I listen to Lindsey Graham, I man I once thought highly of though I disagreed with several of his positions, and I think "what on earth are you thinking to turn into a sniveling, groveling, butt-kissing minion of a man this devoid of competency, ethics or human relations?" John McCain must be turning over in his grave. I see this from a good share of GOP members and quite frankly do not understand how people can so grossly lose their way in the pursuit of power. What an absolute embarrassment.
39
"Break away?" To what ? A few have left, I'm sure they have viable business interests. There rest are 'all in'.Why the surprise? Remember their primaries? He lied to those cheering crowds who were more against Hilary than for him.
God, those promises, and those revelations. Groping women, insulting the Syrian parents of a war hero, dissing McCain, people beat up at his rallies, the disabled reporter ... on and on, a putrid haze. ...
What did the repubs do or say ? zero ... ugatz ... nada
They faded like fake smiles. Now they're stuck with him.
And in his paranoia he has yanked Pence along.
OH, and the great legislation ... health care: after 6 years dissing Obama and a few under Trump ; a few pages of 'talking points' ... Now Trump is saying what a 'beautiful plan' he will 'unveil' in his next admin ...Believe that ?
The economy did ok, due to tax breaks and relaxed environmental regulations ... Meanwhile, his 'signature' legislation wrecks the environment for a sugar high ... But that's somebody else problem.
He's focused on being re elected to avoid the fed, state, local charges piling up against him and because he thinks as president he is immune. He could care less about anything else. Do not put starting a war past him; every incumbent president during wartime has been re elected. Remember, it's all about ... him and him only.
97
@STEVE from Philadelphia who quoted Ship of Fools by Robert Hunter is my choice for what's needed at this moment. Politics in our "OLD" Democracy has become a Ship of Fools. Partisanship has no meaning as it has become feudal. Survival now is the goal, words in politics, unlike poetry are vitiated. Strategy demands whatever meaning is necessary for victory; a win for these last moments.
5
This makes House of Cards look like The West Wing. An extraordinary and ghastly essay. Thank you.
25
where are the republicans on trump threatening the whistle blower or implying to his devoted followers to get the whistle blower who is treasonous. Where are the republicans when trump suggests to his followers that if he is impeached there might be a civil war. I would like to see some reckoning on their dereliction of duty.
42
The author needs to re-read his history books. The 2019 version of the GOP is acting in precisely the same manner as their Watergate-era counterparts.
The Nixon-era Republicans did not break with the President until the verbatim transcripts of the most-damning tapes were finally released.
Those tapes made it clear that Nixon had lied through his teeth.
Until that time, the Republicans had consistently voted along party lines (fortunately, the Dems controlled both the Senate and the House).
And until the White House releases unedited transcripts which show that Trump has also lied through his teeth, the GOP will continue to support him.
17
Donald Trump IS the GOP - Period.
He is the natural result of every dirty, sleazy, sneaky, snide, illegal, underhanded, arrogant, pompous, hypocritical, duplicitous, racist, lawless, unconstitutional thing they have engaged in since Ronald Reagan.
87
There is no excuse for republican acceptance of this lunatic.
47
The Republican Party had become a giant Jonestown.
58
Shame on Republicans. Trump is a sham and will take down your party! By siding with him you are siding with his debauchery!
Is this what you want your children to emulate?
23
Send them back! Back to Mar a Lago where the depravity began.
19
It is impossible to give invertebrates a spine. D not expect any republicans to display one.
13
The psychological perspectives in this article reminded me of what occurred in Germany leading up to WWII. Hitler, joined the nationalist Nazi party. He was appointed Chancellor. The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to act like a dictator without any checks and balances. He was willing to threaten and use violence in order to ensure what he wanted done happened. Others in his party joined him. The GOP is locked into Trump. Trump is in love with dictators. Trumps likes to use taunts, threats, intimidation and if he could, he would use violence as we heard him refer to such during campaign rallies i.e., "they used to take them out on a stretcher."
The GOP is scared of Trump our those he has influenced, as if programmed, to follow him. These GOP congresspersons and senators believe that Trump will send someone to challenge them and back that person. The GOP knows who it is dealing with in Trump and his following. They have emboldened and enabled Trump. They can't check him. They would have to see Trump's approval rating plummet among republican voters to do anything that might even appear to be threatening to Trump. They do not want to be on the end of a Trump tweet.
The GOP has no excuse. Trump is a know nothing so far as governing, constitutional laws, public service, accountability, etc. In NY most view Trump as a con artist and/or a thug. He was never embraced by the wealthy aristocracy of old or new money. Trump was/is an outspoken crook. The GOP knows what it is dealing with.
40
what a stupid question ??? nothing is wrong , they just continue the same strategy since c. 1980. anyone surprised must have been sleeping , long long time
22
Unless Trump turns this country into a dictatorship, someday the dark spell that Trump cast over the Republican Party will break. People watch which Republican Party politicians kept quiet and were silent but knowing accomplices in Trump’s transgression. Their support and wishy washy comments condoning Trump behavior and lawlessness are all on the TV and transcripts, and will be used against them in elections or even criminal proceedings. One likely possibility is that sensing voters might turn on them, to stay in power the Republican Party could adopt Nazi party like allegiance and party structure, and totally destroy the American democracy. Having destroyed the very underpinning of American prosperity, these Republicans will be no different than the party apparatchik in China or Russia.
7
While Wehner's column is plausible, here's the real reason why:
Trump has dirt on all these Republicans because of his relationship with the National Enquirer David Pecker.
They're afraid of being 'primaried'.
Trump isn't worth this. He's done nothing for the country. And when his administration is over, the country will collectively agree that it was a complete waste of time.
18
All the really smart ones who arent idealists are sucked into the big money orbit by Koch and the other far right oligarchs as soon as they get out of college. They are the real "deep state." The people trying to run our government for the benefit of the rest of us are now called that.
10
It's mob rule, as in The Mob. These polyglots enjoy all the privileges that come with being made. If you subpoena them they will tell you to suck on a lemon. If you challenge their authority they will have you iced. As Devin Nunes (R CA) said, if we lose, this all goes away.
10
Why isn't there one Republican with an actual backbone who really cares about this country willing to stand up to the Bully-in-Chief? It seems that since he humiliated and personally attacked every Republican candidate during the election, you have just decided to suck it up and go along with anything that he says or does. Classic clique behavior. You are abuse victims who have convinced yourself that this nightmare is better than any Democrat. Okay, so you cannot go for a Democrat. So don't! What about other Republicans? Where are the other Republican candidates? Have you no dignity or self-respect? Haven't you had enough? Is there one single "compassionate conservative" left in America? And stop saying "the democrats do it..." That is a pointless excuse. Don't we ALL deserve better?
21
The problem with Republicans is that they are hopelessly and unabashedly SELFISH people whose degree of selfishness is only matched by their profound HYPOCRISY. They don't know what they're for, only what they're against. Knowing what you're against is something, but not much when they only get that knowledge via conservative news that simply don't adhere to any facts or standards whatsoever. The Republican Party is very much like a cult, which is to say they aren't so much a political party as they are a social club made up of a membership of selfish hypocrites that lack any and all traces of empathy for anything or anyone that doesn't reflect back at them when they look into a mirror.
26
Like the Boy Who Cried Wolf, the New York Times and others have lost all credibility by saying from the first that they would get Trump at all costs and by pushing and pushing thousands of times. Now that they COULD have something, everyone has social media fatigue and has stopped listening. At this point, he could shot someone in broad daylight on Broadway on live network television and no one would believe, or at least, no one would care about, a story in the New York Times or a speech from a congressman or congressworman. You guys brought this on yourself. This liberal Democrat stopped listening to the tripe from both sides long ago.
4
Nancy Quixote.
4
Why are Republicans willing to inflict a mentally ill president not only on their fellow American citizens, but on the rest of humanity as well?
22
Simple - the R's have all drunk the Trump kool-aid and act like lemmings headed for the cliff.
6
GOP politicians: Grifters Over Patriotism
GOP supporters: Gullibility Over Patriotism
No more Trumpery!
