What are the attributes of a successful ENFORCER besides scaring the crap outta folks? Intelligence? Class? Personality?

Perhaps if I explain to you what is on my mind it would be helpful. In ice hockey there are players who throw elbows and try to take out players. One guy high-sticked someone years ago who ended up with permanent brain damage. They are very scary, very big, very violent. They are called "enforcers". In mobs "enforcers" are the guys who break your knees if you don't pay what you owe on bets and burn down your store if you don't pay protection money.  Steve Bannon has vowed to "primary" Republican Establishment pols during their re-election bids in 2018 if they don't roll over and pay homage to Trump and kiss his a**. Bannon is an  Enforcer. Threatener. Strongarmer.  Bully. Intimidator. Warmonger to me  means bombs and guns and chemical/germ warfare and certain death. That's not what motivated the question. I don't know if that helped or made things muddier. Thank you for your reply JacobA! :) This post was edited by RosieG at October 17, 2017 10:32 AM MDT

Mostly clearer but there is a word I do not understand: "primary" used as a verb (to primary Republican Establishment pols) what does that mean? This post was edited by JakobA the unAmerican. at October 19, 2017 4:23 AM MDT

Oh. Apologies JakobA. When politicians go up for re-election just as in presidential elections there are primaries that are held first. That's where you vote for the person you want to run in the General Election. What Steve Bannon has sworn to do is "primary" all Republican Establishment pols. Meaning he will back folks who are Nationalists and  Trump devotees and try to sabotage/destroy any chances of an Establishment pol surviving a primary. He views all of them as the enemy. He will do that by running attack ads. Try to dig up all the dirt he can on anyone he opposes and install his choice as the person who will face the opposition in the General Election. Thank you for asking about it. Is it unique to America?   Do you have primary elections in your country that precede the General Election? Happy Thursday! :)

We do not have primary elections at all. some Newspapers publish polls but that is the closest we get. I never thought of ways to 'sabotage' a primary election.

Running negative ads. Fabricating any lie that will harm "the enemy". By the time the lie is disproved it's too late. Creating smear campaigns. Manufacturing conspiracies. Flinging allegations that even when proven untrue have tainted/smeared "the enemy".  There are a zillion ways to harm opponents.  All you need is to use a couple of them and have no integrity/honor/decency. When John Kerry was a prez candidate he was smeared terribly and his military records were attacked and some LIARS said they had served with him and lied about him. At one time it was said that John McCain had a black child. You name any lie you can think of no matter how outrageously egregious and someone  has been harmed by it. Your country seems civil. Ours is the wild west on steroids without a sheriff and all the gunslingers rule. Whatever they say goes. Gullible people play right into their hands and spread the lies/rumors via gossip on the internet. It is an evil web they create and it  ALWAYS works. Well, almost always. The "Birther" liars tried to take down Obama. They failed but Trump is still trying to take him down.  The brainwashed braindead lemmings embrace the most evil awful things that are always untrue. I wish I knew why. :(  Thank you for your reply JacobA! :) Jim and I vote in primaries always. Many people don't bother. I wish I knew why about that too! :( This post was edited by RosieG at October 19, 2017 4:49 AM MDT