See Ya: Joe Scarborough Has Left The GOP

Matt Vespa | October 13, 2017 12:35 PM

Well, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has had enough of the GOP. The former Republican congressman from Florida recently announced that he's officially leaving the party. While Scarborough has been critical of the Democratic Party, their disconnect with voters, their inability to craft an agenda and message for voters in Middle America, he’s been equally harsh, if not harsher, on Trump and the GOP. Granted, the president did make some unflattering remarks about his fiancé and co-host Mike Brzezinski. Brzezinski has also been critical of the Democrats’ whining since their 2016 loss. Scarborough announced he was making his exit from the GOP three months ago (via The Hill)

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough announced in a tweet on Thursday that he had officially registered as an independent, roughly three months after he said he was leaving the Republican Party.
"I became an independent today. Here I am holding a copy of Donald Trump's birth certificate, proving he was born in Nambia," Scarborough tweeted.
Scarborough's tweet was making reference to Trump's past demands to see former President Barack Obama's birth certificate. Trump, once the leader of the so-called "birther" movement, had questioned whether Obama was actually born in the U.S.
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The TV host's announcement comes three months after he announced he was leaving the GOP during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
"I am a Republican, but I'm not going to be a Republican anymore," Scarborough, who is a former Florida Republican congressman, told Colbert.
The announcement came after President Trump launched a Twitter attack on "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski’s appearance, saying that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” when she and Scarborough visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago club on New Year’s Eve.

I see how the facelift remarks, which were unseemly, can tip your hand, but the overall assumption that Trump will destroy the GOP is a bid absurd. The same things were said in 2016—that Trump would torpedo or heavily weaken the Republican majority from the federal level down. That did not happen. With Democrats having no message, no agenda, no leader, and really no solid candidates for 2018 and 2020, it’s a safe bet that 2018 could probably be a dud for the Left. They may gain seats, yes—but nothing like their 2006 and 2008 landslide elections. For the GOP, if they do fumble the ball, it’s because they screwed around when it comes to passing legislation. Their favorable numbers are low too; it’s just that the Democrats are that much worse. That buffer is not something that can be maintained forever.