Unconstitutional conservatives

Once the party of small government, law and order, incremental change, and institutional stability, Republicans have become the party of burn-it-down-and-see-what-happens.

Office of Speaker Mike Johnson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

So much for those Constitutional conservatives. The people who used to post how much they loved the Constitution are cheering on Donald Trump and Elon Musk as they burn through constitutional restraints. If Donald Trump has shown us anything, it’s how shallow the Republican Party really was.

Still, it’s pretty shocking to watch Republicans in Congress willingly give up their power of oversight. I guess it shouldn’t be. They also refused to hold accountable a president after he attempted a coup.

Now, they’re going to approve a bunch of unqualified cabinet picks that, just a few years ago, they would have rejected out of hand. And they are going to sit by and watch while Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, usurps their power and pillages agencies they funded. It’s pathetic.

Make no mistake. Musk’s actions are a conservative’s wet dream. They’ve been howling about the size of government since The New Deal days. They just lacked the political will and public support to make cuts to spending. Instead, they’ve been exploding the deficit and adding to the national debt by giving tax cuts to the rich since Reagan.

They’ve surrendered, admitting that they can’t significantly reduce the size of government constitutionally so they’ll become spectators as Trump assumes dictatorial powers. He’s running roughshod over their powers of oversight or to set legislative priorities. Musk is essentially negating the will of Congress by unilaterally shutting down agencies that operate with Congressional authorization.

Trump and Musk are taking the Humpty-Dumpty approach to undermining government. They know that once they break something, it will be very hard to put it back together again. Republicans are gleefully watching Musk smash USAID and the Department of Education, oblivious to the fact that he’s also smashing their power of oversight and that will be equally hard to restore.

Republicans have been reluctant to make cuts for a reason. Real people get hurt. Musk’s actions may become very unpopular in the coming weeks as people get stiffed out of money owed and lose jobs after years of service.

Maybe Republicans hope they can blame Musk when voters start complaining. I suspect, though, they are looking to North Carolina where Republicans are working to rig elections. In the Supreme Court race here, GOP nominee Jefferson Griffin is trying to throw out the votes of more than 60,000 people who cast votes legitimately. If they can rig elections after the fact, they can smother democracy completely.

Republicans who once were the party of small government, law and order, incremental change, and institutional stability have become the party of burn-it-down-and-see-what-happens. They have given up on a country based on constitutional constraints and embraced one of autocracy and authoritarianism. They have abandoned democracy because they know they can’t win a clear majority based on their ideas and have established a system of gerrymandered districts to keep power. Now, they are literally trying to steal an election by changing the rules after the fact.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people is slipping away.