OPINION:
Hillary Clinton is making a list, and she’s checking it twice — of #NeverTrump Republicans that is.
The Democratic front-runner has been sending emails to reporters of those in the Republican Party who have either tried to avoid endorsing GOP front-runner Donald Trump, or have specifically said they couldn’t support him in the general election.
On Thursday, minutes after House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said he was withholding his support for the Republican presumptive nominee, Mrs. Clinton sent out a updated #NeverTrump list, with a red, bold, headline: “Speaker Paul Ryan joins growing list of conservatives rebuking Trump as he captures GOP nomination.”
You see, Mrs. Clinton would like to keep this narrative going — that the GOP is fractured beyond repair and is an ailing party. Never mind that she still hasn’t locked up her own nomination, and several supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders’ have vowed never to vote for her. The Democratic Party is facing its own upheaval by a self-described Democratic Socialist who has energized a progressive base, is fighting for his own platform and refuses to get out of the race despite party leaders wanting him to.
But that’s a storyline Mrs. Clinton would like the press to ignore.
So she’s fueling the anti-Republican narrative, doing her best to make things easy on the mainstream media. Her #NeverTrump press release links to 32 news stories nationwide, detailing negative comments that Republican senators, House members and other leaders have made regarding the businessman.
Mrs. Clinton was also quick to create a campaign video highlighting all the combustible stuff the GOP has said about Mr. Trump during this campaign cycle. Set to carnival-like music, it’s effective because it’s essentially mocking everyone in the Republican Party. It’s a great compliment to her #NeverTrump list, in that a press story can be created immediately between the two.
Perhaps the #NeverTrump movement’s goal is to get Mrs. Clinton elected to the White House. I wish they’d just be honest about it. Switch parties, run a third-party candidate, whatever. Just stop giving ammunition to Mrs. Clinton to shoot at the GOP.
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