# What if GOP leadership negotiates a surrender to Clinton? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 9, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285 "2016-08-09T22:12:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/21 "2016-08-10T04:37:07Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Oh, except for most of the country that isn’t big liberal coastal cities, where actual you know, majorities of these pesky things called “voters” get a say. It may be flyover country to you, but they get to send a lot of people to Congress, and have a real voice, even if they aren’t trendy enough to wear skinny jeans. What is a “real voice”? The folks you’re describing seem to be in the habit of sending reps to Congress who don’t represent their interests at all, and appear to be surprised and pissed off when they don’t. And after a sufficient number of election disappointments these same idiots get so pissed off that they nominate a cross between The Terminator and an out of control bulldozer as their presidential candidate, in some wild hope that this destruction machine will somehow make everything all better. You know what? I don’t care what kind of jeans they wear, I’d be more concerned that they have very little understanding of the source of their political and economic ills. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/22 "2016-08-10T06:01:42Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Oh, except for most of the country that isn’t big liberal coastal cities, where actual you know, majorities of these pesky things called “voters” get a say. It may be flyover country to you, but they get to send a lot of people to Congress, and have a real voice, even if they aren’t trendy enough to wear skinny jeans. Except that Real Americans are only a majority in their own mind. The majority of Americans live in cities and that’s been true since around 1920. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/23 "2016-08-10T06:44:04Z")
"In exchange for an endorsement, Hillary might promise Republicans the right to choose whom she nominates to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. " We’ll let you win as long as you allow us to do the most important thing that would happen if we won. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/24 "2016-08-10T07:06:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > We’ll let you win as long as you allow us to do the most important thing that would happen if we won. And by “we’ll let you win” we mean there’s nothing we can do that would stop you from winning. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/25 "2016-08-10T10:20:39Z")
Right now Hillary is on track to be POTUS and appoint a centrist judge to the Supreme Court. The Republicans generously offer is to let her be POTUS if she promises to appoint another right-winger to the Court. … With some counter-promises to be broken later (“Blame me not,” said the scorpion, in a supplicatory tone, “it is not my fault; it is that of my nature; it is a constitutional habit I have of lying.”) I think _The Daily Caller_ needs to give that writer a drug test. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/26 "2016-08-10T12:17:23Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > [Daily Caller](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-case-for-a-negotiated-republican-surrender-to-hillary/ar-BBvpH4d?li=BBnb7Kz) article, so be warned. > > I’m looking at this like I would a sports trade. Its an interesting idea. GOP leadership along with other prominent Republicans rescind their endorsement of Trump and give a full endorsement of Hillary Clinton. In return, they ask for a few things. The article mentions entitlement reform. A bi-partisan national security team. An immigration bill. An up-or-down vote on all of her first term SCOTUS nominees. Raising the federal minimum wage. > > The only non-starter, I think, would be an actual SCOTUS pick. A new justice will sit on the court long after Clinton finishes her terms and given the first opportunity in 30 years for the court to swing firmly liberal, I doubt an endorsement of a winning candidate will mean much. As a liberal, I wouldn’t want Clinton to take that deal. Nor do I think Clinton would do it, but I’m pretty sure McConnell and Ryan would if they went through with this. > > The other stuff like the reforms and bi-partisanship are things I think Clinton would do anyways. If I were her, I’d probably take that deal immediately if offered. Something like immigration would be just extra luxury on top of the sundae. I actually think the article is a bit one-sided. Why the hell would the GOP establishment offer to endorse her for those paltry (not counting the SCOTUS pick) concessions? I’d fully expect a craven turtle like McConnell to ask for more than just that. Something like the GOP endorsement for elimination of the estate tax, and/or suspension of all Wall Street regulations, and/or a “religious freedom” bill. Or something something abortion. > > On the other hand, if Clinton had her choice, I think she’d willingly concede to reduce some taxes and make permanent some parts of the Sequestration spending limits. As a liberal, no deal. Conservatives have made plenty of hay trading on problems they created. No more. Let’s revisit this after November. #electionshaveconsequences ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/27 "2016-08-10T12:32:00Z")
“That jury is coming back in 2 months and you could get nothing…” “We made our case, you didn’t make yours, and we’ll take our chances.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/28 "2016-08-10T13:06:33Z")
Inasmuch as the Republican Party appears to be getting behind the strategy of enticing unhinged people to assassinate Hillary Clinton, might I suggest that they are probably well past the stage of horse trading. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/29 "2016-08-10T13:13:26Z")