11
The problem, Peter, is that you are at least somewhat ration. For most of the Republican party, that train left the station years ago.
7
What's the matter with RePubs? How much time you got?
3
So to put it in a nutshell. Republicans are morally bankrupt cowards who care more about themselves than the country.
18
The fish rots from the head down. Republican Trump supporters like the smell of rotting fish.
6
Puleez. What's the matter with Republicans?
It is about money. Nothing else matters.
Democracy? Meh.
Decency? Hey, everybody needs to make tradeoffs.
Rule of law? Another one of those lines you feed the great unwashed.
Get with the program. The religion is capitalism. God is mammon.
17
The author just explained in detail how fascism happens.
18
They are spineless cowardly people who readily allowed 45 to ruin their reputations.
5
Republican leaders are so happy with their power to destroy this country for the profit of their big donors that they don’t care what Trump does as long as he doesn’t interfere with their smash and grab. They are worthless and immoral. I’m sick of them.
17
I hate to even ask this... Has anyone studied or look at the parallels between Donald Trump's behavior and and the mindset of Germany when Hitler was coming into power. It seems as though their character flaws and personality disorders parallel in a frightening way. It also seems as though the American public is reinforcing his behavior and encouraging him to continue to go further off rail by providing a continuous stream of funding for his campaign. I am not only deeply concerned about our president, I'm deeply concerned about my fellow citizens and supporting him and not absolutely firing him outright.
9
Like their leader trump, their souls are sick.
4
In answer to the headline, you want a list?
2
“What’s the matter with Republicans?” The real answer is Fox News.
11
In Britain, when Boris Johnson crossed the line into complete & utter recklessness, several conservative members of parliament "crossed over" to the other side to express their dismay about the PM & the party. There are no comparable Republican examples of this outrage. The party is now populated by cowards and phonies. When Trump finally stumbles off his golden toilet of a throne, those phony Republicans who defended him will still have mud all over them.
17
The individual and group defense of Trump by Republicans no matter what, reminds me of the South's defense of slavery that ultimately lead to civil war. Southerners were so invested in the institution they wouldn't admit the evil. Todays Republicans are so invested in Trump they don't want to admit his or their evil either.
13
Seems like I heard in the 90s when Clinton was impeached that we didnt elect a pastor, we elected someone to get this country back on track. Well thats what we have done with Trump. Democrats think more of illegals entering America than they do our veterans. Every democrat running for president tries to out liberal the others. They want to take the sportsmans guns away ,however that will cause a violent rebellion the likes of which England didnt see in the 1770s. Trump has put the people of America first and it shows in the economy, employment, national pride, stock market, and everything patriots love in America. How in the world did it get to the point in this country where the vice president could get a plush job for his son in a foreign country because of his position as VP and the guy finding about it is the bad guy. Let me assure the liberal democrats that the flyover part of this country who still love our constitution and fairness will again put Mr Trump back in the presidency in 2020.
2
@Wink Smith - Care about the environment much?
6
Trump is only the logical end of an approach to politics that the Republican Party has been practicing since 1968, at least. Distract the masses with the dog whistles they respond to, racism, sexism and lip service to religion, while concentrating real power and wealth in the hands of the already wealthy and powerful. Over the decades it has become less and less subtle, more and more overt, until finally we have the naked greed, amorality and demagoguery of Trump.
It was easier for most Republicans to slide down that slippery slope than they'd like to believe, because they started sliding long before anyone took Trump seriously as a politician.
13
Your basic question, “Why has Mr. Trump, an ethical wreck of a man both before and after he reached the White House, earned such fealty from Republicans?”
You claimed that “the answer is complicated “.
Seriously? Everyone knows the answer: money, greed, power- I doubt very much that the other leading force, sex, is implicated.
Stephen Miller is my emoji for evil - Lindsey Graham is for sycophant. For Trump- well - he himself would make one which encompasses amorality, racism, greed, narcissism, ignorance, - I can go in and on. It would be nice to have an emoticon resembling Don Donald.
10
To Trumpian Republicans in Congress:
He has clearly violated the norms, tenets, and ethics of Democracy,...and you just sit there?
6
Republicans lost their moral compass right after Nixon.
7
The World's Greatest nuclear power is to be neutered, dismantled, and defeated by Putin's puppet POTUS whose most mighty weapon consists of nothing more than indulging in childish preschool name calling ?
I don't care about Trump's ignorant name calling, what *ASTOUNDS ME it that GROWN ADULTS in positions of Power are TERRIFIED by this spiteful, spineless, baseless and infantile name-calling. Whatever happened to "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me ?" Words only hurt if the recipient of such words ALLOWS them to hurt.
Name calling and active gas lighting of Democrats who kowtow to this treatment as if IT was nuclear fallout should be a strategy with NO power. Instead, Dems are self-flagellating already.
This President would wield NO personal power if he weren't surrounded by such a feckless bunch of cowards from both parties.
9
Trump is the cancer on the Republican Party. Agree totally the recovery of the GOP relies on repudiating Trump and Trumpism. The problem remains offending his flock, a substantial voting block in the current GOP. Trashing Trump comes with risks without solutions. Big tent or appealing to everyone he has offended along the way time consuming and difficult to sell by those defending the indefensible or strangely silent.
Congress had a choice. No need to unleash Nunes, Meadows, Gaetz, Jordan et al on a mission to destroy the FBI and Intelligence apparatus of the nation in defense of Trump. Attacking and assaulting Mueller unnecessary. Instead of acting responsibly off they went over the cliff.
Is this all about achieving and holding power? Or tribalism run amuck? Paul Ryan ran for the exit in part because the found himself in an untenable position. Defending an unprincipled man while steering the policy ship impossible.
2
I would love to be able to vote Republican, but there is no way I will watching the corruption and cowardice of the party today. I keep hoping that someone will realize how much political value there would be in standing up and denouncing Trump. I thought maybe Cruz had a backbone at the convention, but no, he turned out to be a coward too. Romney, Ryan, I know you know better. You have nothing to fear except the current course and your consciences at some point in the future. What are you going to tell your kids? You did nothing.
6
The problem with the Republicans in Congress is that they put their own survival in office above what's best for the country. Of course, in their eyes, their continued presence in office is what's best for the country. Their cowardice in the face of this gangster administration will have consequences.
8
We’ve always been this shallow. Our struggle has been to achieve a higher level of morality under a tidal wave of immoral influences. We could stack all the newspapers of time from New York to the Moon on this one issue alone!
I’ve sat in fox holes in the U.S. Army with Republicans, Democrats, Capitalists, Socialists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, White, Black, Red, Yellow, Gays, Straights, inbetweeners, and all the rest of humanity! Best group of guys you’d ever meet!
All of us had good and bad in us. There were no exceptions. Maybe we’re just asking the wrong questions so we’re getting the wrong answers.
5
Simple. It's that some leading Democrats have gone crazy.
1
Republicans in Congress answer to their major donors who have specific tasks for them to get done, or their checkbooks close. Major donors that legally bribe and hold their Congressional lackey the notorious Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and the Mercer family. These folks drive the Republican agenda. End of Story.
12
It would seem on the face of the evidence that Republicans are xenophobic racist bullies who will get what they want by any means possible including destroying democracy and the planet. I wish in some small way that was hyperbole or paranoia or anything but obvious truth. Trump is going nowhere until he calls out the military on the US people and they refuse. If they refuse. It is the only foreseeable end game.
3
Kompromat.
I'm really starting to think Putin first presented DJT with a chunk of HIS own file, just as a wake-up call, as in 'I own you,' -- and then told 45 that there was plenty more where that came from, on any and all who might oppose him ... him being Trump or Putin, since they are essentially one and the same by now.
Yes, this is a probably a weird theory that's taking up some better-used space in my head ... then again, look around at the upside-down world the mightiest democracy is suddenly living in day by dispiriting day. Is it so completely unlikely or impossible?
Today, it feels about 50/50.
6
Yes, let's avoid impeachment and aim for the 25th amendment, ASAP.
