If anybody is wondering whether the GOP has decided to move beyond Donald Trump, or if on the other hand, they’re all in for him and he’s still running the party, take note of a couple of recent developments before you decide: 1. Only five GOP senators voted to go ahead with the impeachment trial, so unless something happens, it would appear that another acquittal is on the horizon; 2. None other than Kevin McCarthy, the GOP House minority leader is winging his way down to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the mob boss former president on Thursday.

If you’re still wondering what could be going on, just take a look at a few stats and the answer should be obvious.

Kevin McCarthy kind-of, sort-of turned on Trump. Mitch McConnell made noises about how if Trump were impeached, he might vote to convict. A few administration appointees resigned their posts in mock protest.

But three weeks later the politicians took stock of public opinion among Republican voters. And what they saw scared them straight.

You can tell how scared they are by looking at the numbers:

  • 139 of the 211 House Republicans (66 percent) and 8 of the 50 Senate Republicans (16 percent) voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
  • 201 of the 211 House Republicans (95 percent) voted against the article of impeachment concerning Trump’s incitement of the insurrection which killed five Americans.
  • 45 of the 50 Senate Republicans (90 percent) voted against even holding the trial on the article of impeachment pursuant to the black-letter of the Constitution.

Most of the commentary about the future of the GOP following Trump’s loss concerned whether or not elected Republicans wanted to move on from Trump.

But that was always the wrong question. The right question was whether or not Republican voters would let them move on.

Anyone who has been paying attention was pretty sure what that answer would be.

Thanks to impeachment, there’s no longer any doubt.

Here’s the gist of what you need to know. Kevin “Pussy” McCarthy, not to be confused with Mike “Pussy” Pence stopped playing ball with Trump momentarily, Trump lashed out at him and now the two are going to make nice nice. New York Times:

Mr. Trump had been livid with Mr. McCarthy and, according to people close to the former president, privately referred to him with a vulgarity commonly used to describe a coward after his speech during the House debate on impeaching the former president for “incitement of insurrection.”

“The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” Mr. McCarthy said in the speech, which he delivered before joining a vast majority of Republicans in opposing the charge. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump: accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest and ensure President-elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term.”

Mr. Trump did none of those things, yet Mr. McCarthy has since tempered his criticism. He told reporters last week that he did not believe Mr. Trump had “provoked” the mob. In an interview that aired on Sunday, he said that while the former president bore “some responsibility” for the storming of the Capitol, “I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility.”

Some Trump advisers have tried to tamp down the notion that Mr. Trump has lingering hostility toward the House leader, and aides to both men hoped the meeting would help ease tensions.

The hard cold fact that keeps resurfacing every few days now, and which has been evident for some time, is that the GOP is terrified of its constituents. GOP lawmakers are terrified that armed Trumpian crazies will come and get them if they vote to impeach Trump, they’re terrified of getting primaried if they say a bad word about him, they’re terrified probably to get out of bed in the morning and go into the halls of congress and do their jobs.

A reality TV buffoon has one of the two major political parties in America in his thrall. Not a new situation, by any manner or means, just a fact of life that won’t go away, even with the buffoon in exile.

Oh, to be a fly on Mike Pence’s hair tomorrow for the McCarthy/Trump confab. What I wouldn’t give.

And say, anybody know who Putin’s favorite congressman is with Dana Rohrabacher gone? Just asking.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. And, just today, Sen Romney’s niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, announced that the RNC would remain “neutral” and not actively support any Presidential candidate in 2024 if Trump does decide to run.

    Yeah, Ronna. Tell us all another fairy tale bedtime story.

    The RNC won’t hesitate to give its full support to Trump. Even if Trump doesn’t even announce he’s running until May of 2024, the RNC will break speed records to overturn the results of every single primary held to that point to ensure Trump gets his way (because they’ll worry that Trump will command his “legions” to vote for him in November and ignore any other Republican candidate that might get the nomination).

    • It’s a good thing that Trmp’s “legions” are a minority of voters. What’s bad is that they have state legislators doing their will, trying to keep people from voting.

  2. Wow. This is where we are. The GOP is ready to run him again, even with all of this madness. We are looking at fascism, plain and simple. We have a major political party that is willing to vote against democracy. That’s the boiled down message here.

  3. Since, temporarily the P word is in use allow me as a mid sixties white guy from small town middle America, who served in the Corps (a long, long time ago), lived in small town WV and for stretches have lived in suburban America (my life is fairly evenly split between small town and suburban America) to offer some personal experiences. I grew up liberal, remained so while on active duty (albeit keeping just how liberal I was hidden from most I served with) and if anything have grown more so as I reached senior citizen status.

    I’ve known and been friends or at least on decent terms with a ton of people in my life. People of all types, The full range of income to the full range of religious beliefs (not just Christian denominations) and a wide range of nationalities and ethnicities. But overall there’s been a conservative lean to my acquaintances in most places I’ve lived. Some have been the old school limited government and low taxes types who didn’t give much thought to the social wars and often were quite progressive on those “wedge” issues. Then there were the types who were solidly conservative on both those fronts. I’ve also, if only because I had to work with them know far more that fell towards the hard core end of conservatism, and if they weren’t already in the full-on RWNJ camp they were ripe candidates and jumped into that pool of toxic sludge when Trump came along.

