GOP hands 'major campaign gift' to Dems as midterms near: analyst

Republicans have handed Democrats a "major campaign gift" ahead of the midterm elections, a columnist said on Monday.

The Guardian's Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, discussed how GOP lawmakers "would rather self-destruct than attempt to rescue themselves." And in doing so, Democrats have made gains with voters that could pay off in the fall.

"The Republicans have no instinct for separation from Trump, no will to stage an intervention, no ability to muster an ultimatum," Blumenthal wrote. "They have been complicit in their captivity, co-conspirators in their demise."

Blumenthal outlined how Indiana Republicans who were disloyal to Trump were retaliated against and replaced by Trump-backed politicians. Now, Senate Republican leaders have proposed $1 billion to fund security improvements and Trump's new ballroom in response to the president's priorities.

"Originally, Trump promised that corporate donors, many with federal contracts, would finance his vanity. But this is apparently insufficient," Blumenthal wrote. "The Republican Congress has now been prompted to throw in the extra billion, compounding the corruption. A tribute to Trump, momentarily assuaging his desire to be worshipped as a god, is a major campaign gift to the Democrats."

The party is under Trump's rule now — and that's not expected to change, Blumenthal explained.

"Trump’s takeover of the Republican party has been pretty thorough, marked by the Indiana primaries," Blumenthal added. "There is no phantom Republican party that can be summoned back from the twilight zone. The Republicans are reduced to a Maga Trump. They lack the independence to stand apart. There is no political strategy, no negative campaign, that can overshadow Trump."