Can Trump Bribe His Way Out Of Impeachment? He's Certainly Trying

Yesterday, the House Republicans showed us-- once again-- what they're made of: TREASON. Every single Republican stuck with Trump and spat in the face of the Constitution and in the face of the United States. Now, of course, everyone is wondering what will happen in the Senate once the House impeaches Trump. If you want to look at it transactionally-- and these are politicians we're talking about here-- among the Republican-held Senate seats up for grabs next year, several will be decided by independent voters (who have increasingly turned against Trump)-- not in zombie-Republican states like Tennessee and Arkansas, where the GOP can win without any independents, but these 8 states:

• Maine- Susan Collins
• Colorado- Cory Gardner
• Arizona- Martha McSally
• Iowa- Joni Ernst
• North Carolina- Thom Tillis
• Montana- Steve Daines
• Alaska- Dan Sullivan
• Georgia- David Perdue

Yesterday, before the House vote, Alex Isenstadt reported for Politico that Señor Trumpanzee "is rewarding senators who have his back on impeachment-- and sending a message to those who don't to get on board." Rewarding as in C.A.S.H. "Trump," he continued, "is tapping his vast fundraising network for a handful of loyal senators facing tough reelection bids in 2020. Each of them has signed onto a Republican-backed resolution condemning the inquiry as 'unprecedented and undemocratic.'... With his new push, Trump is exerting leverage over a group he badly needs in his corner with an impeachment trial likely coming soon to the Senate-- but that also needs him." And Susan Collins (R-ME) gets squat.

Republican senators on the ballot next year are lagging in fundraising, stoking uncertainty about the GOP’s hold on the chamber, and could use the fundraising might of the president. Trump’s political operation has raked in over $300 million this year.

On Wednesday, the Trump reelection campaign sent a fundraising appeal to its massive email list urging donors to provide a contribution that would be divided between the president and Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Each of the senators are supporting the anti-impeachment resolution despite being endangered in 2020.

“If we don’t post strong fundraising numbers,” the message warned, “we won't be able to defend the President from this baseless Impeachment WITCH HUNT.”

Next week, Trump will lend a hand to Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a staunch ally who has also spoken out against impeachment. On Nov. 8, the president will host an Atlanta fundraising lunch that will jointly benefit his campaign, the Republican National Committee, and Perdue’s reelection effort. Attendees are being asked to give up to $100,000, according to an invitation obtained by Politico.

Trump is also set to appear next week at a reception for Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and party leadership.

The offensive comes as Trump presses Republicans to remain united behind him. During a cabinet meeting last week, the president implored Republicans to “get tougher and fight” while lamenting that Democrats “stick together. You never see them break off.”

...“The donors listen to the president, and he has the most capacity to energize small-dollar contributions by making the case that he needs a Senate majority to be successful,” said Scott Jennings, a former political aide in the George W. Bush White House.

Trump’s interest in assisting down-ballot candidates has heartened Republican strategists who worry that the 2020 election is turning out to be a re-run of the disastrous 2018 midterms, when GOP candidates were vastly out-raised. The hope is that Trump can harness his massive small-donor network to help Republican senators, who are trying to protect a narrow majority.

“The hard lessons from 2018 were that elections have consequences and it is the president’s party now,” said Scott Reed, the senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Trump, Reed added, “has the ability to turn on the money spigot like no one else.”

Michael Franken, a retired admiral currently running for the Iowa Senate seat occupied by Joni Ernst pointed out that "The unknown is when the influx of extravagant GOP funding does little more than annoy the voter. In Iowa, for instance, the middle third, who question Trump’s suitability for decision making and may very well be losing their farms due to disastrous trade policies, may already be lost. Recent polling numbers for Senator Joni Ernst fell to a 39% approval rating from a high of 57% in February. (She parrots Trump.) Getting bombarded by TV ads may lull some listeners to vote for Trump’s acolyte, but not if the farm is on the auction block."

Dr. Al Gross is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate, officially endorsed by the Alaska Democratic Party. Last night he told me that "Here in Alaska, if we want to survive, we think for ourselves. That's why Alaska has the greatest proportion of independent voters of any state in the country. 55.25% of voters are registered as independents. Yet Dan Sullivan keeps showing us that he's in lock step with Washington DC's partisan political game-playing. We appreciate our freedom here in Alaska and make sure to have each other's backs. Dan Sullivan is beholden to Mitch McConnell and the DC political class. He's not looking out for us. He's looking out for himself and for his own career. He appears to prefer to rise or fall with McConnell and the National Republican Party rather than stake out an Alaskan position on any issue at all."