Sessions to GOP: Adapt to Trump or die
“My advice is to listen and accept the will of the American people, the Republican voters — the Republican Party is the Republican voters,” he added — a pointed reference to Ryan’s suggestion that he, and not the presumptive party nominee, represents authentic conservative values. “Give me a break! A lot of our drift within our party has gotten away from [the will of the voters]. … I think the leaders in all parties tend to adjust to reality. They just have to or they won’t remain in office. … Already many are sensing it.”
.. But he’s clearly positioned himself as Trump’s man on the Hill
.. “He has said this is going to be a new Republican Party, a workers’ Republican Party, instead of just the elite Republican Party,” said Sessions, who was quietly ridiculed by other GOP senators when he embraced (but didn’t quite endorse) Trump last summer.
.. the foundation of his argument is that everything-except-Trump has already failed, so why not give the people what they want?
.. Like many Southern Republicans of his generation, Sessions views the civil rights era as settled history, not an ongoing issue that remains unresolved.
.. When I asked about the views of family and neighbors during that period, he spoke in generalities but referred to criticism by civil rights advocates as “attacks” on the Alabama system. “They would react defensively and too strongly, so the attacks would be taken as a personal attack on everything I’ve ever done, and basically you’re an evil person,” he said. “Emotionally, it was — one moment would be defensive and the next moment a recognition that this was not a sustainable lifestyle and it had to change, and it was wrong.”