True enough. But to be fair, Politico only realized it belatedly, too.
Donald Trump finally got his revenge on Bill Cassidy this weekend. The incumbent Senator tried to survive a primary challenge with Trump pushing voters to give him the boot over Cassidy's impeachment removal vote in January 2021. Instead, Cassidy came in a distant third to Julia Letlow and John Fleming, not even breaking into six figures in vote totals:
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges in 2021, has lost his Republican primary in Louisiana, as two challengers who had aligned with Trump advanced to a runoff.
Rep. Julia Letlow, who had Trump’s endorsement in the race, will face state Treasurer John Fleming in a June 27 primary runoff, NBC News projects.
Cassidy’s loss further cements Trump’s grip on the GOP as the president looks to exact revenge against Republicans who have crossed him in the past. And it also means another Republican who voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment will not be returning to Congress next year.
Cassidy offered a bitter valediction to his political career, and also complained about being "attacked on the internet":
“Let me just set the record straight, our country is not about one individual,” Cassidy later added. “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution. And it is the welfare of my people and my state and my country and our Constitution, to which I am loyal. And if someone doesn’t understand that, and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they are about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us. And that person is not qualified to be a leader.”
Cassidy also noted that he has been “attacked on the internet.”
“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity, and I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet,” Cassidy said.
Ahem. Being "attacked on the internet" comes with the territory, and not just for politicians in elections, either. If Cassidy is this sensitive, he should return to practicing medicine.
Unsurprisingly, this did not dissuade Trump from sharing his joy at Cassidy's failure:
Bill Cassidy, after falsely using his “relationship” with me during his political career, and winning Elections because of it, voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then, and now, are criminally insane! His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER! I’d like to thank the Great People of the State of Louisiana, and this Big Victory will only make me work even harder for your success, and all that comes with it. I LOVE YOU ALL. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Cassidy spent five years insisting that the vote was old news. Voters just reached the same conclusion about Cassidy.
Once again, this demonstrates the pull that Trump has with Republican voters – not just a small subset of GOP voters, but the party's mainstream. Not even Cassidy's "massive war chest" immunized him from accountability, Politico noted, another belated recognition of that outlet of the same lesson Cassidy just learned:
It’s a massive warning sign for any Republicans who’ve provoked the president’s wrath: Trump’s revenge campaign has already mobilized voters in both Indiana, where he successfully ousted several state GOP senators over redistricting, and Saturday night in Louisiana. Tuesday’s primaries in Georgia and Kentucky, where Rep. Thomas Massie is up for reelection and he’s picked sides in the open Senate race, will be another test. Now, the president is entering those races with the wind at his back.
Cassidy’s distant third-place finish marks the end of his tenure in the Senate, one that was doomed by his vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection five years ago.
That decision ostracized him from Louisiana’s rabidly conservative base and set up two strong primary challengers in Rep. Julia Letlow — the Trump-endorsed candidate — and MAGA-friendly state Treasurer John Fleming. Up until polls closed, Cassidy maintained that his massive war chest, his record in Congress and a high turnout of non-party voters would be enough to save him.
In the end, it was not.
“For a man with such a formidable intellect, his political strategy was breathtakingly dense,” said Lionel Rainey, a Louisiana GOP strategist, who is unaffiliated with any of the campaigns. “History will remember Bill Cassidy as the absolute smartest guy in the political morgue.”
Perhaps Cassidy got his "breathtakingly dense" strategy from Politico itself, along with CNN and other Protection Racket Media outlets. They spent the last few months wishcasting a collapse for Trump within the GOP electorate, predicting a series of failures in primary challenges beginning in Indiana. This is what Politico wrote on April 23:
President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign here is not going as well as he’d like.
The push to oust eight Indiana Republican state senators after they refused to bow to him on redistricting was supposed to be a major show of force. But after millions of dollars spent and weeks of intense campaigning, his allies are still struggling to deliver a clear, consistent message to voters for why they should unseat the lawmakers.
Aaaaaaand this is what Politico wrote after the May 5 primary:
Trump’s loyal and energized supporters turned out to punish the incumbents, showing that his endorsement remains the gold-standard of GOP politics. That’s a bright flashing red warning to any Republicans who might be eyeing a break from Trump as he approaches the back half of his second term in office.
Oopsie! Maybe Cassidy should talk more with voters and spend less time talking with MSM political analysts.
By this time, it's very clear that voters wanted Trump back in the White House, and equally clear that Republican voters want their House and Senate members to get behind him and stay there. Thomas Massie will likely be the next Republican to learn that lesson the hard way, if recent polls reflect the direction voters are going in Kentucky. We'll have to wait and see how many other GOP incumbents and candidates try to choose the "independent" path to success.
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