3
Maybe they think it’s a pretty underwhelming impeachment case
2
The "psychology of accommodation" as a very effective theory for explaining, for example, the Holocaust in the European Theater of World War Two, or for the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities of the Pacific Theater.
Lots of good people just can't say they have made a mistake, even after disastrous leaders they supported pull their country over a cliff.
People love to talk about heroes. But real heroes are selfless. What we need now is a show of Republican heroism.
7
Untalented politicians + low information voters = Disaster
The congressional Republicans have gerrymandered themselves into a corner. They've spent the past two decades choosing their own voters and creating districts that ensure that only the least informed and most bigoted voters ever decide their fate.
They have never had the experience or challenge of having to be persuasive or charismatic speakers. They have never had to be talented campaigners. All they ever needed to get elected was to be a republican. That is why we have the people have in congress we have. They have absolutely no ability to go home and persuade their constituents that their party may have possibly made a mistake in making Donald Trump the leader of the free world. You would think that that would be a fairly easy argument to make. Not for this crowd. Their hand-picked constituents were chosen for just that particular reason - their imperviousness to critical thought.
Their districts are not diverse enough for them to put together a coalition of sensible, decent, and morally upright voters that might reward their courage and ability to take a stand, (notwithstanding Jason Amash).
So here we are. Not only do they not have the political skill to make the argument that Donald Trump is a disaster and a threat to our national security, they do not have the constituency that would be receptive to that argument.
8
Please let me quote your thoughts on Donald Trump, Mr. Wehner, "He is an extreme narcissist, pathologically dishonest, shameless, a man who delights in flouting norms. He has a mobster’s mentality. Mr. Trump’s behavior isn’t governed by moral standards; he doesn’t seem to believe objective moral standards even exist. He can no more understand the language of morality than a person listening to someone speak a foreign language for the first time can."
This is stronger language than that Trump-designated traitor, Adam Schiff. Does the growing segment of American society that agrees with you now consist of traitors deserving the harsh and remorseless punishment that Trump alluded to the other night?
What really lies behind the blabbering of America's criminal wind bag? Should we all be expecting the midnight knock on the door? Will there shortly be death squads combing the streets or waiting in the wings hunting down every last one of the president's opponents? After all, how can you go soft on traitors?
Traitors and the survival of democracy are mutually exclusive. That's why a swift resolution of this crisis and the immediate commencement of impeachment proceedings have acquired such an extraordinary urgency. I look forward to the mass rallies populated by large contingents of the president's former base in MAGA hats howling, "Lock him up!"
4
He is the apotheosis of their worst impulses. To abandon him would be to abandon themselves.
4
These poor Republicans, trapped between a rock and a hard place. Support Trump and have to deal with the mental anguish of aiding and abetting a monster. Abandon Trump and risk losing their seat in Congress.
The answer is simple. They have a choice and they choose to support Trump. And they choose to support Trump because they are cut from the very same fabric as him.
7
Everything, in my opinion.
4
Check out trump's approval rating:
President Trump's approval is 41% 👍 to 53% 👎 in the new Quinnipiac poll.
Approval among...
Republicans: 88%
Democrats: 2%
Independents: 38%
Men: 49%
Women: 35%
Whites: 49%
Blacks: 2%
Hispanics: 30%
White college grads: 39%
White non-college: 59%
America you are in trouble...
7
16 months...that was the amount of time between a rally, where Mr. Trump gave out the telephone number of a sitting US Senator, and the 2016 election. At that time, senior Republican leadership nervously laughed, tucked their tails between their legs and ran for cover not wanting to be Mr. Trump’s next victim. They could have shut him down. Instead, today, the Senator whose number was given out (Lindsay Graham) is now one of Mr. Trump’s biggest enablers. Not sure what scares them so much? Mr. Trump’s erratic behavior? The prospect of having to get a real job? In the meantime, please consider making a campaign donation to the opponents of these enablers.
6
"Renewal and redemption," Peter, are not possible. The party must be politically destroyed. In point of fact, the party began its long descent into its current ruinous darkness upon the signing of the Voting and Civil Rights Acts, and has never once looked back, or shifted course - the so-called "autopsy" notwithstanding. Yours hasn't been the "Party of Lincoln" since the 1800's - it has been the party of the racist Southern Strategy, of voter disenfranchisement and suppression, of hard right wing evangelical bigotry and misogyny, of denial of facts and reality in favor of biblical parables, lies and "alternative facts." It has been the party of Kleptocrats and plutocrats, one which has systematically crushed workers' rights, women's privacy and primacy, civil rights, voting rights, and more. Your current illegitimate POTUS was inevitable - and your party's Stockholm Syndrome paralysis derives from cynical fealty to party over the nation and our rule of law. Redemption, resurrection, and renewal are impossible.
10
You could see It in the Republican primaries that the candidates were cowards willing to be bullied. And they all were beaten by the cruel bully. So , it only follows that the same sadistic bully continues his lifelong behavior and has bullied and cowed an entire bunch of sheep, formerly known as the Republican Party to fall in line and tow the mark. The answer to why they don’t stand up to him is easy. They are scared silly of the bully. Just like in high school. Just like in grade school. They are all cowards. Let’s see ONE OF THEM. ONE of them stand up to the bully. He’ll crack. Bullies can’t take it.
6
" The president is more popular among Republican voters in their districts and states than they are'
This statement is at the very heart of the problem: The problem isn't really Trump. After all, you can find a buffoon like him in any old man's bar in Queens.
The problem is that a sizeable minority of voters find the core of their personal beliefs echoed in what Trump channels. In other words, it isn't him, it's them.
There is no easy solution to a problem which encompasses at least a third of US voters. They are a combination of idiots, racists, the haplessly muddled and worse. Their reasons for voting for Trump range from a 'desire to shake up the government (by electing a kleptocrat and a fool, no less) to a firm belief that Trump alone can solve the Nation's problems.
IN the end, I believe Trump's election will turn out to have been a comedy of errors and a confluence of events conspiring to swing just enough electoral votes to elect him. I hope and pray that such a set of circumstances do not happen again in anyone's lifetime.
And yet.
Trump's election has uncovered an ugly truth about us. The number of us willing to vote for this monstrosity, under the right circumstances, is enough to elect him.
What that means for us as a democracy and for our future is anybody's guess.
12
Please write your next article about what is wrong with Republican voters. They will move the leaders.
4
This article articulates the horrifying institutional cowardice that feeds Trump’s power. Narcissism (on both left and right) is the default ethos of capitalism, and it’s brought us to this pass. It’s been cynically coupled with fear, populism’s bread and butter. The population is kept scared by the media, and the logic of our economy constantly reiterates that runaway self-promotion is our greatest duty. Trump embodies this in its purest form. He’s served no cause other than himself, and has produced nothing of any value. His legacy of tacky, elitist hotels, bankrupt casinos and golf courses is a pile of garbage. Where are the sane people? Is this what we want?
4
Or, more succinctly, they are moral cowards who have placed Party over country.
6
If President Obama has engaged in 1/10th of the scurrilous behavior and unethical/illegal activities that President Trump has, republicans and the conservative right would have been taking to the streets demanding impeachment! In fact, being a Black man, Obama would likely be in a gulag or 10 feet under a federal prison.
10
What’s the matter?? They are the party of Single Self Serving Republicans.
5
The most surprising thing to me is that all of his supporters have sacrificed any shred of morality, sympathy, empathy and kindness to others. They are too proud or perhaps ignorant to admit their grievous error, so they will dig in their heels and, hopefully, go down with the ship. They lack humility so that’s why, scandal after scandal, they refuse to see the man for who he is........a fake flake.
5
What’s the Matter With Republicans? Nothing if you know they are the concubines for their evil plutocrats. Trump gave them more tax cuts, deregulation, environmental degradation, privatising our basic necessities, promoting monopolies and oligopolies, etc.. However, if you think the GOP is patriotic who cares about the wellbeing of the American people, you are a fool! They are more beholden to Murdoch and Putin than the American voters.
