why the hell is the GOP hanging onto trump?....

[samnsara]

...it cant because they need him to promote their agenda..hell if they impeached him either pence or ryan would take his place. Cant they do the job in a ( somewhat more) sane manner?and probably quicker? They cant be afraid of his quickly dwindling rabid base...so what the hell is the GOP waiting for? What has trump got over them???

[Chasstev365]

1. Perhaps many of them were either in on Russian collusion or took Russian money

It's the only explanation I cam come up with.

[GoCubsGo]

13. That is a distinct possibility.

We already know that Dana Rohrbacher was probably involved. And, even if McConnell, Ryan, and most, if not all of the leadership weren't directly involved, they likely knew about it, and they looked the other way. They were complicit. They only care about gaining and maintaining power. They don't care how they come by it.

[enough]

2. Republican primary voters. They know they will be primaried if they defy Trump

or even criticize him too much. Trump's base will come out in force in the primaries if he tells them to. His base has a lock on the party.

[Voltaire2]

3. If they impeach him they will risk losing at least

1/3 of their voting base in the next election. That would be a political disaster. They would have to be convinced that the political cost of not tossing him out was greater.

[oberliner]

4. Name a GOP politician more popular than Trump among Republicans?

There isn't one

[tanyev]

5. "What has Trump got over them???"

That is the million dollar question.

[Voltaire2]

6. Until they are convinced that the political cost

of not removing Trump is greater than the political cost of removing him they will do nothing. Doing nothing when faced with such a dilemma is always the safest position. Action imparts blame.

[Zoonart]

7. Can't link this... and it may just be a rumor,

but a couple of months ago I read that there is a RICO case brewing against the RNC involving the washing of dark money from Blind LLC's that had been created to bring Russian money into the RNC coffers- then distributed throughout the country to candidates that were in need of more cash then they could raise.

If this is true, then many in the party have gained office through the "fruit of the poison tree" Russia, and the RNC will go down with TRUMP.
The speculation I read proposed that this was the real reason they had to stick with 45 no matter what. He goes down so do they. If this is anywhere near true then we are really in trouble because they might let him destroy the Republic and declare himself dictator before they allow the fruits of these investigations see the light of day.

[JDC]

9. Almost too good to be true

[Zoonart]

10. I know, right?

Right after I read this I saw that famous clip of Diane Feinstein and Chuck Grassley leaving a meeting in the Capitol where they had been briefed on the Trump Investigation and Di Fi looked absolutely stricken and could not even speak. I believe that this is what she had learned and the enormity of what had happened in the election literally struck her dumb. There is no Constitutional remedy for an election that has not only been stolen at the top... but corrupted nationally up and down the ballot by foreign money. That reaction from Di Fi still resonates with me.

[machoneman]

12. I read the same.

Articles have also linked, amazingly, Ryan, McTurtle and other senior republiscum Senators and House members. If true, and I have no doubts, it explains why the FBI has moved slowly since the width and depth of this scandal is as wide as the Mississippi river in severe flood stage!

Imagine if you will indictments against many, many senior Senate and House members and by the score!

Delightful! Wonderful!

[FakeNoose]

20. I remember seeing that too

Before I came to DU I used to read the Gawker feeds every day, before and after the general election. There were tons of rumors posted on Gawker but also some items that could or might be true. (You never know.)

The Steele dossier (it's now called the Trump dossier) was discussed on Gawker long before it was here on DU. I think it was on there even before the election, or just after Trump was elected. Presumably the FBI had already been investigating before the election because they did know about it. The FBI brought the info they had to Obama before the election. Anyway the feds were saying privately that "Trump will die in jail" because they already had the goods on him and it had to do with Russian money laundering schemes through his casinos and real estate. It apparently won't matter if Flynn or Manafort talk because they already have what they need to sink Trump.

The GOP has been taking money from "blind" PACs for years, and presumably at least some of them are Russian but I don't know how it can be traced. Sooner or later they're all going down. I don't think there are enough Trump supporters (or deplorables) to allow a dictatorship to happen. I don't believe they even want that, but if they do it's not happening. They're just sad poor middle aged white men. Trump himself is a sad old man who screams at the TV when he doesn't like the news. People like that don't start revolutions.

[uponit7771]

23. That's doesn't sound too far from the truth

[Orrex]

8. Because he is advancing their agenda

And he's the perfect lightning rod.

That idiot racist fuckhead only has to tweet some bullshit about polls or MSNBC, and it dominates the news cycle for days. Meanwhile, the GOP's agenda is ticking steadily forward.

Since election day, Trump has done absolutely nothing that is not 100% in line with the party platform. Why should they not hang onto him? Who's going to rein him in? Who's going to hold him accountable? Who's going to impeach him?


Mueller could produce irrefutable evidence of Trump literally traveling back in time and personally nailing Jesus to the cross, and the GOP would still prostate itself at his disgusting orange feet.

[spanone]

11. because they approve of every move he makes. hands down.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Exactly. He's doing their dirty work for them.

His moves are unpopular with the vast majority of the American people, but the GOP loves them. He makes the moves, and he takes the fall for it. Meanwhile, the rest of the party leadership sit back and reap the benefits, with little of the criticism.

[kairos12]

14. They fear the Drumpt mob and he will probably them tax cuts.

[Lochloosa]

16. Easy answer. Power and money. N/T

[USALiberal]

17. Because the base LOVES the guy. They know what they are doing. n/t

[TEB]

18. I wonder if the Russian cash /collusion goes deeper than we know

[briv1016]

19. Because they're not ready to make him a martyr yet;

he and his base would be very dangerous for them if they voted to impeach.

[L. Coyote]

21. ANYONE expressing support for Trump now is declaring themselves to be a white nationalist.

There is no more hiding the fact that Trump is a vehement racist. They have to keep their mouths shut or they declare themselves to be the same at this point if they express support.

Link to tweet

[Kablooie]

22. They are terrified his base will dump them.

They've spent decades cultivating a base of ignorant toadies and now those toadies control the votes.

[Mr. Ected]

24. Because the Russians compiled kompromat on Republicans, too

And blackmail is a powerful tool.

Just my conjecture, of course, and others have suggested less conspiratorial reasons that are more likely...but still...would all of the Russian hacks been directed solely towards the Democrats?

[Hugin]

25. He is a distraction the GrOPpers are using to get what they want through the back door.

They got the Supreme Court Justice they wanted. (for starters)

They are quietly dismantling financial regulations and worker protections.
They are dismantling the EPA, State, and FDA.

They are and have been in favor of almost everything Trump has suggested or done since taking office.

and on and on...

We don't talk about these things here at teh DU because, Trump.

[mindem]

26. Because they would have to admit they are wrong.

Repukes never admit they are wrong.

[Bradshaw3]

27. 1. Money laundering. 2. Afariad of his base. 3. Authoritarians

The first two have already been well explained on this thread. The third may not be as important but I believe that is who the repubs have become; they have to follow dur fuhrer, whoever that is till it's no longer possible - if and when that happens.