MS NOW panelists laughed at the disconnect between the massive swell of enthusiasm for this weekend's No Kings protests and the awkward scenes from this week's CPAC gathering.
The network broadcast video all Saturday afternoon of charged-up protesters waving signs and rallying against President Donald Trump and his policies, and Republican-turned-Democratic attorney and congressional candidate George Conway told "The Weekend Primetime" said this weekend should be a wakeup call to GOP leaders.
"Oh, I think they're sweatingbullets," Conway said. "I think they're very,very worried. I think they'vebeen worried for quite sometime. I remember reading a fewweeks ago something in Axios,where Ted Cruz was telling Donald Trump that he wasconcerned that Trump wasleading them over the edge andover the cliff in the fallelections, and that they'd beslaughtered in the fallelections, and Trump's responsewas 'F you,' and so I think they'rescared."
"I think they realize Trump has no plan in Iran," Conway added. "Hehas no plan for anything. It'sjust all about him makingthings up as he goes along, and,you know, this whole all theTSA, the TSA debacle at [Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport] andother airports, that's not good. Republicansown that, and so I think thatthey have to be very, veryscared. I think that's why thesenate passed a bill to to fundTSA, the TSA, and and why the Senate voted for that housing bill in the last week or two.They realize that they have tothey have to get their acttogether and make like they'redoing something for the people, but Donald Trump won't let them."
Further compounding that issue is lagging enthusiasm on the GOP side, with attendance at this week's CPAC noticeably thinner than years past – indeed, not a single Trump bothered to show – and event organizer Matt Schlapp was caught in an awkward moment when the crowd cheered in favor of impeachment.
"Well, and so to that point,if they are not having as muchfun as the protesters aroundthe country seem to be havingmore fun, even amid all of thehorror and chaos that'shappening," added panelist Elise Jordan. "So how do Democratschannel that energy and turn itinto success in the midterms?"