7
Trump is the GOP's "village idiot" the guy dumb enough to do their dirty work. He cut their taxes and rolled back regulations. The Supreme Court is long gone. If he's re-elected we can kiss social security and medicare goodbye.. The GOP stands for division and inequality. Ever notice that Fox News stopped using Ronald Reagan as a GOP meme after Trump was elected? Republicans love Trump and I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon.
6
P-O-W-E-R and M-O-N-E-Y.
4
Republicans love pain/trump...and corruption.
4
Here's the real answer to "What's wrong with Republicans?" It's the headline over at FOX as real news outlets are covering Trump's second attempt to solicit foreign interference in US democracy:
"HEAR THE CALL: GOP lawmaker trolls Schiff with tape of him fishing for Ukraine dirt on Trump"
Republicans don't even know what the truth is, because they're being fed propaganda.
6
The columnist enabled Trump by not voting.
4
"If Republicans don’t break with the president now, after all he has done and all he is likely to do, they will pay a fearsome price generationally, demographically and, above all, morally."
I certainly hope so.
6
What Mr. Wehner leaves out of his analysis is that Trump did not change the Republican modus operandi, he just exaggerated it. Certainly Joseph McCarthy practiced a similar form of personality assassination in the 1950s. Republicans have as much as claimed that God was on their side and that the Democrats were infidels. They have been vehement in their false propaganda that the government is at the root of all problems. And, in particular, they have attacked all programs that were in place to improve the health, education and welfare of Americans in need. They have worked as hard as possible to deprive enough Americans of an equal vote to keep themselves in power. And to what end. In 1953 the top 0.1% was owned about 9% of the total wealth. Today, the top 0.1% own 22% of US wealth and as much as the bottom 90%. Trump is just the most repulsive example of these policies but they did not originate with him.
10
The answer to that question is not complicated, at least it isn't if you understand the meaning of the word "existential". They all have a gun to their heads, or at least think they do. Both literally and figuratively.
1
Fine assessment, but the last paragraph isn’t a foregone conclusion. Why assume that if Republicans don’t break wit Trump that they’ll have a long fearsome price to pay generationally, demographically and morally? Why assume Trump won’t prevail somehow? God help America if he does, but given the past four years, we can’t rule it out yet. And if he wins again, it’s four more years running roughshod over the constitutions, laws, and morals. How long can democracy last? Trump now panders to right wing extremists who drool for a civil war. He attacks media as evil and animals. Any lie will do to whip supporters into a frenzy. Can America as a democracy and decent nation survive a two-term Trump. Or will it become north America’s Egypt? Or Turkey? Or . . .
4
This seems to me a side effect of the aggressive gerrymandering by republicans everywhere they hold the reigns on the issue. It isn’t acknowledged enough. Republican Congressmen from these hyper republicans districts are captive to the most extreme electorates.
4
What the author predicts is happening in my home state of a Nebraska. Republican Senator Ben Sasse — who has occasionally tut-tutted about Trump's behavior while mostly playing the lapdog when it comes to actual votes — has spawned a primary challenger named Matt Innis, whose sole campaign plank is that he'll be more supportive of Trump than Sasse has been. You'd think that Nebraska farmers, severely burned economically by Trump's ego-driven trade war against China, might be sympathetic toward someone who's at least willing to kvetch about the Great Dictweeter's supposed wisdom... but so far they're mostly sticking to Trump like glue, even though he's costing them a lot of money. I'm still baffled as to why. The most I can get out of Trumpies who will still talk to me is, “He speaks for us.” As best I can figure out, that mean that they're tired of concealing or downplaying their racism, misogyny, xenophobia and hatred of gays, and are grateful to Trump for making them feel legit. It's going to be hard to get them to put those slimy thoughts back under a rock, even if Trump literally DOES shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue.
10
Wake up folks-Country has a huge problem with no easy solution.
Unlike Watergate there is no special prosecutor or anyone in Justice Dept. to indict and threaten Barr and other administration officials for criminal behavior. We have an executive branch completely out of control with only House Democrats issuing subpoenas as a threat. Look at all the people charged and convicted under Nixon and Reagan due to special prosecutors. Barr is making sure there will be no more special prosecutors. And Trump is one heartbeat away from having full control over the Supreme Court.
Never has this country faced a similar Constitutional crisis.
5
Man I hope this column made its way around DC today. Very good stuff!
3
To those planning to vote for Trump in 2020, I urge you to vote for your soul, not for the man. If you are certain that your soul can live with the decision of voting for someone like Trump, then by all means, vote for him.
2
Mr Wehner is wrong: The Republican Party hasn’t lost its way — it has found it. No longer does it have to hide behind pious “thousand points of light rhetoric” or coded language like “voter fraud.” Thanks to President Trump, it can advance it plutocratic agenda openly. Of course the Republican establishment doesn’t oppose him — it welcomes him with open arms.
6
Don't worry, after the rich pump out as much money from the US government as they can, leaving it with a huge debt, they will legally take their money and move it, and eventually themselves, to the Cayman Islands. and then probably to Bermuda as the earth warms more. We are approaching the era of the Sovereign Individual, but the middle class Republicans will be left stranded in the third world of the new USA. No Socialist Security, no Medicare, only begging elderly and interest payments on the National Debt.
4
If Trump is removed from office, the Republicans will get slaughtered in the next election. They are thinking about their future jobs, and their agenda, not about truth, justice or the American way.
Because they want to get reelected.
Let’s not forget the GOP has no Plan B for the 2020 election. Pence couldn’t beat Hillary Clinton on a good day. The Party has no choice but to bow to the unholy animal it has unleashed upon us.
And while we’re at it, let’s see Dems forget all about reaching across the aisle going forward. The GOP is unfit to govern. We should not deal with them at all.
4
The problem with Republicans is that they are afraid of going on record against a president who has energized a very vocal and resentful base who previously felt betrayed by the established party leaders. This base felt betrayed by the party's espousal of free trade, allowance of manufacturing and blue collar jobs to flee the country, of promising to reform immigration laws while seeming to ignore what the base saw as the loss of jobs to immigrants and having to pay taxes in order to fund services to them and most importantly, feared the relegation of their majority white working class,(middle class?) status to that of just another minority. Trump was able to appeal to this base by speaking their language. Where the older established Republicans used code words like welfare reform and the need for new crime bills, Trump appealed to his base by literally accusing immigrants of being rapists, murderers and drug dealers. His attack against the Barack Obama's legitimacy as president based on birth place and his demand to see Obama's law school transcript also let the base see where he stood in relation to their closeted racial resentment. I am not accusing anyone of being racist, for that would be counterproductive but remember, 55% of whites voted against Obama in 2008.
The point is that while the Republican party did not create Trump, its tacit tolerance/cultivation of the bigoted attitudes of an increasingly vocal base nourished the Petri dish from which Trump emerged.
5
I remember Watergate and people wondered the same thing. But when you are dealing with a Trump/Nixon type leader, eventually you can't make any more excuses and you get tired of looking like a fool in front of Chris Wallace's questioning.
3
Trumpism is the ultimate sunk cost fallacy.
3
I am a Republican and ready to turn in my registration.
"I didn't leave the Republican Party, it left me."
6
"This may be asking too much of Republicans, who have lost their way in the Trump era."
Methinks the Republicans lost their way long before "the Trump era" (who knew these three years were an era?)
Remember, hmmm, Ronald Reagan? War on unions. War on the people of El Salvador. War on the poor of America? Hmmm.
I'm woefully ignorant of the history of the party, but in my own lifetime I have witnessed its cruelty towards and lack of caring for the actual people of this country. THis has been its way. Trump has just let some sunshine in on it.
4
Interesting breakdown of group mentality. Unfortunately, I see no chance for rise in political morality, respect, or community on the horizon. The corrupt Bush clan opened the door for this administration to frolic in their wrongs as if it was just another day in the park, when, in actuality, we are harming the entire world with this horrible, immoral behavior. I am so sad for my country, and our world.
2
The GOP won’t soon recover from this. They sold their soul to the devil and don’t seem to care. Their love of money and power has completely corrupted them. We are one year away from a Democratic wave that will blow their minds.
November 3, 2020
We will not forget, nor will we forgive!