    Virtually everyone in that third group and some (not the majority but not a handful either) in the second frequently referred to Democrats as pussies and the Party as the Pussy Party or some variation. At least those in the second group and some in the third would quickly clarify “I don’t mean YOU” but an awful lot flat out called me a pussy at one time or another. Than includes people I grew up with. They see themselves as strong and protectors of the country and us as weak. People who would roll over for the likes of dictators like (before Trump) Putin, Kim etc. My how things have changed! Btw, a ton of these people simply can’t accept that ANY Democrat, no matter what sacrifices they’ve made including blood shed, lost limbs (think Max Cleland) or even died defending this country EVER possessed an ounce of patriotism or love for this country. For them a HUNDRED Max Clelands or Bob Kerry (Medal of Honor recipient and who also lost a leg in combat) aren’t worth a single of the their Chickenhawk “heroes” like Rush (anal cysts) Limbaugh or of course “Magic” bonespurs Trump!

    They take great delight and have for decades labeling us individually and as a Party as pussies.

    During the Trump years and especially since 2018 an increasing (truly disturbingly so) number of Democratic legislators at both the state and federal level as well as other well known (and some not so well known nationally) have lived under credible death threats against them and often even their loved ones. The same is true of many former Democratic officials and current activists. For all that these Democrats, these “pussies” as far as conservatives are concerned refuse to back down. They carry on and you see them speaking out again and again.

    Now compare THAT to Republicans in the era of Trump. They were so terrified he’d end their ONLY their career with a tweet storm that they stood silent, or even voiced support to curry favor. Just to keep from getting primaried or getting/continuing a gig with a conservative media outlet, think tank etc.

    A tweet, or tweet storm was all it took to strike fear into their hearts.

    And they call US pussies?

    Ursuala would have to ban me forever if I let my inner jarhead loose to use the kind of insults I’d heap upon them. Let’s just say when I was done they’d ask “can we just go back to your calling me a pussy?”

    So now, some of THEM are getting a taste of threats and in some cases death threats from the crazies. I can understand them being “Shocked, SHOCKED I say!” to suddenly be on the receiving end of what so many Democrats have been dealing with for so long. But instead we see them surrendering faster than they have so loved making fun of the French for doing!

    But still they call US the pussies.

    This is one of those times when I wish we had a prominent Democrat ready to retire (knowing that if forced out the next day a terrific Democrat would replace them) and out of fucks to give were to stand at the podium in the House or the Senate and point out, using the word pussy how conservatives have hurled that insult over and over for decades, and how quickly their spines turned to jelly at the thought of Trump tweeting mean things about them. And flat out asking:

    “And you have had the nerve to call US pussies? Look in the damned mirror and you’ll see a pussy!” Then go on to note that many in the GOP are suddenly getting threats including death threats. And again say bluntly “Even before Trump you’ve stood silently as WE have faced this kind of thing. What have WE done? WE have carried on in the face of those threats! YOU are the ones suddenly fearful. Welcome to the reality so many of US have been living with long before the EX President started his big lie and whipped up that mob of rioting insurrectionists that came for most of YOU as well as US! You are consumed by your fear and kowtowing to a wannabe American dictator and his mob. You PUSSIES!

    There is one way forward to end this madness. Grow a spine, and either balls or ovaries too and stand up, and stand together with us and make it overwhelmingly clear that this will NOT become a Trump led dictatorship. That we will stand united in demanding the full weight of the FBI backed by the full weight of the Department of Justice will charge and try those who commit federal crimes as they so often do in making their threats, and plotting actual attacks. And that includes federal law enforcement assisting with state and local investigations and prosecutions. Do THAT and just as has happened with the Klan more than once in our history the problem will be beaten back to manageable proportions. But you have to have the GUTS to take a stand.

    You have a choice. You can be Patriots, or you can keep being pussies. And for those who are offended at my remarks, whether in this chamber or on right wing media like Fox or just watching on TV the I say GOOD! It means that unlike Trump you still can feel shame, which means I can at least hope you will summon the courage to stop being pussies.”

    Of course I know it will never happen but in the ensuing days, weeks and months I’m sure to have more people I’ve drifted away from but still have a bit of contact with choose to banish me from their friend lists, email lists etc. forever. Because I WILL say that kind of stuff to them.

  4. Who are you CLOWNS !! There isn’t one true or accurate statement made between all of you leftist lemmings! To PJ Evans: You need to step away from the punch bowl, Trump’s legions are the majority of voters. He was cheated not defeated you Moron! I’ll also have you know that the reason we are loyal is out of respect for a man who endured all your bs and the rest of the lefts bs and still put the American people 1st! Unlike Chief Pedophile Sleepy Demented Lie-den and his China Commie sympathizer chip off the ole block son Hunter the Insignificant Troll of Teens. You people are a disgrace! Selling us out to communists, attempting to blend genders, killing babies, allowing history to be erased, ruining the economy, people’s livelihoods down the crapper because of Dems dumb ass covid responses, engaging us in more middle east wars, unvetted flows of illegal immigration! And the list goes on! You’re killing us us with your idiocy and unfounded hatred of a man that did nothing but good for this country and sacrificed much when he didn’t have to!! You people should be ashamed! How dare you! I hope it does come down to civil discourse. I guarantee you, conservatives will win!

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