Why can’t the people currently in office see the light? We should probably be pleased that *some* Republicans have figured it out, but damn, people. How do they sleep at night? We’re worrying about the state of the country, but they don’t seem to be. We’re worrying about the people, and it appears they aren’t. It seems that only their immediate family is of concern. The rest of us? Nahhh. With gratitude to the AP (long article) via Raw Story (short article):
Current and former Republicans seethed about President Donald Trump during a half-empty conservative summit over the weekend, according to reports. Conservatives organized the sixth annual Principles First summit just outside Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday, an event estimated to draw around 750 attendees, the Associated Press reported.
No currently elected Republican official attended the two-day event, which the AP said was about “half empty.” The sparse attendance didn’t stop Republicans from bashing the Trump administration and the president’s MAGA movement, which one speaker described as “authoritarian-embracing cult,” according to the report.
Oh, my. Is it a good or bad thing that it was sparsely attended? Some of both is likely. Good in that many people didn’t come. Bad in that the people who *needed* to be there didn’t come. Not all Republicans are idiots. A number of them see *exactly* what’s going on with the country just as much as we do. But like Democrats, they are in the minority. Sure, there’s inanity in any government, as much as we would like to overcome that, but there are definitely some that are better than others.
“He’s everything our founders feared. Say it. Believe it,” Former Republican lawmaker Joe Walsh said, adding that Trump’s “authoritarian-embracing cult” is “a threat to everything I love.” //// Retired Gen. Mark Hertling, former commander of U.S. military forces in Europe, said U.S. allies have asked him whether the country’s institutions “can ever be trusted again.” “Our nation’s institutions have been shaken. Our alliances have been strained. Our credibility has been damaged. And our nation’s values have been cast aside,” he said.
There aren’t any possible replies to Joe Walsh or Retired Gen. Mark Hertling because it’s all true. We have to believe it. We don’t know if there’s a way to get our true country back anymore. Fear. Trust. Institutions. Allies. Credibility. Values. We have flashes peeking out here and there. Protests. Ones that keep growing and growing. Helping our neighbors. But on the opposite side are mass shootings. We no longer know if there *is* an answer, let alone something that could help with it and actually *work*. We want our country back, the good one. Everyone will have a different answer for what good means.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said there seemed to be growing animosity toward Trump within the Republican Party, citing a recent poll that found 25% of Republicans don’t approve of Trump’s job performance. “It’s like any show that’s on TV for a long time — the ratings start to go down. And the ratings are going down,” Christie said. “I am willing to bet you that by next February, this room is going to be twice the size of what it is now. After the midterms, you watch.”
Chris Christie used to be quite a screwup. But he’s changed. He points out the painful truths. And he’s right, which is why Trump rages about him. He’s not a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. He just is. For Mr. Christie to point this out, wow, he’s the voice of sense. There’s respect for the man that he earned the hard way, by hitting bottom and dragging himself back up.
When it comes down to it, many people are finally recognizing the problems we have, not just in lip service. There can be no blindness anymore. Reality is (finally?) starting to set in. At least it’s being recognized. It took long enough. Where do we start?
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
“Not all Republicans are idiots.”
Really?
Then why are they republicans?
You just made me spit coffee on my monitor. Well done, sir!