4
I really don't think the root problem for the GOP is trump per se. In my view pundits and especially any pundit with right leaning views wants to blame trump, but it is the other way around. The GOP for the past 30 years has created deliberate lies and propaganda, has turned a blind eye to mean spiritedness and a strange choice of pettiness in its chosen messaging. That the GOP base is incapable f educating itself outside of that structure is no surprise. The backbone and moral compass of the GOP was lost some time ago. No, the GOP created trump. He is just a bit too effective in channeling the GOP base. Before
Trump the stones, becks,Limbaugh's, cruzes etc were clearly encouraged. Rather than blame trump the GOP must first own themselves. Trump is no accident.
4
Where was this author when weak baby Bush started feeding US soldiers into the killing fields of Iraq to maintain his grip on power accusing critics as "hating America".
No daylight between W Bush and Trump when it comes to morality.
No daylight between Trump and the historic Republican's crushing any critic other than more honesty about Trump's immorality via his loose lip.
3
I have no doubt that if Mr. Trump calls on followers to take up arms against Democrats, to pick up their guns and kill the closest Democrats they can find, a number of them would. Trump is the worst thing that's happened to this country in my 66 years and I am including 9/11. He just has to go. We can't take another four years of this. I've gone online today to open forums to read what is being said after the "civil war" tweets. There is no doubt many followers are cleaning and oiling their AR15s. It's not going to take much more to push some of them over the edge.
5
The GOP uses Trump for its main goal-- get conservative judges on the courts. Then, what they want is locked in. So they'll put up with his craziness to use a nice word.
No more of these 5/4 decisions, like in Citizens United, where the 4 didn't agree with the 5 to remove all limits to mega donor money in elections. The GOP had deliberately blocked Obama so they could install their picks.
NPR: "Trump's Impact On Federal Courts: Judicial Nominees By The Numbers.
Trump "called filling vacancies for lifetime appointments a big part of his legacy. Given the relative youth of some judicial picks...those judges could remain on the bench for 30 or 40 years.
Trump and the Senate have put a stamp on the federal judiciary, in ideology and in identity.
Dozens of those nominees have refused to answer if they support the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board that desegregated schools."
So McConnell picks the judges and the Senate conforms by confirming them. Conservatives are delighted.
NYT--- "How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts
Thanks to ruthless discipline — and a plan long in the making — the G.O.P is carrying out a sweeping transformation of the federal judiciary."
NYT-- "Liberals Begin Lining Up Young Judges for a Post-Trump Surge."
W. Post-- "As Democrats debated without mentioning federal judges, the Senate confirmed 13 more Trump nominees.
And the Dem moderators didn't bring it up."
2
The matter with Republicans is hallucinations of weapons of mass destruction. The matter with Democrats is hallucinations of high crimes and misdemeanors. Meanwhile the real business of the nation continues to suffer from gross negligence.
A pox on both their houses.
Republicans don’t live in an “alternative universe”. They support President Trump because of the hysterical hatred emanating from the ranks of the Democrats. The more hysteria the Democrats generate, the more Republicans support President Trump. Yes, it’s that simple.
re: what's the matter - this piece gives far too much credit to Republicans.
Its worse, much worse, than the description the writer offers here.
3
Trump is an ugly seditionist who wants to destroy the country from the inside. It is the reason the founding fathers (with all their faults) were wise enough to include impeachment:
"The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." (and that includes members of the Senate Mr. Moscow Mitch.)
Trump managed in a short three years to tick off the entire list:
Treason? Yes!
Bribery? Yes!
Other high crimes? Yes!
Misdemeanors? many!
I will not be surprised if Trump brags as a sign of extreme machismo that he committed more crimes and more impeachable offences than all the previous US presidents together. Except this lawless charade got to stop.
5
"As a conservative-leaning clinical psychologist I know explained to me, when new experiences don’t fit into an existing schema... cognitive accommodation occurs."
I would love to know how behavior of GOP leaders and supporters today compares with phenomena of cult psychology, which are well studied and researched...
3
What's wrong with Democrats?
For 3 full years since the election loss of the old pants suit lady to the 'deplorables', they have been creating impeachment cases on the basis of false charges which fall apart soon after their introduction. Get a life!
2
The correct response to corruption is removal. That is what the Democrats are doing. Trump is a monster. If only you could see it. If only you would.
4
Thank You for taking out Biden. Because Dems have very good luck with Massachusetts liberals running for President. Don't put Warren in a tank, LOL! PS Can't wait till Warren tells people in PA they should ban fracking.
1
Perhaps the real reason for Republican (the Party, NRA, and Fox News) hysteria about the impeachment proceedings in the House is not because of any love or loyalty to President Trump but because Trump’s impeachment will be the death knell to the entire Republican project since President Nixon’s “Southern strategy.” The greed, corruption, violence, and racism of this Republican epoch is ending along with many political careers.
10
I have often wondered if some key Republican figures--like Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Lindsay Graham, and Marco Rubio--have also received campaign finance money and/or election "support" via some covert Russian sources (or, perhaps, funneled through the NRA?). I have heard this alleged, but not by a news source I consider (relatively) unbiased. If they have, they will need Trump to continue being the focus of attention and heat. He is their fall guy and they will keep him in power--lying and obfuscating and "spinning" through their teeth--for as long as it serves them to do so.
6
The GOP's steadfastness is about survival; it is existential.
The GOP has tied its entire legacy and future prospects as a viable participant in the United States to President Trump. The defeat of President Trump is the defeat of the Republican Party. The demise of the GOP is everything it feared when President Obama was elected in 2008; and whose Presidency they conspired to defeat on the day of his inauguration.
Karma is real. The defeat planned and pursued against President Obama (using methods including compromising the Nation), is now (by GOP's own hands) upon the Party of Lincoln; Lincoln has obviously raised up his soul to nail the coffin.
There is nothing to cheer about but, the GOP the defined party of anti-environment, anti- diversity, anti- gender, anti-truth, anti -this, anti-that... is over. At this point it is only a matter of time before the GOP passes into "was": history.
10
@USCitizen
This is such drivel! I wish it were true. But the Republican party owns the Supreme Court, most rural states (and thereby a good section of the Senate where you need 60 votes to pass anything useful for the country), Wall Street. When this storm passes, Trump voters will march in lockstep to the soothing words of Nikki Haley; the illusion of Republican patriotism and conservatism will be fully refreshed. I despair for a world in need of moral solutions to real problems.
3
The electorate's response to Trumpism isn't so much a love for his brand of buffoonery as it is a hatred for the Democrats' liberal agenda and hypocrisy. I won't vote for a democrat because I find their big government, nanny-state philosophy as abhorrent as the Republicans' spineless lack of common decency. But I have no illusions about Americans supporting a third way because both of the major parties have a vested interest in the current system. Face it, things are only going to get worse. No-one is coming to save us.
150
@tjm
Enjoy your forty-hour work week, social security benefits, medicare and medicaid when you need them, public education, breathable air and drinkable water. And perhaps take a stroll in one of our national parks.
Signed, The Nanny State
916
@tjm And an either/or mentality is just furthering the problem.
142
@tjm big government nanny state? Which party is telling women what they can and can’t do with their own bodies? And yes if it’s in your body it’s your body. Which party is making women undergo unnecessary scans, and making their physicians recite a script - including demanding that they provide inaccurate medical information about for example an unproven link between abortion and cancer? If forcing 12 year old rape victims to reproduce, irrespective of their wishes or those of their parents, isn’t big government I don’t what is. If the democrats were taking steps to introduce compulsory abortion, that would be the equivalent. But only one party is claiming state ownership of women’s wombs.
644
I am a Republican who is severely concerned about Trump's Ukraine behavior as are many other Republicans. What is remarkable is that no Democrats are concerned about the son of a Vice President using his family name to make a fortune with a dubious Ukraine company despite having no relevant job skills. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are never troubled by the most egregious behavior by someone in their party. I cannot remember any prominent Democrat voicing any concern over the dreadful behavior of the Clintons, for example, or expressing any concern over how Democrats have been flocking to the fraudster Al Sharpton for his blessing. Until Democrats begin to demand responsibility and accountability from their own leaders, they will not have the moral stature to persuade Republicans about the failures of their own.
