Two kinds of Republicans will gather in Augusta on Friday for the two-day state GOP convention.
One brand will express support for the “Republican presidential nominee,” or “the person at the top of our ticket,” or “the fellow with the hair.”
The other kind won’t hesitate to speak the name of Donald Trump. You can now put U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who will address the crowd on Saturday, in that latter group.
Perdue said months ago he would support Trump should he win the GOP nod. But in a column penned for today's Washington Post, his support is now full-throated.
Perdue compares his rise from outsider-y businessman to U.S. senator over a field of establishment candidates to Trump's rise from outsider-y businessman to presumptive presidential nominee over a field of establishment candidates. Then the Georgia senator makes a larger, more interesting point, that American politics has entered a post-ideological age:
Mr. Trump's nabbing of the presidential nod embodies a dramatic shift in the political paradigm. Many voters are now more motivated by their frustration with Washington than their ideology. As I've said all along, this movement is bigger than party or ideology, or even, dare I say, Trump himself. However, I'm not dismissing the incredible skill set our nominee possesses...
The negotiation strategy outlined by Trump the Dealmaker in his signature book gives key insight into Trump the Campaigner. He is focused on the American people's shared frustration with politicians, bureaucrats, and the media. He is bold and unpredictable, always keeping the opposition off balance. And he is a master of earned media.
Perdue closes with a call "to finally change course" and put an outsider in the Oval Office. "It is time to let Trump be Trump, and to help him win this election," he writes.
As you're reading the piece, bear in mind that Perdue's name, too, has been floated by some as a Veep contender. It seems a longshot, as Trump has said repeatedly he's looking for a veteran politician with establishment credentials -- and that's certainly not Perdue's M.O.
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It looks like conservative pundit Erick Erickson and his allies have found their third-party conservative to challenge Donald Trump. And it's a name you probably haven't heard before.
Bill Kristol told CNN and other publications that his search with Erickson and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney landed on David French, a constitutional attorney and writer for the National Review:
Kristol has increasingly engaged in a war of words with Trump over whether the search, which has also involved 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney and conservative blogger Erick Erickson, would ultimately produce a candidate.
Erickson, who shares the same Cox overlords as we do, also tweeted his approval:
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You've no doubt heard that Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday gave a somewhat low-key endorsement of Hillary Clinton in next week's Democratic presidential primary in California. From the Washington Post:
"I have decided to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton because I believe this is the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump," Brown wrote. He spelled out his reasons, including Trump's opposition to global agreements on climate change, but did not urge Democrats to follow his lead.
Here are the two paragraphs that explain the mood:
Brown's support follows decades of sometimes-acid criticism of both Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton. One of the longest-running feuds in Democratic politics began when Brown ran against Bill Clinton in the Democratic primary in 1992 and won five states.
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Politico.com reports today on Ted Cruz' recognition that his political future depends on forming stronger bonds with his U.S. Senate colleagues – perhaps by playing a large role in GOP efforts to retain control of the chamber in November. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's camp has signaled that it would welcome a joint appearance.
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Over at her blog on airport doings, our AJC colleague Kelly Yamanouchi says that Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed indeed heard from Delta Air Lines about his Fox Theatre appearance last week to welcome Qatar Airways to Atlanta:
"I'm trying to send a message. You're either in the international game or you're out," Reed said when the topic came up at a press conference last week.
When dealing with airlines from other places, "we have to understand… they have different values and operate differently than we do. So if we're going to apply a standard, it's going to make it hard for us to be the most connected city… in the United States, which is my goal."
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