Chuck Schumer and the Democrats were fantastically unsuccessful in their attempts to promote MAGA Senate hopeful Ron Hanks over more mainstream GOP conservative Joe O’Dea, and that’s a good thing for a few reasons. First, more hardcore Trumpism is not going to undo the damage Trumpism did to the GOP. To be clear, I’m not a Resisting Bulwark/Dispatch Conserving Conservativism™ types; I just think that Trump damaged the GOP’s brand, which was already on pretty shaky ground before he ran for president.
The other reason, of course, is that the Democrats gambled and lost. O’Dea is Colorado’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee, and that’s not what they wanted because, unlike Hanks, O’Dea actually had a shot in my adopted home state of purplish-blue Colorado.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump seems determined to snatch whatever chance O’Dea has got away:
He was always a long shot, but 1st Rom Hanks and now this, a wing of the GOP seems to prefer that O’Dea doesn’t win. pic.twitter.com/DjYWay3Suj
— Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) October 17, 2022
Gee, thanks, Donald!
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O’Dea is not a “RINO character,” for what it’s worth. He’s looked at the economy, inflation, energy independence … all the issues, and he’s pretty much in-line with mainstream conservatism. You know who’s not? Michael Bennet, O’Dea’s Democratic opponent. Bennet is an unapologetic liberal who’s actually running on the fact that he was in favor of the disastrous Inflation Reduction Act. Bennet’s a doofus, and Donald Trump is basically telling voters not to vote for O’Dea, and, by extension, to sit back and watch Bennet win.
Proving once again that Trump prefers Democrats in power to anyone that doesn’t fully bend the knee to him on the right. Attacking a Republican Senate candidate 3 weeks before one of the most important midterm elections in years. https://t.co/fe6xiBwsCG
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 17, 2022
It is simply poor politics for a GOPer to actively virtue signal their distain for Trump.
— CJ (@cj_ohio) October 17, 2022
Yes it’s everyone else’s fault. They made him do it. In a state where everyone hates trump.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 17, 2022
Trump is definitely not winning any popularity contests in Colorado. Maybe that’s part of why he’s trying to do what he can to hand the election to Democrats: he’s out for revenge. He’s certainly petty enough to do something like that. He has done things like that.
Wouldn't be the first senate election he's sabotaged
— Dennis (Redacted) ¯_( ツ)_/¯ (@grumpy_veteran) October 17, 2022
And don’t forget that he’s been gunning for Brian Kemp in Georgia since 2020. Fortunately, Kemp is up against Stacey Abrams, who’s so bad even Trump can’t help her. Meanwhile, Trump-backed Herschel Walker is a walking disaster, which is really saying something considering what a garbage person Raphael Warnock is.
For some reason the same people who pretend that not openly supporting Trump is a huge betrayal and makes someone responsible for everything Dems do don’t apply that logic to Trump not only not helping, but openly attacking Republicans in key Senate races. https://t.co/l9xqrN9kIe
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 17, 2022
Well said. Donald Trump is perhaps the most high-profile “Republican” to advocate against Republican candidates. Who needs The Lincoln Project when you’ve got someone like Donald Trump, who is quite content to set the GOP on fire if it keeps him relevant?
This isn’t a lost race either. Trump creates constant messes and expects everyone to go to war to defend him, but he doesn’t care about your family and will never prioritize them over his ego. He doesn’t care if Dems control means worse inflation, crime, border issues etc. pic.twitter.com/nEC4aBDr1t
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 17, 2022
Ardent Trump supporters may not like what AG is saying, but that doesn’t mean what he’s saying isn’t accurate. At the end of the day, Donald Trump is only looking out for himself, and if that means he has to kneecap the Republican Party to keep his name out there, well, that’s a risk he’s more than willing to take.
After all:
Not surprising that a lifelong Democrat prefers Democrats in power.
— Jason (@jasonhsv) October 17, 2022
Trump has got some nerve calling O’Dea a RINO, considering Trump’s own political history. It was only when he realized he could go further in politics by identifying as a Republican that he started identifying as a Republican.
I’m fully aware that some of the people who read this post are going to be annoyed with me, if not outright angry, for maligning Trump’s character. But the truth is that Trump has done that all on his own. Despite the good things that happened on his watch — and I’m not so foolish as to deny that there were good things that happened on his watch — Trump remains an egomaniac and narcissist who would stop at nothing to feel important. If O’Dea loses to Bennet, it won’t be all Donald Trump’s fault. But if he wins, don’t be surprised if Trump takes credit for it.
I will agree with Trump on one point: good luck to Joe O’Dea.
Colorado doesn’t need any help from Donald Trump, but we could sure use some from O’Dea.
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