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Republican Fissures Deepen as Feuding Candidates Rip Up Loyalty Pledge
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich had all promised to support the party’s eventual nominee. That changed on Tuesday.
Bloomberg
By Sahil Kapur
3/30/2016
Excerpt:
In a sign of a fractured party splitting even further apart, all three Republican presidential candidates on Tuesday walked away from their pledge to support the winner of the nomination in the general election.
Donald Trump and John Kasich said they would no longer abide by that loyalty pledge without knowing who the nominee is, while Ted Cruz made a personal and substantive case against supporting Trump.
“No, I don't anymore,” Trump said during a CNN town hall when asked if he still pledged to support the eventual party nominee if he was not deemed the winner. “I have been treated very unfairly,” he said, by the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party, and “the establishment.”
As for Cruz, Trump added: “Let me just tell you, I don't want his support. I don't need his support. I want him to be comfortable.”
The front-runner’s remarks came shortly after Cruz said he’s “not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and my family,” referring to a recent Trump tweet going after his wife, Heidi Cruz.
“Nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck,” Cruz said. “I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton.”
Kasich said he may have spoken too soon when he made the promise to back the Republican nominee. “I've got to see what happens,” Kasich said. “If the nominee is somebody who's hurting the country and dividing the country I can't stand behind him.”
The RNC pledge was initially conceived last year as an thinly veiled attempt to push Trump to rule out a third-party bid. He accepted, with the caveat that he “be treated fairly” by the party. As Trump cemented his lead in the race, the gambit appeared to have backfired.
RNC spokespersons didn't respond to messages Tuesday night seeking comment on their candidates backing off the loyalty pledge.
‘Heart Attack’
The broken pledges are sure to raise questions about whether the GOP is capable of uniting ahead of the 2016 election, heightening the dilemma for a party that's already facing questions about its viability in the general election.
“That sound you just heard is [RNC Chairman Reince Priebus] having a heart attack. If Trump turns on the GOP, the GOP is dead,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz wrote on Twitter. He added, “The GOP will have a bad time in November if Trump and Cruz supporters aren't unified behind the Republican nominee.”
Priebus has sought to downplay the specter of party divisions. On March 10, he made the unusual move of kicking off a Republican debate by insisting, unprompted, that “this party is going to support the nominee, whoever it is, 100 percent.”
At best, the candidates’ remarks Tuesday highlight the sharp differences within the three intra-party coalitions represented by the trio of finalists—the nativist and nationalist faction represented by Trump, the ideologically conservative faction represented by Cruz, and the moderate faction represented by Kasich. At worst, they call into question whether the factions can continue to co-exist. If not, the 2016 election hopes for the Republican Party, which faces demographic disadvantages against the Democrats even if it's united, in the 2016 election could be quashed.
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View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...loyalty-pledge
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich had all promised to support the party’s eventual nominee. That changed on Tuesday.
Bloomberg
By Sahil Kapur
3/30/2016
Excerpt:
In a sign of a fractured party splitting even further apart, all three Republican presidential candidates on Tuesday walked away from their pledge to support the winner of the nomination in the general election.
Donald Trump and John Kasich said they would no longer abide by that loyalty pledge without knowing who the nominee is, while Ted Cruz made a personal and substantive case against supporting Trump.
“No, I don't anymore,” Trump said during a CNN town hall when asked if he still pledged to support the eventual party nominee if he was not deemed the winner. “I have been treated very unfairly,” he said, by the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party, and “the establishment.”
As for Cruz, Trump added: “Let me just tell you, I don't want his support. I don't need his support. I want him to be comfortable.”
The front-runner’s remarks came shortly after Cruz said he’s “not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and my family,” referring to a recent Trump tweet going after his wife, Heidi Cruz.
“Nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck,” Cruz said. “I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton.”
Kasich said he may have spoken too soon when he made the promise to back the Republican nominee. “I've got to see what happens,” Kasich said. “If the nominee is somebody who's hurting the country and dividing the country I can't stand behind him.”
The RNC pledge was initially conceived last year as an thinly veiled attempt to push Trump to rule out a third-party bid. He accepted, with the caveat that he “be treated fairly” by the party. As Trump cemented his lead in the race, the gambit appeared to have backfired.
RNC spokespersons didn't respond to messages Tuesday night seeking comment on their candidates backing off the loyalty pledge.
‘Heart Attack’
The broken pledges are sure to raise questions about whether the GOP is capable of uniting ahead of the 2016 election, heightening the dilemma for a party that's already facing questions about its viability in the general election.
“That sound you just heard is [RNC Chairman Reince Priebus] having a heart attack. If Trump turns on the GOP, the GOP is dead,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz wrote on Twitter. He added, “The GOP will have a bad time in November if Trump and Cruz supporters aren't unified behind the Republican nominee.”
Priebus has sought to downplay the specter of party divisions. On March 10, he made the unusual move of kicking off a Republican debate by insisting, unprompted, that “this party is going to support the nominee, whoever it is, 100 percent.”
At best, the candidates’ remarks Tuesday highlight the sharp differences within the three intra-party coalitions represented by the trio of finalists—the nativist and nationalist faction represented by Trump, the ideologically conservative faction represented by Cruz, and the moderate faction represented by Kasich. At worst, they call into question whether the factions can continue to co-exist. If not, the 2016 election hopes for the Republican Party, which faces demographic disadvantages against the Democrats even if it's united, in the 2016 election could be quashed.
.................................................. .
View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...loyalty-pledge