As Election Day looms, Republican Party faces crisis conditions

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So everything is on course, and I want you to understand that, Priebus assured RNC members.

The party chairmans pep talk may have helped some Republican officials feel a little better, but the fact remains that everything is clearly not on course.

Priebus call came on the heels of House Speaker Paul Ryans (R-Wis.) latest efforts to distance himself from his partys controversial presidential nominee, which came on the heels of a weekend in which dozens of Republican officials, including several sitting senators and governors, withdrew their support for Trump, called for his removal from the ticket, or both.

By midday yesterday, Trump had turned to Twitter to take a shot at Ryan, while Foxs Sean Hannity, one of Trumps closest allies, was telling his audience that the House Speaker and his allies are done though they dont know it yet.

It was around this time that Trumps Republican backers protested outside RNC headquarters one carried a sign that read, Better to grab a p***y than to be one at a gathering that was reportedly organized by Trumps state director in Virginia, who was later removed from his post.

At Trump campaign headquarters, meanwhile, the candidates chief spokesperson is threatening the party with an alarming warning: Trump voters will reject down-ballot Republicans. That followed the presidential hopefuls campaign manager defending Trumps 2005 remarks on sexual assault by arguing that members of Congress are themselves guilty of sexual assault.CNNs Corey Lewandowski, Trumps former campaign manager, has decided to lash out at Priebus, calling him a weak and failed party leader.

Away from Washington, Rep. Joe Heck (R), the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in a very competitive Nevada race, has pulled his support for Trump, which late yesterday prompted Nevadas RNC committeewoman to renounce Hecks candidacy.

Theres no great mystery here: If Republican officials stick with Trump, they risk being dragged down with him. If they run the other way, the rabid Republican base will turn on them. The result is strife and chaos in a party lacking any semblance of leadership.

The Washington Post reported that Republican politics tumbled toward anarchy yesterday, and quoted a former GOP senator saying, Its every person for himself or herself right now.

Two years ago, Republicans took control of Congress, a majority of state legislatures, and a majority of governors offices. Party leaders believed, by the fall of 2016, theyd be poised for complete national dominance.

Instead, a GOP civil war is slowly unfolding, instigated in part by a ridiculous presidential nominee with no loyalty to his party, putting Republicans gains at risk up and down the ballot.

When Trump secured the partys nomination several months ago, many Republicans assumed the worst that could happen would be his defeat. They badly underestimated the scope of the damage his candidacy could do.

Source: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/election-day-looms-republican-party-faces-crisis-conditions