What is there to negotiate? The Republicans are stuck with a dumpster fire that they can’t extinguish (and even if they could they’d just lose the hardcore crazies and be as badly off as they are now). Negotiate? How about “You **lose**! You get **nothing**! Good day, sir!” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/30 "2016-08-10T16:05:35Z")
The point of the article, I think, is that a widespread GOP endorsement still means something. For all the talk here about dismissing their support as nothing, we do hold up people like Susan Collins, and those 50 conservatives who signed a statement saying Trump would be a danger to the world as president, to be something of an outlier and meaningful. The individual doesn’t matter, what matters is the perception that Trump is losing everyone. Let’s face it, this race shouldn’t be this close, and though the last week of polls is nice, I’m still worried. Trump could run all over Clinton with bullshit during the debates. Some attack could still happen. Wikileaks and Russia still has enough unreleased emails to fill a few weeks worth of news. So why would Clinton want to do any deal? Simple, she’s smart enough not to give up too much. For example, the article says the GOP could get her to commit to a bi-partisan national security team. Well, Obama worked with Bob Gates, I’m sure Clinton would too, so this “concession” of hers would be something she wants anyway. An immigration bill has been dead on arrival for the whole of Obama’s terms. Even if its filled with poison pills, the fact that we may be able to get the country talking seriously about immigration is a win for Clinton. I doubt she’d simply agree to sign whatever bill the GOP passes, the article mentions that a bill would at least be pushed through to, I’m assuming, the voting part, instead of dying in committee. So again, Clinton agreeing to work with them on an immigration bill in exchange for their endorsements is a win for her and for liberals. 3 months to the election and a lot can still happen. And even so, how confident are liberals that we can take back the Senate, or the House even? 50/50? Even less? If we assume that the crazy type of Trump voters are the base of these GOP Congressmen and Senators, then this deal would be a double blow: they’ll endorse Clinton, she gets a boost from independents, moderates, and conservatives who can’t stand Trump, at the same time the Teahadists desert the GOP by calling them RINOs and refusing to vote for them due to the betrayal, and the Democrats win back the House and Senate. I won’t say it will definitely play out this way, but even if there’s a chance, Clinton should entertain the thought at least ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/31 "2016-08-10T17:01:12Z")
The Republicans chose their nominee at the RNC. If some of them, individually, come out against Trump, good for them. Ms Clinton cutting a deal with the corrupt Republican party would betray her own followers. What about Bernie’s fans who’ve realized that she’s better than Trump? They wouldn’t be happy. Let the remaining Republicans learn to work with President Clinton after the election. If they want to fix their party, it’s up to them. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/32 "2016-08-10T17:23:49Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > You’re saying there’s a lot of gerrymandering in Iowa and Nebraska? Why? To separate the German-Americans from the Polish-Americans? > > Also, there’s a REASON they’re not wearing “skinny jeans” that has naught to do with trendiness. Just saying. Interesting question. Take a look at the way Iowa’s districts have been redrawn[over the last 40 years.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa%27s_congressional_districts#Historical_and_present_district_boundaries_since_1973) Since Des Moines is the largest city in the state, and Polk County has enough people for half a district by itself, why is that area’s district constantly moved to cover different areas of the state? Wouldn’t it make more sense to always keep Des Moines and Ames together in the center of one district and adjust the rural district boundaries? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/33 "2016-08-10T17:34:25Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > Let’s face it, this race shouldn’t be this close, and though the last week of polls is nice, I’m still worried. Trump could run all over Clinton with bullshit during the debates. Some attack could still happen. Wikileaks and Russia still has enough unreleased emails to fill a few weeks worth of news. What new claims are out there? Suppose Wikilinks releases a bunch of emails that prove Hillary Clinton really is guilty of whatever the right wingers are claiming she did over Benghazi. It’s still old news. Anybody who’s going to be swayed by Benghazi revelations has already made up their mind. The Republican problem isn’t that they need to convince people that Hillary Clinton is bad; they’ve already convinced people of that. Their problem is they need to convince people Clinton is worse than Trump. Even if the Republicans could produce evidence that Clinton has committed actual felonies, I think the consensus would be _“Well, at least she’s been smart enough to get away with it all these years. I guess the country would be better off with a smart criminal in charge rather than a dumb one.”_ That’s the image problem the Republicans face. This isn’t a battle of good vs evil. It’s a battle of competence vs incompetence. And everyone can see who’s running the incompetent campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/34 "2016-08-10T17:35:50Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > It may be flyover country to you, but they get to send a lot of people to Congress, and have a real voice, even if they aren’t trendy enough to wear skinny jeans. Skinny jeans are so out, man. And “Flyover country” is more often used as a badge of honor than in a pejorative sense. [Cite](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160314-flyover-country-origin-language-midwest/). (This was a hijack, but then again so was the preceding comment: Derleth was discussing politicians, not voters never mind hicks.) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/35 "2016-08-10T18:01:45Z")
