It’s not just Trump

by | May 16, 2017 | Editor's Blog, Politics | 5 comments

Back during the campaign, Trump famously said, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Clearly, he was right then and he’s right now. His base will stick with him regardless of how badly he behaves. As someone on twitter said yesterday, he could hand the nuclear codes over to the Russians and his base would cheer.

What’s disturbing, though, is Republicans in Congress seem to hold the same views. They have yet to offer very strong rebukes for anything and both Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan excuse every bit of poor behavior. When the Washington Post revealed that Trump gave classified information to the Russians, elected “leaders” like John McCain defended his right to do so. Can you imagine their outrage if Obama had done that?

As for his base, they’re just writing it off as fake news from the lamestream media. Trump trotted out his Secretary of State and National Security Advisor last night to deny the Post’s story. Of course, Trump woke up this morning and made them out to be liars in a tweet admitting the story is true.

As Saturday Night Live said this weekend, “Nothing matters anymore.” Conservative values are out the window. Congressional Republicans will defend Trump no matter how incompetent or destructive. The goal is not to govern but to hold power.  The 2018 elections are more important than any policy.

Republican governance has been a disaster for the country, not because of specific policies but because of the destruction of norms and institutions. What Trump is currently doing to the presidency, McConnell is doing to the Senate. From his unprecedented obstructionism as minority leader to his handling of Merrick Garland and subsequent nuclear option for Supreme Court nominees to his unwavering defense of Trump’s dysfunctional executive branch, he’ll leave the world’s greatest deliberative body just another partisan chamber.

The Tea Party rendered the House ungovernable years ago. They ran off John Boehner because of his instinct for compromise and deal-making. Their desire for ideological purity landed them with Paul Ryan, a man who would sell his soul to keep his Speakership. Ryan, too, has decided that defending the executive branch is more important than protecting the legislative branch.

Tribalism is the enemy of democracy. Republicans who are sacrificing their responsibilities to govern in hopes of preventing an electoral disaster next year are harming our country. While Mitch McConnell may be more tempered in his demeanor, his actions have done the same type of damage to the Senate that Trump is doing to the White House. And Paul Ryan, in an effort to keep his divided caucus in line, is unwilling to exercise the checks and balances that our government requires. Our political leaders are putting party before country.

We need statesmen. Somebody please step up.

 

5 Comments

  1. Rick gunter

    One of the many outrages in all of this, and Mr. Mills alludes to it in one sentence, is what would the Republican reaction be had Hillary Clinton done any of this? Impeachment proceedings already would be launched.
    Your column was written before news that Trump — I refuse to call him president — asked then FBI Director Comey to squelch the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. I had issues with Mr. Comey’s conduct near the presidential election. Even in that, I viewed him as an honest man in a den of liars and thieves. The country and Congress better listen to Comey. As I have posted and written several places, our country was in a national emergency from the time Mr. Trump won the GOP nomination and certainly since he was inaugurated. He is temperamentally unfit to be president. He is legally unfit for any number of reasons, including obstruction of justice. It really pains me to take this view. But this country is in Major League trouble and our institutions, particularly the Congress, are failing us and failing our democracy. The shoes will continue to drop, and I really believe this. Where are the GOP heroes like those during Watergate to step up and save our democracy? I am not sure the country can wait until the Democrats possibly regain control of the government, which is not a slam dunk by any means. By then, we may not have a democracy to save.

  2. Frank mcguirt

    Someone posted on Facebook earlier today–when the contributions stop coming into Republicans’ coffers the congressional leadership will wake up.

    • Ebrun

      It’s not happening yet. Headline From Roll Call, April 17:

      Politics
      “NRCC Raises $10 Million for Fourth Straight Month
      House GOP campaign arm posts best April haul in history”

      Article goes on to point out that this is a record fund raising streak for the NRCC.

      • Mike Leonard

        Here you go, numb nuts:

        5/18/2017

        “House Democrats have already raised more money in online contributions this year ahead of the midterms than they did during all of 2015, the most recently comparable year, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official told NBC News. “

  3. Troy

    A petulant child with enabling parents. Amazing how you can have all the myriad factors of distrust and suspicion surrounding this monster toddler and it’s never his fault; its always the fault the of someone else. His go to list of who to blame has become a cliche for the daily disasters coming from the White House.

    Congressional Republicans will take no action however until they are absolutely forced to act. Until his action becomes so outrageous that they gauge recovery in even their gerrymandered districts as questionable, they will sit on their hands and ignore him; as enablers do.

    All we can do is wait until the mid-term elections in order to try and bring some balance back to this abomination to democracy and the Republic.

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