Dan Senor's observation about a divided Republican Party was epitomized by a recent gathering on Capitol Hill. The Dubliner Pub hosted an unusual viewing party for Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump's (R-NY) acceptance speech. Former Hill Rats and GOP Administration alumni gathered for a wake for the Republican Party.
Lest one be lured into a facile understanding that these are just sour grapes of Republican Establishment flunkies chaffing at meeting the new boss of the party, the chasm between outsiders and establishment is not a clean cut. While four GOP standard bearers including former President George H.W. Bush ('88 and; '92 nominee), former President George W. Bush ('00 and '04 nominee), ex Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA '12 nominee) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ '08 nominee) consciously chose to skip the RNC in CLE, this disdain was not universal. Melania Trump recognized from the dais ex Senator Bob Dole ( R-KS '96 nominee). Of course ,Dole conveniently endorsed Trump in December. Moreover, many former Dole staffers have been joining the Trump campaign.
Establishment Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also attended the Trump Show. Trump winning works into the Cocktail Party agenda of eliminating pesky Tea Party types from between the beltways. There may be a calculus by Cocktail Party chiefs that if Trump wins, they can cut backroom deals with him. If Trump goes to ignominious defeat, then the Grand Old Party will have to rely on the Establishment as they lick their wounds in the 115th Congress.
Obviously, Senator Ted Cruz's non-endorsement of Trump illustrates the Republican Party in exile. Cruz's Constitutional conservatism may make strange bedfellows with more moderate Republicans in exile. But they can probably agree that threatening to trash trade deals like NAFTA, effectively blowing up NATO and ignoring back actors in the world under the guise of America First neo-isolationism is anathematic to the Post World War II Republican Party.
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