219
@Alex False equivalence. Have you noticed that Trump's kids (and the president himself) are profiting from his position? That they have "jobs" in the White House that they are unqualified to hold? That some of them, including his son-in-law, were granted security clearances they didn't deserve? And let's stick to the point: Trump held up $400 million in military aid to an ally, hoping to extract non-existent dirt on a direct political rival. I'm sure his friends in Russia were thrilled.
2343
@Alex
I vote for Democrats and I wrote here and elsewhere that Mrs. Clinton's and Bill Clinton's operation of their foundation represented a disqualification for the presidency. Accepting massive amounts of foreign donations after leaving the presidency is one thing; doing so while planning to run for the office is not acceptable.
The Clinton's transgressions, however, are in a far different category than those of the rampaging bully who is now in the White House. Their "corruption" was child's play in comparison, a willingness to bend unwritten rules. You can't hide behind the idea that their bad was an excuse to support or allow corruption of our Constitution and orderly government. Doesn't work.
773
Alex,
What you are doing is projection and false equivalence. Democrats forced Al Franken to resign over what for Mr. Trump would be a quick morning frolic. The Clintons were investigated ad infinitum and nothing was found. Yet the Trump family profits from the presidency, Ivanka and Jared have jobs that they are totally unqualified for, the list goes on. Where are this generation’s Howard Baker or Robert Michel, look them up.
1678
It is impressive the author never even considered many Republican supporters think the President is innocent.
And yet he theorizes it is Trump supporters who have lost their way. Gaslighting is the term.
Innocent? Even in the fake "transcript" of the call everyone can see the gangster quid pro quo.
1
"It can eventually find its way back. Renewal and regeneration are always possible."
I disagree. Even if every elected Republican would declare their support for Mr. Trump's impeachment and removal from office tomorrow, I will never, ever forgive the Republican Party for the damage it has done to my country. The Republican Party is well past redemption.
It is time for honorable conservatives-- such as David Frum, the Op-ed writer, and many others-- to build a better conservative party from scratch.
7
A lot resonates here. Doing the right thing, especially when it means standing out from your tribe, is hard, and resigning yourself to just going along to get along is certainly a relief. It’s really the defining pinnacle of character when you do it anyway, at a cost. Hurts in the short run, nurtures the soul in he long run. Striking and troubling just how few public Republican politicians have the character to break with Trump, even while they will be fully vindicated in the future for doing so.
2
All it takes is 20 Republican Senators to push the Republican Party reset button. I personally would like an alternative to the leading Democratic contenders.
4
Me too. And I’m a democrat.
They are laying low, waiting for the next shoe to drop. Eventually, one will come down that will turn the tide and they will all run for cover, kicking and screaming to get into that tiny room of safety.
6
I think when the other shoe drops, they will sit on their hands and continue to thumb their nose at the rule of law. The Senate will not convict, no matter how damning the evidence.
The sub-headline asks a question and the answer has several possibilities:
-they are scared to confront or even turn their back on the president;
-they are scared they won't get re-elected, either by their constituency or the wrath of their party;
-they have no principles and do not understand the erosion of Constitutionally-mandated governance or legal processes;
-they actually agree with the president (Nunes).
All of which means that when they inevitable change of tide becomes discernible even to the non-prescient (for it has already become evident, they will be caught in a deluge which will forcee them to decide.
4
The answer to why Republican Congresspeople, and other powers in the part back Trump is that they share a common ideology. The stylistic differences are of secondary importance, at best.
13
The problem with Republicans is that they are no longer Republicans. The last recognizable Republican president was Eisenhower; Nixon too, if you deduct Watergate. Since then, Big Money has ruled the GOP more and more with every Election. We now have the entire GOP in Congress doing whatever the NRA, the Kochs, the Christian Right, and Trump say. It is about money to get more power to get more money, period. They have sold out their souls-if they ever had any- to corrupt entities that promise to keep them in Congress as long as they do their bidding. The GOP cares nothing about its constituents or the country, they care only about themselves. If that's who you want pretending to represent you, keep voting these crooks in. If you want people who do care about you, who do have altruistic motives and are true patriots, vote for Democrats. The differences between the parties used to be more subtle and nuanced and you never had to wonder who the patriots were-everyone was a patriot. Now it really has come down to choosing good over evil, country over party, and the only choice is to vote Democratic because the urgency now is not taxes or healthcare, it is the survival of our democracy.
29
Mr Wehner's column was obviously well received and led to many expressing their views.
Although I have not read all responses; let me add a sad perspective. That is, it "feels safe" to keep the discussions focused on tribalism, ethics, law and the base. And certainly these discussions are essential. What would feel significantly less safe to those wealthy individuals in power and their supporters would be to shift discussions toward asking what other possible means of coercion does Mr. trump have to bend them to his will and to work on his safekeeping.
It has been striking to see over the last months the number of different images published of Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein, often in an embrace. Just two days ago the NYT published a significant article on child pornography.
What links into the 0.1% were lost with Mr. Epstein's untimely (but not unexpected) death? Is it possible that Mr. Trump holds a darker, more profoundly evil, power over other politicians and over his advocates in the media; a power that binds them to him and is not immediately visible and not discussed?
17
FOLLOW THE MONEY! Find out how much secret help the Republican's got from Russia, the NRA, Saudi Arabia and Corporations that are paying for their votes and also helping fund their campaigns and promoting "fake news" to benefit their personal finances and their re-elections. There could be closer ties to Trump's corruption and the Republican corruptions. The mantra "Winning at any cost, seems to apply here". They have to support Trump or their house of cards falls.
22
If public support for the president -- read Republican support -- fades away you will see these elected republicans likewise fading away. Self interest rules.
12
Very insightful view into human nature in this column. We all make mistakes - and hopefully are able to admit it when we do so. I'm trying to recall if Trump ever admitted to making a mistake...? As far as those still backing his actions, I think Peter is right in this opinion column - the further we go down a rabbit hole, the harder it is to come back up and acknowledge bad decisions. I wonder how many Republican lawmakers who are defending Trump would still line up behind him if self-interest was taken out of the equation - for example, if they were term-limited and not concerned about reelection. A significantly lower percentage is my guess.
11
@KayP Very interesting argument for term limits. I've always been against them. To me a politician's job is to design policies that better our lives, and surely they get better at this with practice, like in any other professional work: we don't term limit surgeons, etc.
But this is a good argument for term limits.
6
Since 63 million Americans including 58% of the white voting majority made-up of 62% of the white men and 54% of white.women delivered Donald Trump a meaningful Electoral College majority in 2016, the real question is what's the matter with white people with respect to Ukraine.
Trump didn't run a covert stealthy subtle campaign. Every American knew who Donald Trump was and was not and voted accordingly.
20
They could support his agenda? Are you kidding? He has no agenda other than himself and his immunity from the law. Oh, and in addition: comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.
22
I sincerely believe Trump won this election by a tiny margin because we have been attacked by military psyops longer than we know via Russia and a handful of corrupt billionaires. We are in a cyberwar and it is high time we start fighting back. If the changing culture is what scares them, let's please change it faster and put a marketing campaign together on steroids. We must win both wars. The kids' recent marches for climate change gives me hope for the future. They are also more technically savvy than previous gens.
18
I think one finds that republicans live in alternative universe, one where reality has been constructed differently, where the narrative of history runs counter to the facts. If you listen to FOX news and other conservative media, your brain becomes twisted with the distortion. It is actually painful. I can’t imagine how to bridge the gap.
13
My country has become the United States of and for Republicans. All other matters are secondary to that dogma.
11
@samp426 Come to NYC -- it's all for Democrats who don't care about taking care of working people that pay their taxes. Streets are dirty, roads are falling apart, teachers are being pressured not to teach, or heaven forbid, hold up any standards. Come to NYC, you'll love it.
"condemnation of Trump is condemnation of themselves" is not accurate. The republican party chose djt because djt was like them. They did not subsume to djt, he fit their policy goals and morals to a tee. The republican party is nothing more than a group of royalists by self-degree who are a cult of money.
