Flake, McConnell, Heller learn hard way about the fallout from TURNING ON Trump

[HAPPY2BME]

Dean Heller


Jeff Flake


Mitch McConnell

Republican senators who have been a thorn in President Trump's side are beginning to see the political consequences of opposing the White House as pro-Trump activists start to mobilize.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/10/senators-learn-hard-way-about-fallout-from-turning-on-trump.html

[HAPPY2BME]

Just this week, it was revealed that conservative billionaire and Trump benefactor Robert Mercer would be contributing $300,000 to a super PAC supporting a primary challenger to Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawmaker has sparred with Trump on immigration and is promoting a book that argues the GOP is in “denial” about the president.

Politico first reported, though, that Mercer plans to donate to the super PAC backing Flake challenger Kelli Ward, a former state senator who unsuccessfully ran against Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2016.

Speaking to Fox News’ Dana Perino on "The Story" last week, Flake denied being worried about a primary challenge.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/09/trump-jeff-flake-robert-mercer-kelli-ward-241454

[HAPPY2BME]

Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller – who gave only tepid support to Trump’s presidential bid and the subsequent push to repeal and replace ObamaCare – also learned this week he would face a primary challenge from a Trump backer who has run unsuccessfully for Senate before.

Like Flake, Heller is facing a primary challenge in Nevada from the right: businessman Danny Tarkanian, the son of legendary Nevada basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Heller has long been considered vulnerable but his efforts to at least avoid a primary challenge grew more complicated when he declined to back the Republican-controlled Senate’s early ObamaCare overhaul plan.

At one point, a pro-Trump group called America First Policies briefly took out advertisements against Heller over his health care stance.

[HAPPY2BME]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, too, is feeling the heat from Trump and his base as the president vents about the Kentucky Republican’s inability to get health care legislation passed.

Meanwhile, McConnell, who is not up for re-election this year, has been facing the wrath of Trump and his supporters after saying in a speech that Trump had “excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process."

“Hey Kentucky--time to tell @SenateMajLdr McConnell to stop rolling over for the Dems, advance the Trump agenda, or step aside,” conservative radio host Laura Ingraham tweeted Thursday.

https://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/status/895679059652296705

[HAPPY2BME]

by David M. Drucker | Aug 11, 2017

Trump's relationship with Hill Republicans disintegrates in public

Trump, frustrated with the pace of business on Capitol Hill, suggested to reporters on Thursday an openness to seeing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., ousted if he can't deliver healthcare reform, an overhaul of the U.S. tax code, and infrastructure spending.

McConnell's allies responded in force, saying the leader has done better than anyone else would have navigating a difficult political environment made even more challenging by a novice president whose bluster and ignorance has complicated Republicans' ability to pass big-ticket legislation.

"The problem for Trump is that there is nobody that is going to challenge Mitch McConnell in the conference," said a Republican operative and Capitol Hill veteran. "Trump has an ‘R' next to his name, but he's not a Republican; there's no loyalty."

Trump's voting base is so far siding with him. According to a new poll from CNN, 68 percent judge the GOP-controlled Congress to be a failure and Republicans themselves are split on the question. Republican approval of the party's congressional leadership has fallen from 75 percent in January to just 39 percent now. But Trump isn't doing himself any favors in winning the kind of support he would need to have more influence on Capitol Hill.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trumps-relationship-with-hill-republicans-disintegrates-in-public/article/2631226

[HAPPY2BME]

08/10/2017

EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Flake’s Primary Challenger To Hire Top Trump Operatives

Dr. Kelli Ward, who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. John McCain in the 2016 primaries, is now taking on Sen. Jeff Flake in the 2018 Arizona Senate primary.

“I, as well as others, are frustrated with Senator Flake’s weak style,” Ward told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview Thursday. “He hasn’t accomplished a thing in D.C., and his values do not align with the people of Arizona.”

Ward is bringing on two political operatives with ties to the president, Eric Beach and Brent Lowder. The two men will serve as general consultants for the campaign, TheDCNF has learned.

Beach is the founder and co-chair of Great America PAC, and Lowder is it’s executive director. The Great America PAC raised and spent close to $30 million in support of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Dr. Kelli Ward
✔
@kelliwardaz

#GOP voters want action & all we've gotten is finger pointing at @realDonaldTrump - the era of excuses is over! http://kelliward.com/articles/kelli-ward-responds-to-disappointing-mitch-mcconnell …
2:44 PM - Aug 10, 2017



http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/10/exclusive-jeff-flakes-primary-challenger-to-hire-top-trump-operatives/

[Old n Grumpy]

If Trump can blow a couple of these anti Trump Rino's out of office into the unemployment line and replace them with some better people it will wake up some of the other fence sitters. This is what is needed to drain the swamp.