Every day, it seems that something else has happened with Republicans, and every day it gets worse. There are going to be a lot more calling it quits after this debacle of a year. It all starts with Trump and ETTD. How can they miss what he is doing? From The Daily Beast via Raw Story:
An ex-GOP lawmaker came clean on what it’s like to work for “toxic” President Donald Trump — and what he believes is happening behind the scenes among Republicans. Former Rep. David Trott (R-MI), in an opinion piece published in The Daily Beast on Tuesday, wrote about why the Republican majority is falling apart — and the difficult position Trump has put it in. “Republicans in particular have an untenable choice—stand up to President Trump’s unconstitutional actions or fall in line and accomplish nothing,” Trott wrote.
Oof. This is coming from a former Representative. He got out in time. Others have not. Others are stuck, for now. It’s a balancing act that seems to be less and less appealing. This is coming from one of Trump’s “people”. One would think that if he came out and said something, it’s even worse than it was implied. Run, don’t walk, for the door. Imagine wanting to help our country in Congress, and then finding out that it’s crap in your first week. Ideals get broken pretty quickly. And leadership isn’t leading – they’re playing a game of winner take all, except they’re losing.
Trott described his experience in Congress during Trump’s first term 10 years ago. “Most of my peers were more capable and intelligent than the media portrayed them, although the place was completely dysfunctional. It still is. And it’s gotten worse. More toxic. The focus is on winning—i.e., beating the other party—and playing the blame game, not solving problems,” Trott wrote.
That falls in line with a recent column of mine. The House can’t get any work done. It’s all backbiting and lies and “oh, no, what has Trump come up with THIS time?” Nothing can be accomplished. Now, some think being a member of Congress, looking good, and getting paid is enough. If so, that’s absolutely impossible to understand for those of us who know how to think.
Bipartisanship and focusing on results could help lawmakers get out of the situation, but Trott does not expect it to improve anytime soon, especially while the focus for GOP leaders appears to be job security and not serving the American public. “Let’s be clear, Trump’s executive branch is being run by a bunch of sycophants, felons, and idiots. (Well, former felons—they’ve all been pardoned.) Break the law, go to prison, cut a check, and become a special advisor to the president—what a great country we live in! The Senate confirmed Trump’s picks for key Cabinet roles, ambassadorships, and many more positions of power with blind loyalty being the only criterion,” Trott added.
That’s exactly it. They aren’t there to serve their constituents. They aren’t there to actually *do* anything. They are just loyal, waiting to see what their orange-faced god wants them to do next. How do these people get elected? And how does the House get anything done? Are there any actual good Republicans left? Well, we can have hope that the blue wave will take over and keep going. We have faith that things will be accomplished. In the meantime, we have to wait. If we could only get healthcare shoved through…
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, 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
A ‘winning combination’ of FAFO and ETTD.
If we’re lucky, it will be the end of the republicans as a credible organization.
Though, of course, Reagan appeared only a few years after Nixon’s removal, so who knows?
There does seem to be a very large, very well funded right-wing mediascape/ constant anti-progressive chorus doing thier well-moneyed damnedest all the time in the USA.
And it is evil.
Just remember: When Hillary warned the country about the “vast right-wing conspiracy” out to get her husband, the mainstream media largely played down her concerns as “just histrionics” and “her weird conspiracy.”
And then, of course, in 2016 when she labeled Drumpf’s supporters as “deplorables,” she got criticized (even by some members of her own party) for being “uncivil” towards a group of American voters.
Well, Reagan lucked out because too many Democrats in Congress hated Jimmy Carter because he was an “outsider” who didn’t understand how Washington politics worked. Additionally, Carter had the audacity to suggest Americans should prioritize conserving energy (most notably by wearing sweaters instead of raising the thermostat in the fall and winter). And then, of course, came the hostage situation.
Carter allowed his humanitarian side (letting in the Shah for medical treatment) outweigh how the mullahs and Khomeini might react (largely because Carter actually thought they might feel some level of compassion) which led to the Embassy being overrun and members of the staff being taken hostage. Carter hoped for a negotiated settlement and things were being done behind the scenes but there were (actual) “deep state” actors working for the GOP to benefit Reagan’s election chances. It’s widely believed that Carter’s team had gotten the Iranians to agree to release the hostages and Carter was expected to announce the release to happen just after the election (it was thought he would announce it in October during a debate with Reagan) but Reagan’s group of criminals got ILLEGALLY involved in the negotiations and thwarted Carter’s team’s efforts.
In other words a right wing media beat-up combined with the usual right wing skullduggery and spin, including actual treason in pursuit of power worked. Again.
The dick heads are both manifesting and living in their own construct of a feed-forward, self-inflicted, payback and time-limited death cycle. Just make sure there’s plenty of popcorn and soda to fortify the endurance, whilst watching this ‘Rock and a hard place’ drama, as it writes its own script and destructively unfolds.