Opinion : Originally published at Fox News.
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is on the verge of becoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorite person – and Donald Trump’s worst enemy.
Bannon’s so-called “war against the GOP establishment,” is the worst strategic action Republicans could take right now. He is planning to find primary challengers for six of the seven Republican senators running for re-election in 2018. Only Senator Ted Cruz has been spared his wrath. Senator Bob Corker’s decision to not seek a third term leaves an eighth Republican-controlled seat open. As I said on Martha MacCallum’s show, The Story, this week, Bannon’s plan is the wrong strategy.
Every single Senator that Bannon is trying to replace has overwhelmingly supported the Trump agenda: all voted to repeal Obamacare; all supported President Trump’s Cabinet nominations; all supported the American Health Care Act; all supported the so-called Skinny Repeal of Obamacare; and all voted to confirm conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Data analyst Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website has tracked how these six Republicans, and other lawmakers, have voted on legislation that supports President Trump’s agenda. While there are many conservatives, myself included, frustrated with the pace of progress in Washington, the data makes it clear that these Senators are not the ones slowing things down:
- John Barrasso – 95.9 percent
- Orrin Hatch – 95.9 percent
- Roger Wicker – 95.9 percent
- Deb Fischer – 91.8 percent
- Jeff Flake – 91.5 percent
- Dean Heller – 89.8 percent
Each one of these Republicans is also very likely to vote for the Trump-Republican tax cut, as well as future legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. In fact, three of them have voted with Trump’s agenda just as often as Cruz has. Cruz was tracked at 93.9 percent on the FiveThirtyEight website.
At the same time, there are 23 Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 – as well as two independent Senators who caucus with the Democrats.
All 25 of these left-wing Senators have opposed every attempt to repeal Obamacare, voted against the American Health Care Act, and only three supported Gorsuch’s confirmation. Among these Democrats, only Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp have supported Trump initiatives more than half the time – largely out of fear of being voted out of office.
This leads to the key point:
10 of these Democrat-held seats (including the ones held by Manchin and Heitkamp) are in states which President Trump won in 2016. At least six are seriously vulnerable. Does Bannon really think it’s more important to get rid of people like Barrasso and Hatch (who are with the President 95.9 percent of the time) than it is to replace Jon Tester (38.8 percent), Bill Nelson (36.7 percent), or Sherrod Brown (30.6 percent)?
If we are serious about enacting the Trump agenda, we should focus our energy on replacing the Democrats voting against it, not the Republicans voting in favor of it. If Bannon invested the resources at his disposal toward this end, we could potentially gain a 56- or 57-seat pro-Trump agenda majority in the Senate next year. President Trump would then be in a much stronger position to deliver real change.
Bannon should end his war on the GOP. Now is the time to support the Trump agenda, not undermine it.
Your Friend,
Newt
P.S. Copies of Callista’s new children’s book, Hail to the Chief, and my new book Understanding Trump are now available
About Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. After he was elected Speaker, he disrupted the status quo by moving power out of Washington and back to the American people.
Gingrich Productions is a performance and production company featuring the work of Newt Gingrich and Callista Gingrich. Visit : www.gingrichproductions.com
I like Newt and all, but he’s still a politician. He doesn’t rock the boat. We must all get along is his motto. That’s why we are in the mess we are in. For many decades we have shown up to the political fight being out-gunned by the progressives. We now have politicians in DC that are progressives or wannabe progressives. The new batch we are sending to DC scare the old ones as they don’t want to lose their money and power. Sorry Newt, this country was made on the backs of people who work for a living not… Read more »
@AF, This political revolution against the political parties is going to be my new hobby. For the first time in our history, we have the opportunity to BAN political parties. First, flood the primaries. Second, send not yet corrupted candidates to Congress. Third, pass term limits (without term limits it will never get to be my turn or yours), the peoples’s right to recall legislators, justices, and even nameless, faceless, bureaucrats (of unknown parentage). And fourth, Ban political parties that have corrupted government since before we were the United States.
well.
i also think the MOOD of the Republic is changing towards a more CONSERVATIVE SWING TO THE RIGHT.
the PENDULUM FROM TIME TO TIME DOES SWING BACK AND FORTH.
the LEFTIST AND GLOBALIST have had their way for TOO LONG NOW, SO BANNON AND WE DEPLORABLES AND OUR PRESIDENT I HOPE WILL DRAIN THAT SWAMP FULL OF CREATURES FROM THE UNIPARTY AND SEND THEM ALL PACKING AND SOME TO PRISON LIKE OLD HILLARY BEAST ET’AL.
John Barrasso and Orin Hatch have been pretty stable over time. I sure can agree that flaky flake and McCain should be sent home along with several others. The Republican party can not and probably will not get their act together. Each has his own opinion and action. The demorats get the email every morning about what the talking points are for the day and they stick together like glue no matter how ridiculous the talking points may be, and they will fight tooth and nail for their position. They have become belligerent about hildabeast’s uranium deal arguing it is… Read more »
Democrats are exterminating themselves. It’s time to rid America of the RINO’S.
Bannon is Trump’s ace in the hole. He’s the attack dog leading the fight to drain the Republican end of the swamp. He needed a face out there for people to follow in Primaring the Republicans up for reelection who lied about what they would do when the had control of the House,Senate and White House. In doing this President Trump can continue his work as well as support the efforts of someone. Supposedly kicked out of the White House (wink wink). Never forget President Trump has been playing both Republicans and Democrats like a cheap fiddle ever since the… Read more »
bannon is doing trump a favor by getting rid of the anyone but trumpers .to let these maggots feast on what is left of his country is doing a disservice to trump and his platform .it is time to rid the establishment of compromise and time to make a stand especially on the bill of rights ,otherwise the citizens become a disarmed group of sheep at the mercy of a big left wing government police state under its iron heel of political correctness and at will of our masters .
How can one say someone like Flake, Corker or any other Republican who openly admits they dislike the president and calls him dangerous, inept, and a myriad of other names and barbs, is helping the president’s agenda. They are and have been at best part of the political establishment, or at worse, sleeper members of the Democrat Party. It’s time we all help Trump do what he is attempting to do, and that’s “drain the swamp”.
Newt was born and raised in that same system operating today. Many of the Republicans in congress are closet democrats who would rather negotiate away conservative values in order to make a deal.
Keep going Mr Bannon. Too bad he wont run for President
The swamp needs draining and a snake catcher is needed but I agree with Newt, go after the dems first replace them with new repubs who back the president.
The rinos can be next on the target.
Newt is GOPe and is wrong. Bannon is draining the swamp of RINOs. Faster please.
Mr. Bannon, Carry On!
Bannon is already strengthing Trump. Bannon has already gotten Flake to quit. Flake was no friend of Trump’s (read: We the People’s) agenda. Flake was a fat wallowing swamp rino. He will not be running again. Flaking out of the swamp.
Exactly
Drain that swamp!