The chairman of the Senate Republican campaign arm told reporters he was advising colleagues facing tough contests for re-election to stay away from the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer, The Hill reported Tuesday.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) told reporters that his colleagues shouldn’t participate in a fight for delegates among Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Donald Trump.
“If there’s going to be a brouhaha, I’m advising candidates to be present for more unifying events,” Wicker said, according to The Hill.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) was the first GOP senator to say he won’t attend the convention and instead plans to focus on his re-election campaign. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also has said he won’t attend in order to work on his own re-election.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who will serve as the Republican National Convention chair in July, has urged GOP lawmakers to attend, arguing that they shouldn’t be worried about being tied to the eventual nominee.
Ahh, remember when the GOP was in lockstep on messaging? They threw that idea to the curb in a really big way, didn’t they?
Profiles in courage.
GOP’s new slogan : when the going gets tough, run for cover.
I hope there are long, primetime, philosophical arguments about who should use which bathroom. That would be great.
They should all be required to go.
They are responsible for this mess; they should have to stew in it.
Take a moment to realize just how stunning this is - every 4 years, political parties hold massive conventions to unify behind their candidate for president who then becomes the de facto party leader going into November.
This year, Republicans are advising other Republicans to avoid the shitshow at all costs.
There really isn’t enough popcorn in the world to properly acknowledge what has become of today’s GOP.