Subject: The 5-Minute Fix: Is the GOP Humpty Dumpty?
From: The Washington Post <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 11 May 2016 19:08:31 -0400

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THE 5-MINUTE FIX
 
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By Amber Phillips

When former House speaker John Boehner surprised us with his semi-forced retirement in the fall, I wrote that House Republicans reminded me of Humpty Dumpty: Broken, and all the king's horses and all the king's men are going to have a heavy lift to put it back together again.
Now, I think it's fair to say the same metaphor applies to the entire Republican Party. On Wednesday, now-House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.), the top Washington Republican, let the dirty laundry all hang out. There's no point in pretending they're a unified party right now, he said.
On Thursday, Ryan and other top Republicans will sit down with Donald Trump and try to get there. But it will probably be for naught, predicts The Washington Post's chief political correspondent, Dan Balz. The GOP might be destined to stay broken — or at the very least awkwardly glued back together — for the rest of this election cycle for three reasons.
1) Trump doesn't seem like he wants to play nice. Sure, he tweets stuff like this:

But Trump also can't help but lash out at Republicans when they criticize him. Republicans do have serious problems with Trump, so that vicious cycle doesn't seem to be resolving itself anytime soon.
2) Trump doesn't seem like he wants to change his ways. Trump has given absolutely zero indication he'll refine himself as a candidate by laying off the controversial comments and picking conservative/GOP platform positions and sticking to them. A lot of Republicans can't support him unless he does.
3) Trump doesn't seem like he wants Washington's help. Trump has gotten this far without the establishment, even benefiting at times from their turned backs. Why bend over backward to get their approval now, he may figure? He even said previously that he doesn't need a unified party.
Case in point: "Data processing machine"
No, we don't really know what that means. But Trump used it in an interview with the Associated Press to describe how President Obama won reelection in 2012. Republicans everywhere read that and face-palmed — or at least they should be face-palming, writes Fix Boss Chris Cillizza. It's moments like this that reveal Trump has no idea what he's doing, nor does he have any willingness to change.
Cillizza sums up the rest of the interview and why it should scare the heck outta Republicans:
Dismissing data, elevating and over-inflating the importance of big campaign rallies and, more broadly, expressing supreme confidence that the way he won the GOP primary can win him the general election as well are all decidedly dicey propositions.
Whatever happened to Chris Christie?
(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
All this talk about Trump haters and on-the-fencers got me wondering what happened to the guy who jumped on Team Trump before it was cool.
Recall that the New Jersey governor dropped out of the presidential race and promptly endorsed Trump. "Blatant political move!" people cried. "Sellout!" others said.
Christie just might be vindicated. He will lead Trump's transition team should Trump win the White House in the fall, a position akin to being one of Trump's closest advisers that could itself lead to a top job in the Trump administration. (Christie is already The Fix's leading choice for Trump's veep.) Here's what he said to the AP about it:

Hillary Clinton is Cersei Lannister, and other "GoT" revelations
The Washington Post
I'm just going to admit it: I don't watch HBO's "Game of Thrones" because I don't like it. But I know a ton of other people, including here at The Fix, love the show.
Fix Boss Cillizza is such a big fan he decided to write a whole piece linking your favorite 2016 politician to a "Game of Thrones" character. And since I'm like the only one in all of Washington who's not a fan (except Sen. Claire McCaskill, who's over it), I'll oblige by sharing some of Cillizza's top picks (you can read the rest here). They're actually pretty insightful.
Hillary Clinton: Cersei Lannister
Cersei Lannister. (Helen Sloan)
Strong. Tough. Loyal to those she loves. Unforgiving to those she doesn't. Unquestionably competent but with major weaknesses that she is aware of but can't totally get beyond. The hub of the wheel, the pivot on which the whole race (or show) rotates.
Ted Cruz: Tyrion Lannister
Ted Cruz! (Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO
Neither one comes out of central casting. Perennially underrated. But without question, the guy who honestly diagnoses his own strengths and weaknesses best. And who not only sees the whole playing field better than anyone else but also puts in place a plan that thinks three steps ahead. Also: Someone most people don't like in his world — and someone who doesn't care about that.
Donald Trump: Robert Baratheon

There was a succession plan in place for how you picked kings. Then Robert decided to ignore all those rules and take the kingdom by force. Sort of like Trump just did with the Republican Party. Also, two men who have big appetites for everything in life — and don't feel the need to apologize for it.

That's it for today; talk Friday!
politics, basically (giphy.com)

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