title:  GOP So Desperate To Cling To Power That GEORGE W. BUSH Got Back Into Politics To Save Them
text: The Republican Party is fractured, and divisions are deeper than ever thanks to one Donald J. Trump. Some Republicans feel the party needs to unify behind Trump now, but others, particularly Senators in tight races, know what Trump is doing to their re-election chances. As such, an old friend has come out of the woodwork to shill for them: Former President George W. Bush.George the Lesser, along with Jeb! and their father, George the Greater, will not support Trump for president. A former spokesman for W., Freddy Ford, told NBC News why W. would hop back into the cesspool of conservative U.S. politics after such a long hiatus: President Bush believes that it s critical to keep the Senate in Republican hands. He is actively helping some senators in tight races who are strong leaders and share timeless conservative values. Ford also told The New York Times: Friends say that the former president is deeply bothered by Mr. Trump s campaign message, especially his derogatory remarks about Muslims and immigrants. At the event with Mr. McCain, Mr. Bush stressed the importance of preserving the Republican-held Senate as a  check and balance  on the White House, suggesting that such a check was needed, whether the next president is Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. In other words, maintaining what little relevance the party has left is more important than trying to defeat Trump at this point, because the only way to defeat Trump himself is to endorse Hillary. As a die-hard Republican, George the Lesser won t do that. So he s gone out and hosted fundraisers for vulnerable Senators like John McCain (R-AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and he s got three more planned for Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ron Johnson (R-NC), and Rob Portman (R-OH).The GOP is defending many more Senate seats than the Democrats this year, which is part of their fear that Trump will cost them everything but the House, and the only reason they d hang onto the House is ridiculous gerrymandering.This hasn t gone unnoticed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which reacted to this news with a statement sent to The Hill: Republicans are so desperate for people to forget that they ve pledged their allegiance to Donald Trump that they are now campaigning with the architect of a disastrous foreign policy who wanted to privatize Social Security and left office with the economy losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month. Obviously, they re scoffing at this particular strategy, as well they should. It s an odd move for George the Lesser, and shows the party s growing fears over The Donald and what he really stands for.Featured image by David Cannon/Getty Images