Posted originally on the CTH on February 26, 2024 | Sundance

It is imperative to overlay what the Charles Koch network, specifically Americans for Prosperity (AFP), really represents when considering their announcement to withdraw financial support for Nikki Haley.

Koch and AFP are part of the network of multinational/Wall Street entities who previously held all power in the Republican apparatus. All of the systems of the Republican Party apparatus were essentially controlled by a small group of big money influence makers and political interests.

The corporation known as the RNC was molded over a few generations to focus on the money part of political outcomes, not the policy or ideology – the money. Frustrated conservative voters had a difficult time understanding why their voting to put the Decepticon (GOPe Republicans) in power rarely generated a change in overall domestic policy.

Battered conservative syndrome is an outcome of the majority of those Republican voters misunderstanding that corporate desires of the Republican and Democrat club apparatus are essentially merged into one party. Give the Democrats control over policy, and they are happy. Give the Republicans (leadership mostly) money to acquiesce, and they too are happy. And so it goes.

Then came Donald Trump who turned that dynamic on its end. Suddenly, an America First agenda was being pushed by a Republican candidate, and it didn’t take long for the abused Republican and middle class voter to see their best interests were represented by Trump. A substantive conflict was immediately created between Trump and the corporate Republican apparatus. A battle for control began.

As a candidate, Nikki Haley has always represented the effort of the corporate Republican establishment. The corporate Republican network, who thrives on the status quo, have used Ron DeSantis and then Nikki Haley in their effort to rid themselves of the problem represented by Trump and the MAGA base of economically minded voters and supporters. However, both efforts have failed against the scale of the MAGA movement.

MAGA is the Republican Party now, and the corporate Republican world has been dragged to the inflection point. The corporatists still have control over many of the internal mechanisms of the professional Republican Party, but that control is slipping as more and more MAGA-minded people move into local, state and national political networks.

In the announcement that Charles Koch and AFP are withdrawing financial support for Nikki Haley, they are admitting the institutional Republican apparatus is now dropping back to control their Senate and Congressional power systems. In essence, if they cannot control the presidency, they will control all of the systems that stem from the office of the presidency and thereby block Trump from delivering on the America First agenda.

This is what President Trump first encountered in 2017 when the professional republican system recoiled at the change that Trump represented. The largest amount of aversion to the America First agenda comes from the Republican wing inside the Senate; this is the core of the Decepticon construct.

With Donald J. Trump shifting to become the “presumptive nominee,” an outcome of his support by the base voter, Charles Koch, AFP and to a larger extent all of the various professional Republican elements (corporate republicanism) are now creating their last line of defense. All of the institutions are again aligned to try and stop President Trump from fracturing the political control system within the USA political apparatus.

Trump is the weapon to destroy the long-created Republican ‘illusion of choice’. This is why people see masks dropping as the opposition to Trump becomes so transparent. Politicians and people within the political system, long thought to be Republicans who represented the alternative to leftism, are increasingly exposed as mere illusions of pushback. These revelations will continue as MAGA pushes deeper into the Republican political network.

The old Republican Party is consistently fighting a losing battle, losing power to the voters – the MAGA base and larger Trump coalition. The old guard has money, lots of money, and they are using it to fortify their defensive positions of power.

Nikki Haley has been rewarded for her efforts, but the Decepticons must retreat now to financially support Mitch McConnell, John Thune and the masters at the center of the illusion of choice. The institutions that will oppose Donald Trump must be fortified by the professional Republicans against the increased likelihood Trump will win the election.

Keep in mind, Koch Inc. alone had vowed last year to spend $70 million against President Trump and the Republican base voter. Politico is estimating they spent around $50 million so far.

(Via Politico) – Americans For Prosperity Action, the powerful conservative group supporting Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, will no longer spend money on behalf of her campaign.

In an email to staff obtained by POLITICO, Americans For Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel said Sunday that the group’s political arm, AFP Action, had to “take stock” of its spending priorities after Haley’s loss in the South Carolina primary. The Koch-aligned group, Seidel said, will now focus its efforts on competitive Senate and House races.

“She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort,” Seidel wrote of Haley. “But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory.”

AFP Action’s decision is the latest blow to Haley’s longshot presidential bid, which has sustained losses in four early nominating states and the Virgin Islands, including on Saturday, when former President Donald Trump beat Haley in her home state by 20 points. Haley declared she will continue on in her primary fight, but has only committed to running through Super Tuesday on March 5.

AFP Action had funded advertisements and field operations for months last year that were designed to persuade Republican voters to back someone other than Trump in the presidential primary. But it wasn’t until late November that AFP Action tapped Haley as its desired Trump alternative. Since then, AFP has reached out to more than 3 million voters in early nominating and Super Tuesday states, as well as purchased millions of dollars worth of ads on Haley’s behalf. (read more)

A few remaining points of emphasis….  I am increasingly sure that Donald Trump will win the 2024 election.  The Lawfare effort against him is running into the reality of the problem, their fake constructs.   People see through the manipulative schemes more than ever, and the MAGA movement is now far larger, cuts across all political spectrums and is now much smarter and strategic.

As an outcome of the likelihood for Trump victory, it becomes even more important to prepare for it.  By “preparing”, I mean to have the systems in place to confront the professional Republican apparatus on day one.  The opposition from Democrats is transparent; however, our weakness in 2017 was not having the support system in place to confront the DeceptiCons immediately.  In 2025, this must be rectified.

The professional Republican apparatus, including the Koch network, AFP, Business Roundtable, US Chamber of Commerce, and the system of corporate republicanism will align to support Joe Biden or Gavin Newsom (DNC convention outcome), or any entity that will retain the status quo before they accept losing power.  This is the unfortunate reality that must be accepted.

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. ”

― Niccolò Machiavelli