They deserve what they have sowed.
Vote for morality and patriotism in 2020. Vote for the Democrat.
13
It's simple, Mr. Wehner. The money's too good.
11
The truth will come out. Senior Republicans can keep a shred of their dignity and legacy if they step forward today and tell the truth. But I am likely being naive to think that any of them have known dignity, ethics, or memory of their oath of office for many, many moons.
6
The simple answer is he gave them the win they wanted. He came along and showed them that if they set the bar low enough, anything was possible.
10
Politicians from all sides caused Trump to be elected. Now Trump is worse than those politicians. So the same (almost) politicians will try and get rid of Trump.
Where does that leave the people? It leaves them in a democracy. Better than being in Russia or China.
1
Break away to what? Democrats have set their own house on fire trying to burn Trump at the stake. Republicans are probably content to sit pat and watch the two go up in smoke from the safety of where they’ve always sat.
2
@John Doe
No we are trying to remove a corrupt and criminal man from office.
Almost every day, some new info on how much of a criminal he is.
Right now the majority of americans (about 60%) can't stand trump and will be glad when he is removed office.
The republicans by standing besides such a criminal will pay their refusal to object to trump. And in spite of all the gerrymandered districts so that only the republicans could win, they lost the house. And right now with the majority of voters disliking trump, there is a great chance that they will lose the presidency.
Ok, I was going to be sarcastic, but I think they are stuck in the next election. If Trump resigns or is removed from office, they don't have a candidate. If the Republican senate refuses, they have a flawed candidate who will drag many downslate candidates down along with him
3
The Republican Party is a lot like a wooden ship in the 1800's which has sailed into the frozen north looking for a Northwest Passage, believing it was there as legends said it was. Like these explorers into the unknown today's sycophantic Republicans have followed a wooden ship of fools into ice floes which are crushing the ship; it cannot go forward and cannot return to better places. These followers of Trump looked to find glory for loony ideas and instead they are in a wasteland of nothingness, led by a mad captain and no plans for getting out. They, in looking to Ukraine , Australia, and other places for lifelines and finding none, still burn the ship to keep warm forgetting that getting to safety is the real priority.
12
Graham, McCarthy, Jordan, Barr have all made it clear that they are willing to sell out America. The first three for their own political benefit, and Barr likely because he has been salivating for a supreme court appointment that would make his grandson think he had any value.
10
Republicans really thought Donald Trump was their last hope at holding national power in America.
But in order to do so, they would have to disenfranchise non-Republican voters, and rig elections via extreme gerrymandering and bogus voter challenges, while also stacking the courts and finding toadies who were dishonest enough (William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Mick Mulvaney, et al) to prop up Trump's endless pathological lies.
It's sad. Rather than adapt to the times and try and broaden their party's appeal, Republicans have gone all-in with conflict-oriented, anti-democratic, anti-constitutional, anti-American demagoguery, and have basically doomed their party to an empty, shameful end.
And you're right: not many of the people who have allowed Trump to get this far will be able to backpedal and say, "oh, but I had no idea!" after its all over.
They have a very, very brief window of opportunity to switch gears and support the rule of law, but if they continue to choose party over country, the GOP is doomed.
12
Politicians are politicians. The problem I see is the "anything left of Sean Hannity's mouth is fake news" and "Prayer in school at any cost" Republican base. These are the ones who've lost their way.
7
There is no longer a Republican party. There is a Trump party populated by his quislings in Congress. I hope some day that a new center-right party emerges with an emphasis on fiscal responsibility and a respect for science and the environment. Until that day, we are doomed to lived in this corrosive atmosphere of hate engendered by the fear-struck bigot in the White House.
6
Peter Wehener: Don't kid yourself -- OR your readers: The Republican Party has been morally bankrupt since the Nixon administration (a Presidential cabinet that gave rise to Dick Cheney). The Ronald Reagan Administration helped truly seed the crops (embracing fundamentalist evangelicals on the public, political stage; letting loose hounds like Meese, Watts, Schlafly and Bennett (while economically bankrupting the country). And that moral bankruptcy was on full display when the Republican-dominated congress held THEIR impeachment hearings -- and held the country hostage -- during Clinton administration, with recurrent troglodytes like Newt Gingrich leading the charge.
Don't kid yourself: this (Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Donald Trump, etc.) has been a long time coming.
10
You assume the GOP wants to break away. To what? The obviously conflicted & corrupt Democrats? The Clinton machine looks rife with potential corruption. The Obama Administration probably colluded more with the Russians by far than anything Trump has done. The Biden’s appear to be one big influence-peddling scam. No place to which to break away.
3
@Once From Rome
Total nonsense. The republicans are the corrupt party. And they show that every day by supporting the criminal behavior of trump.
1
Yeah, why wont the republicans go back to being democrats like they used to be? Hmm. It's a mystery.
2
The reason no Republicans are not breaking away from President Trump is the media is lying and the deep state is committing treason.
Quinnipiac Poll shows growing support for Trump impeachment after whistleblower complaint.
Republicans will defend Trump until Trump is no longer in power. Then they will pretend that they were never really behind him. Pretend that they were only protecting themselves and the country from something worse. That if they'd been taken out like Jeff Flake what could they do then.
They will continue to trumpet the power of the courts. They will continue to trumpet the end of EPA regulations. They will go back to hating women and minorities with dog whistles knowing that they have again put the fear back in both groups through Trump. Go with us they will say, if you don't it is back to him.
They will never take any responsibilty. They will just forget. And they will expect America to forget with them.Exactly like America did with the Gulf War and Torture in W's administration.
The camps at the border will go on, like Guantanamo. They think the Democratic moderates will allow them back in the fold... Because that is what Biden tells them.
Once Trump is over, all will be forgiven. Forgotten. And any harm will be swept under the rug for white brothers hugging.
They know what happens every time from the civil war on. No accountability. They Persist with privileged ease.
6
Trump is the Republican Party. He has been tapping into the seething hatred that the GOP has built up in recent decades . Nixon's Southern Strategy - promising southerners to block civil rights legislation - reached a pinnacle with the election of President Obama when the GOP pledge was to destroy his presidency. Birther Trump feeds on this racism. He has as also tapped into the xenophobia that comes with the destruction of the middle class by the rich and powerful thanks to trickle-down Reaganomics.
Trumpists now also include Republican Christian fundamentalists who want to make abortion performed under highly justified or even urgent circumstances a crime are hypocrites of the first magnitude. These people back Trump, a lying sexual predator who violates every principle of the Bible. Their issue is not pro-life, it is about seeking political power to make the USA into a Christian State in violation of the Constitution.
Yes, Trump has a loyal crowd that cheers when he mocks the disabled, that is enthralled when he wants to shoot or punch someone. He is the personification of today’s Republicanism. No way to get rid of Trump when he is them.
6
Because they have a golden ticket to permanent power because, let's face it, odious as Trump is he will escape being removed from office in this impeachment fiasco and this will demoralize the sane people and empower the insane and Trump and the Republicans will ride this insanity into 2020
We are doomed to at least 6 more years of the most amoral person ever to hold such a high office
2
Do you know why they stay the course (And I say this as NOT a Republican)? There are a lot of people out there that have realized that the Democrats have not and will not accept the election results. It has been a non-stop attack since November, 2016. The Mueller report didn't do it, so you keep looking for something, ANYTHING, to fry him with. He is doing of good job of sinking his own boat, but your investigations have done NOTHING, but STOP any forward movement in Washington. Yet, illegal aliens? Full stop. Chinese trade and the issues with stolen intellectual property, counterfeit products, poisonous products and food? Full stop. I've had just about enough of both parties. We need some new blood.
2
exceptional insight and commentary, thank you ...that said, this is the beginning of the end of the GOP as it us known in 2019, this ship is sinking but it will take much longer than the Titanic to hit rock bottom ....
Wow, not a single mention of the inevitable flood of death threats from right wing gun fetishists if any quote-Republican-unquote were to break ranks with the Trumpistas. Living in fear of their deranged and violent constituents must dissuade many conservatives from doing the right thing.
