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Input: It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for  Trump ’s base?
If Sir Thomas More were alive today  that’s what he might say about congressional Republicans who gave their political souls in exchange for  Trump ’s support because they thought they needed it to be reelected. They have been held hostage by  Trump ’s popularity with  his  base and  his  grip on the swing vote. But after last week  that grip looks a lot looser.
It remains to be seen whether they have learned it  but the lesson for Republicans from their losses in Virginia  New Jersey and across the country should be clear: they don’t need to placate  Trump  to keep their seats. Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker decided not to run for another term because they weren’t willing to cozy up to  the president  and thought they couldn’t win without doing so. Perhaps they’ll reconsider that now.
 Trump’s  coattails were never long to begin with  and are now fraying. The 2016 election was decided by just 0.09 percent of all votes cast. A total of 107 000 votes gave Trump Michigan  Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and the presidency.  He  won in those states and Florida  by less than 2 percent.
 Trump  still has strong support from  his  base  with the latest CNN poll showing 85 percent of Republicans approve of  him . In stark contrast  only 20 percent approved of Republican congressional leaders as of late September.  Trump ’s blaming them for failure to pass legislation apparently worked  which may help explain why they have been so deferential to such a dysfunctional president.
They’ve even gone so far as to introduce a resolution asking special counsel Robert Mueller to recuse himself from investigating whether  Trump ’s campaign colluded with Russia. This is pure political kowtowing  flying in the face of the Manafort and Gates indictments  the Papadopoulos plea and the targeting of Flynn.
The question is  will congressional Republicans continue to appease  Trump  given the 2017 election results? Or will more of them stand up to  him ?
Will they continue to tolerate  Trump’s  unprecedented conflicts of interest?  He  holds stakes in roughly 500 international businesses  many in countries where  he  must negotiate trade and other agreements. The conflicts are so serious that the Office of Government Ethics director couldn’t abide them and resigned  while Republicans just stood pat.
Will they challenge  Trump’s  cascade of lies  such as “I have nothing to do with Russia…no person that I deal with does”? What about Paul Manafort  Donald Trump Jr.  Jared Kushner  Carter Page  Michael Flynn  Roger Stone  Rick Gates  and George Papadopoulos and Betsy Devos’ brother  Erik Prince  the billionaire founder of Blackwater?
Will they finally admit that  Trump ’s poor character is the core problem  and that  as the Economist opined  “he does not have the character to change”? Republicans  on the other hand  have changed since  Trump  was elected. They’ve retreated from core positions on trade and security.
Republicans championed the benefits of free trade for decades. NAFTA was negotiated by Republican president George H.W. Bush and passed with mostly Republican votes. Republicans also supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement  which Marco Rubio wrote would “further our strategic goals in Asia and increase prosperity at home ” and Pat Toomey applauded TPP as a boon to economic growth and job creation. Yet  Trump ’s tirades against free trade—probably the biggest issue that won  him  the presidency—cowed many congressional Republicans into doing nothing as  Trump  abandoned the TPP.
They acquiesced as  Trump  weakened America’s ability to communicate  lead and influence on the world stage.  He  exited the Paris climate accord.  He  cut the State Department’s staff.  He  confused NATO members as to America’s commitment to defend its European allies. Now our allies in Southeast Asia worry that Trump  desperate for a win  will make a deal with China that emboldens it to bully its neighbors  further endangering our relationships in the region.
While the 2017 election results are heartening for Democrats  they should also be heartening in a different way for Republicans who have been stuck in  Trump ’s political chokehold. They should feel somewhat freer to speak honestly about their president and work to repair the damage he has caused. Pandering to  Trump  won’t get them reelected  and even if  it  did   it  still wouldn’t be worth the divisiveness  dysfunction and the loss of influence and respect America has suffered.

What's the Republicans' Game Plan for 2018 Elections?