage and stop embarrasing the party. It's not clear if his comment was hyperbole or earnest but he's gone and she's still around, crazy as ever.

These are worth noting because...

...they all illustrate problems Republicans have managing money, something they're supposed to be good at.

...they all hint that the "shell" of the party might seem intact but the inner structure is hollowed out in ways that are crippling its ability to operate a national campaign and traditional get-out-the-vote efforts.

...they all suggest that the hall of mirrors in which most Republican leaders voluntarily operate is nearing a point of peak-crazy, crippling the party's ability to perform even the most mundane tasks of an actual political party which could further jeopardize its results going forward.

Still, it is not satisfying to sit back and simply wish upon what might seem like an inevitable implosion followed by something new emerging that can provide a counterbalance to Democrats. There's too much at stake in America and the world at large to waste months while the American government is paralyzed by mental toddlers.


WTH