History will record that the political bottom in this country (at least what we pray is the bottom) was reached in the second decade of the 21st century due to the fact that one of the two major political parties, which had been in a steady decline for the past sixty years, finally reached a tipping point. The GOP became leaderless in 2016, after having made some egregious errors. Probably its most egregious error was to put George W. Bush atop its ticket. It could have put John McCain there and should have done so, but for reasons beyond the scope of this short essay, it did not. By the time that McCain was atop the ticket, Dubya had outraged and enraged the electorate and Barack Obama was swept in, a much needed breath of fresh air.
Dubya was a disaster. And he set the stage for the disaster(s) that were to follow. Now, it’s 2024 and the GOP still can’t quit Donald Trump. So once again, they’re trying to make the best of a bad bargain. And while the presumptive GOP nominee takes a day off from dozing in court (only to begin again Thursday) what’s left of the Grand Old Party tries to assemble like the Confederate army/party of old. They’re going to give their Lost Cause yet one more gallant grey go. And who is leading the charge? Chris Sununu. He defected from the MAGA faith for a while but he wants to be president someday and so he’s going on record as a reformist.
Trump's circling the drain, and MAGA's happy to follow him down 🚽 pic.twitter.com/vnCuyIpkaT
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) April 16, 2024
This is how it’s going to be. Expect to see two side by side versions of Republican reality: One will be the narcoleptic narcissist, napping away in court, while his social media platform tanks, his bonding company bails, and perhaps Letitia James (or “Jones” as he calls her) decides to begin seizing his properties for auction. That’s on the one side of this imaginary split screen.
On the other side, there will be more Republicans like Governor Sununu. On their side of the split screen will be more demonstrations like the one you just saw with George Stephanopoulos. GOPers will be singing Trump’s praises, describing him not only in Teflon tones, but verily declaring that he is bulletproof. Nothing can stop him nothing can top him. He can be the biggest crook in the world but he’ll still sail down the Potomac and end up back on Pennsylvania Avenue.
And certainly Vladimir Putin, Russian TV, and that crowd is all in favor of it. When they’re not busy toasting each other with shots of vodka over Marjorie Taylor Greene’s anti-Ukrainian commentary, they love hearing members of the rank and file GOP praise Trump. This is in total accordance with their master plan.
The real GOP ticket this fall is Trump/Putin. Some other name will officially appear next to Trump’s because you need a place holder and a figurehead for these things, but make no mistake, that’s the state of things. And Chris Sununu knows this as well as you or I.
What has happened here is that the GOP is fully on board to make its peace with the devil, which in this case is Vladimir Putin, in order to get the power and money it wants. They seem to think that getting in bed with the devil is going to work out for them. In the short term, it very well might. In the long term, they’re going to be completely screwed.
But short term planning, emergency last-minute saves are all that the GOP can concentrate on right now. It lost both its rudder and its moral compass long ago and now its drifting on fumes and pipedreams.
Look for the rest of this year to be more of the same as Republicans and big money donors do the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.
I loved what George did on Sunday. Why can’t all of the “hosts” go there? I ended up writing to Gov Sununu. He’s not a stand up guy and slipped into the bottom of barrel with MAGAs so called Republican Party.
It’s really interesting. A person of normal intelligence can see that Trump is circling the drain, but the MAGA crowd, politicians and rank and file, are so invested in this moron and his utter degenaracy that they just double and triple down. So as the Jewish holiday of Passover approaches, it is good to recall that “De Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt”.
Hitler was popular at one time. He exterminated 11 million people, got 70 million killed in WW2, and destroyed his country! Questions?
“In the long term, they’re going to be completely screwed.” So are the rest of us who want nothing to do with that a-hole and his so-called policies.