Former White House chief strategist and current Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon on Friday pledged to Republicans that he would not focus his political efforts on defeating establishment House Republicans, Politico reported.
Citing two unnamed people familiar with a meeting at the so-called “Breitbart Embassy,” a town house in Washington, D.C., Politico reported that Bannon pledged to the chairman and executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee that he would not “focus” on defeating House incumbents. Bannon has declared political war on incumbent Senate Republicans — with the exception of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — who he calls part of the “globalist” establishment in Washington.
That effort has drawn a rebuke from even President Donald Trump, who said in mid-October, referring to Bannon’s work: “Some of the people that he may be looking at, I’m going to see if we talk him out of that because frankly, they’re great people.”
Bannon’s wing of the Republican Party — funded generously in various capacities by billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah — celebrated announcements from Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in recent months that they would not seek re-election.
Bannon did not pledge to hold off completely from attacking House Republicans, Politico noted: At one point in the 40-minute discussion, per the publication, “discussion turned to North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger, whose primary opponent, Mark Harris, is running with Bannon’s support.”
Bannon has also thrown his weight behind the comeback campaign of Michael Grimm, the former congressman who once threatened to physically assault a reporter for a question he asked. A year later, Grimm pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
Politico also reported that the NRCC officials also told Bannon they would not “impede his efforts” to elect conservative Republicans in open, reliably Republican seats. So far, more than a dozen House Republicans have said they will not seek re-election, most recently the powerful Republican Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX).
For the life of me, I can’t imagine why anybody who calls himself a Republican (Donnie Trump excluded, of course) would ever under any circumstances at any time trust anything that Steve Bannon says.
Well… if he promised I guess it’s all okay.
But get the pinky swear, while you’re at it guys.
First Bannon said he was committed to defeating establishment Republicans, now he is not. He also predicted that Trump would not serve out his full first term, and then said he would be re-elected in 2020 by a huge electoral/popular vote landslide. Is Bannon drunk…again?
The House GOP has proven itself to be a mass of mindless, spineless thugs, and the few who aren’t totally rotten (Ros-Lehtinen, Dent) are retiring. Bannon’s mission is nothing more than completing the quest to craft a perfect rubber stamp legislature for the Kochs, Mercers, and any other sadistic, anti-social billionaires.
That must have been quite reassuring for those Republicans.