In a USA Today 05/30/16 interview, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brushed aside any worries that Donald Trump would, as the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee - and presumed party leader - change the Republican party.
Unlike Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who is judiciously holding off giving his blessing, Mitch gave Trump the nod, without so much as a quiver. He's assured party members shaking in their Ferragamos that electing a President Trump "would be fine" - won't hurt the brand, ideology or temperament one itty bitty bit.
My guess is that the Majority Leader is pretty much in the minority with his view that "Trump will not change the Republican Party. If he brings in new followers, that's great, and well worth the effort, but he will not change the Republican Party."
Senator Mitchell - you are correct. Just not in the way you mean. Donald Trump will not change the GOP. The fact that he's locked up enough votes to win the nomination without have to resort to (or survive) insider shenanigans & back room wheeling dealing is a clear sign that your party has already changed, become something that none of you Establishment king pins foresaw when you unleashed the venom in January 2009.
To spin fairy tales about the party not changing when it already is transformed beyond recognition is, to use a Kentucky-ish spin, like closing the barn doors after the horses have bolted.
The squishy soft interview (if it had been on tv, it would have been shot with diffused lens, soft music playing in the background) points out that Mitch is looking far past Donald Trump, that he is a "long game" player, a trait reported to have developed during an early childhood bout with polio. As he sees things playing ut, perseverance, patience & full commitment to taking small, incremental steps will ultimately have more power than a whatever it is that Trump represents & embodies.
Poor man. While he was working so hard to fight everything that President Obama tried to advance, to keep his great nemesis from winning a 2nd term, his party took a turn for the far right of You've Got To Be Kidding. He does not, clearly cannot grasp it that while the Senate may be his world, may be what his life revolves around, that is not true for his sisters & brethren in the House, nor today's GOP base.
Perseverance, patience & incremental steps are scorned by a base that wants nothing less than to put its Establishment "Big Dogs" feet to the fire of their rage.
Humorists often note how much the Majority Leader resembles a cartoon of a turtle. I'd say that Mitch McConnell, in summing up the impact of Donald Trump on his party & denying the seismic changes it's clearly undergone over the past eight years, is more ostrich, head buried in the sand.
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