She’s smart enough to know that whatever the Republicans agree to now, they won’t stick to after the election. Even if the Republican leadership intends to stick to the deal, they no longer have enough party discipline to enforce whatever deal they want. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/36 "2016-08-10T18:47:45Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The state actually has budget surpluses and jobs growth. I haven’t been paying attention and apologize for the digression, but when did the handcart to hell get turned around? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/37 "2016-08-10T19:57:56Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > I’m looking at this like I would a sports trade. Its an interesting idea. GOP leadership along with other prominent Republicans rescind their endorsement of Trump and give a full endorsement of Hillary Clinton. In return, they ask for a few things. The article mentions entitlement reform. A bi-partisan national security team. An immigration bill. An up-or-down vote on all of her first term SCOTUS nominees. Raising the federal minimum wage. Any sort of deal that results in the implementation of Simpsons-Bowles is unacceptable especially if paired with a GOP-driven immigration “reform” bill that would expand “guest worker” (ie indentured servants) programs. Now if they just demanded stuff like a twenty-week abortion ban and national concealed-carry, Clinton should consider this but were she to accept this, it would be pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory. Obviously she won’t since she isn’t a retard, but were Clinton to accept this proposal I’d probably write-in Benjamin Butler’s name out of sheer spite. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Except that Real Americans are only a majority in their own mind. The majority of Americans live in cities and that’s been true since around 1920. Most Republican voters don’t from farms or even villages but small cities, suburbs, and exurbs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/38 "2016-08-10T20:15:29Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I haven’t been paying attention and apologize for the digression, but when did the handcart to hell get turned around? > > Thanks. Shockingly to many Jerry Brown in his second go-around has been very tight-fisted and disciplined about budgetary matters ( well, proposed bullet train aside ), to the point where his own party have been tearing their hair out a little in frustration. He’s sufficiently popular that he has basically been able to ride roughshod over the legislature and been largely immune to internal party pressure. Couple that with a few positive trends and CA has been doing rather better the last few years. All that could come to a screeching halt at any time of course, like if Silicon Valley pops again. Frankly I’d happily vote for this incarnation of ‘Governor Moonbeam’ over either of our current two presidential candidates and not because I think he’d be more liberal than Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/39 "2016-08-10T20:33:43Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > The point of the article, I think, is that a widespread GOP endorsement still means something. For all the talk here about dismissing their support as nothing, we do hold up people like Susan Collins, and those 50 conservatives who signed a statement saying Trump would be a danger to the world as president, to be something of an outlier and meaningful. The individual doesn’t matter, what matters is the perception that Trump is losing everyone. For me, the endorsement of people like Collins and the condemnation of those 50 conservative security advisors is important as vindication – “See? Even these Republicans see that Trump is a lying piece of shit.” But what’s the real value of such statements? Suppose every major Republican endorsed Clinton – not Cruz-like “vote your conscience” but actual “vote for Hillary.” How many extra votes would that give her? Personally, I’m thinking “Not that many.” The hardcore Trump supporters will vote for Trump. I think even if Trump himself tells them to vote for Clinton, they’ll decide he’s just joking (“That Donald! What a card! It’s just like the crying baby and the Russians hacking her and the 2nd amendment supporters could kill her!”) and still vote for Trump. Yes, it would increase the perception that Trump is a danger to the world. But how much is that worth? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285/40 "2016-08-10T22:11:44Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > But what’s the real value of such statements? Suppose every major Republican endorsed Clinton – not Cruz-like “vote your conscience” but actual “vote for Hillary.” How many extra votes would that give her? Especially when the Republicans would have to somehow finesse endorsing Clinton without it sounding like a general endorsement of the Democratic Party. The last thing they want is people thinking “Well, if you’re telling me to vote for a Democrat in the Presidency, why shouldn’t I vote for a Democrat in Congress too?” The Republicans are basically trying to move away from Trump without moving towards Clinton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-gop-leadership-negotiates-a-surrender-to-clinton/762285.md?page=3)