(RepublicanInformer.com)- The Republican Party is facing a potential challenge going forward.
Former President Donald Trump and some of his allies are continuing to strengthen their hold over the Republican National Committee, causing a rift with some of his detractors in the GOP.
Many of the party’s high-ranking members have starkly criticized the recent actions of the RNC, which censured Republican Representatives Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
In addition to taking that action on two of Trump’s biggest critics — and the only two Republicans to serve on the House’s January 6 investigating committee — the RNC labeled the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 of last year as “legitimate political discourse.”
Many political pundits are saying these actions show how much the RNC is moving behind Trump and his supporters. But, they also say that some within the GOP are fearful that these actions could end up hurting Republicans in the crucial upcoming midterm elections later this year, and the next presidential election two years down the line.
One of those pundits is Doug Heye, who served as the communications director for the RNC during the 2010 midterm elections. Heye, who is currently a Republican strategist, commented:
“If Republicans want to have a strong election showing, they need to keep the focus on an unpopular president with an unpopular agenda. There’s this larger issue of taking your eye off the ball: an unpopular president who people feel is taking the country in the wrong direction.”
While he was with the RNC, Heye said the “worst days were any days that we were the focus of a political news cycle, [because] it meant that we weren’t able to focus on Democrats that day or that week. And that’s where the RNC finds itself right now.”
The Republican Party, for the most part, has focused on exactly what Heye said is important — rising inflation, Biden’s overall poor performance and other challenges. However, they’re now going to be faced with the fact that many people are going to focus on the RNC’s three words — “legitimate political discourse” — in describing the events of January 6, 2021.
Voters will also be paying attention to what Trump has done recently, focusing once again on how the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and how former Vice President Mike Pence should’ve prevented the certification of the Electoral College votes.
One major political donor for the GOP agreed with what Heye is saying about the strategy, telling The Hill recently:
“Anytime we’re talking about anything other than what Joe Biden and the Democrats are doing, it’s a mistake, and the RNC needs to be the unifying force to remind Republicans of that. Censuring members of your own party? That’s not what they’re supposed to be doing.”
Despite these words from very influential Republicans, though, the RNC moved forward with their actions and continue to seemingly consolidate around Trump and his agenda.
