On the third day, when the sun rises, look for me on the mountains to the east Gandalf the White Return of the King
I’m not going to relitigate the horror of the Trump years here, we all know them. But just to set the table. Trump’s election cleaved the Republican party in two. Traditional, principled conservatives voted with their feet, and brain dead Trombies filled the vacuum. And the Never Trumper’s and dissidents set up a fairly successful guerilla war against Trump in the media to weaken his hold. But as long as the GOP congress held firm with Trump and his ilk, they were on the outside.
But then came Ukraine. A breath of fresh air that may just be the salvation of the traditional GOP. because in their insatiable thirst to satisfy Trump, not only the majority of the GOP, but also the FUX News bubblesphere have gone full blown pro Putin. And right now, popular US sentiment is overwhelmingly for Ukraine. Which is putting these brainless twits on an island.
On a more granular level, as I wrote previously tonight, congress will act in unison to pass almost anything that has the name Ukraine in the title of the bill. Hell, congress will approve $20 million for the shipment of teddy bears to Poland, Romania, and Hungary for Ukrainian refugee toddlers to cuddle up next to. And this is the breath of fresh air that the traditional GOP dissidents have been waiting for.
Because the simple fact is that the American population is going to like seeing congress actually come together to do big things that are important. And this is manna from heaven for the Never Trumper’s. They can use their vaunted media network and savvy to highlight a congress that works like it should, and spotlight moderate conservative primary candidates that actually support Ukraine, as opposed to opponents that want to leave them stranded on an island. Former Trump administrator Miles Taylor, better know as anonymous for his NY Times article about how Trump appointees were working against his worst impulses, has been pushing exactly this kind of primary revolt. Properly funded, they could make a helluva dent in Trombie primary candidates.
For more than 2 years now, pundits have been saying that the American electorate was too fractured and tribal to come together on anything. But as it turns out, it only takes one worthy cause to bring the majority of Americans back together again to unite in action. And if they can unite on one thing, then they can unite on others. Forget the Trombies, they’re a noisy minority. The traditional GOP base has its work cut out for it, but at least they may have a lifeline.
If they can elect more rational rethugs more power to them. However, I don’t think just because everyone is on the Ukraine train means bipartisanship is just another election away. After all, Moscow Mitch, who single-handedly did more to obstruct anything Dem supported, is the embodiment of the Party of NO. We’re not exactly singing from the same hymnal now. Some rethugs have advocated for a No-Fly Zone and Lindsay “I’ve had enough, count me out” Graham wants someone to assassinate Putin. The so-called Never Trumpers are all about power and the Trumpists are all about performance. Neither is about policy or the people who elected them. In the end, I think this current kumbaya re: Ukraine has more to do w/ the fact they can read the polls where 70-80% of the population support Zelinskyy et al.
The gop has been in a bad place for a very very long time. Frump is the product. They will grovel & root around for any camouflage to cover up their history & their crimes. They brought their evil genie into power & they are trying to get him back into the bottle. They had two impeachments that were slam dunks but turned their collective backs. I get ur point but I have no faith that any good resides in them. They are just playing their angles. I trust them as much as the fox trusts the hounds.
If Rubio & Daines are anything to go by, I’m not sure all the ‘pubes are on the same page with regard to Ukraine. As well the fact Russia is quite a racist, bigoted, homophobic country ought to appeal to most of the G.O.P. particularly those in the house.