Not to say that's a valid excuse, as it was the conservatives who roused the right wing rabble in the first place.
2
There’s the problem of all those GOP voters, the great majority of whom support Trump. This is what you get after years of bashing women and minorities while backing white supremacists, religious fundamentalists, denying science, and, most of all, conducting a scorched earth policy where anything goes, the ends justifying the means.
1
Well, at least they're not Democrats!
All a thinking person has to do is look at the cities and states run by Democrats to see the mess they're in. Yes, we here in Kansas had our problems with Brownback, who is gone, and we have righted the ship.
But the mega cities now controlled by Democrats show how they can't do anything correctly. Massive taxes, high crime, unaffordable housing (buy a nice home in Kansas for less than $120,000), an obession with race and the PC culture and endless spending on education with decreasing results make them totally unappealing.
My last and final visit to California -- and its endless stream of homeless camps -- confirmed to me how they can't govern. Not only did the trains not run on time, the Democrats couldn't even build a train track!
3
It's been a long, downward spiral. If they don't object to this, what next will they accommodate? Sending Federal agents to lock up Adam Schiff? The military occupying sanctuary cities in California? You think this is hyperbole?
2
Hypothesis: Trump is building his way out of the illegal situation, ready to resign in exchange of a total habeas corpus.
1
It's the money, always the money. Not to mention the race back to medieval times.
2
How many Republicans are being compromised by the Russians?
I had pretty much figured all of this out on my own, sans the conservative-leaning shrink. That “fearsome price” the GOP is going to pay can’t get here soon enough
That’s easy. Ethics.
Answer professor: I suspect that the Republicans are ALL compromised by Putin M he has dirt on them all! That’s the only explanation for to so-called-party-of-character-and-family values to enable, support a the criminal called, Trump!
1
We all knew exactly who Trump is, and what he stands for long before election night. 90% of the Republicans who voted, voted for Trump.
Despite their false protests otherwise (which are almost without exception quickly followed by some good old “whataboutism”…
This is who they are. They have worked to this end for years. Even if they didn’t join in with the crazies, they did nothing to stop them.
The sooner we admit this, the sooner we can start trying to save what little bit of our country they haven’t utterly destroyed.
2
Why won't they break away from Trump? Because politically he owns them. They will be primaried out of office in their next election unless they live in a toss-up district. Trump will make a big stink about their lack of loyalty, and campaign for their GOP opponent.
2
Hello you republicans. Are the majority of you so afraid of trump that you can't or won't stand up to him. Now he thinks he's the sheriff back in the days of the Wild West making irresponsible, thoughtless and dangerous threats. Doesn't anyone take their oath of office seriously?
2
This is an everlasting shame on the Republican Party.
2
A complete abdication of moral and ethical responsibility on the part of Republicans.
Self preservation and fear are tremendous motivators. Apparently shame and disgrace are not.
1
Or, you know, they could just all be as corrupt as he is.
See also: Occam's Razor.
1
"What's the matter with Republicans?" A rhetorical question, I suppose. For 150 years, they have been the party of greed. Starting with Nixon's "Southern Strategy," a.k.a. pandering to white racism, they have been the party of hatred. Since (at least) the 1990s, they have been "science deniers," that is, delusional. And the author wonders why the party of greed, hatred, and delusion supports Donald Trump! Let me take a wild guess...
4
Three initials is why they stick with him. RBG. They want that 6th seat on the Supreme Court. I don't think it's GOP loyalty to him. It's all about the lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land and the legacy of that opportunity.
1
Republicans are incapable of independent thought. Anyone who has worked with Republican chairs from local to state governments knows that elected Republicans are almost literally given a script that they will follow "or else". I thought it was ridiculous until I started seeing it for myself. They, in turn, are supported by a brain-washed electorate who are still adjudicating the Dixie Chicks.
4
The voters who voted for Trump also suffer from a very typical human failing, the inability to admit a mistake or to show embarrassment that they made this bad choice
As former Senator Jeff Flake said today to Republican Senators- You can always find another job, you cannot find another soul.
This op-ed decides to focus upon politicians not their voters. As such it neglects from the beginning a fundamental feature of a very long answer to the title's question.
The long historical existence of Americans who both voted republican and also expressed great fondness for
nativism, xenophobia, white privilege, and crude ignorance,
is unacknowledged in the op-ed. But one cannot understand the present without emphasizing this past.
The descendants of the rabidly racist anti immigrant protesters before and after WW1 begat the American First hordes in the 1930s, who then begat the red menace deranged paranoids (aka "lunatic fringe") of the 1950s, and the states rights' white mobs screaming hate filled invective at civil rights demonstrators, who then begat the buchanan/gingrich republicans in the 1990s who, finally, found trump somewhat later.
A marriage made in an American hellhole between aggrieved white nativist, xenophobes with the big $$$ strategists of atwater, rove, and their many acolytes was arranged by murdoch's network of 24/7 disinformation, and has effectively fused into the rock solid core of trump's base.
These crack the whip trumpicans didn't emerge spontaneously from a vacuum. They're the descendants of a long line of racially resentful and profoundly ignorant Americans who exert power over their spineless lumps of politicians. This will not change unless everyone else, including the civic dropouts who don't vote, do vote.
3
And then what? He says "gosh I lost, bye bye?"
@Doc
I'm not clear who "he" is...is he trump or
one of his enablers who escapes from
the cult of trump by consistently standing firm
in public against his many grievous sins?
If the latter, he/she can presumably ride into the sunset after delivering a profiles in courage type concession speech and then write a book or become a media personality if he/she still seeks the public limelight. There should be many options available to someone in public office who stood up to trump but lost
an election.
1
I used to be a Republican, back when Ronald Reagan and Bush 41 led the party. This current iteration of the GOP is a disgrace. Trump is obviously out of line in so many ways, it's staring us in the face, yet Republicans will go to all sorts of contortions to defend, deny and deflect any attack against "Maximum Leader Trump." They are all sycophants that pander to Trump's narcissistic behavior. Everyone gets burned by being in Trump's orbit. The country is in danger and the GOP stands by as if nothing serious is going on. God help us!! Will no one have a spine to take the right and moral stand. You don't have to be for a liberal agenda to understand that what Trump and those in his administration are doing is wrong, immoral, criminal and destructive to our democracy.
5
One interesting paradox was exposed by one commentator (I forgot who) who noted that Republicans were willing to impeach Nixon because he was a loyal Republican who would accept banishment to save the party. But not so Trump. He never forgives anyone who 'crosses' him.
But that doesn't pardon them. I would like to think that they understand that they can do fine for themselves even if they're turned out of office. What I don't understand is why they think that their holding office either to them or the country is so important that it justifies supporting evil. It's a sad state of affairs.
3
It’s simple- Power corrupts. The Republicans see Trump as the easiest path to continuing to hold the reigns.They obviously don’t care what he does, what he says and how it affects the country or the world.
3
Christian religious voters may be all too ready to accept a brief semi- apology from Republican officials because redemption is a cornerstone of Christian beliefs. That may be behind their easy acceptance of the multitude of sins that Trump commits every day. In this view when the Pope criticizes a dictator he is not behaving in a proper Christian manner.
good analysis of how GOP now views the President. This mindset is exactly how dictators rise to power as people stand by watching it happen. It should scare every person in America reading this as norms are being redefined every day now.
4
It's sad to watch them self destruct. However, at this point self destruction and us voting them out of office might be better than the alternative. My fear is that too many people in America are angry because things improved for the 1% but not for them and Trump, along with the GOP, has been able to push the right buttons to amass the necessary votes. The Democrats seem incapable of that.
2
The Republican Party only cares about money and power. Everything else is irrelevant. Helping to improve our nation was never on the agenda. Getting re-elected and eating at the taxpayers trough is what counts.
1
Is it "in for a dime, in for a dollar?"
To sell your soul for the Madoff of politics defies belief.
But some people would rather lose everything than admit they have made a terrible, truly horrifying series of mistakes.
Support of Trump over the last three plus years has damaged their ability to see that truth actually matters.
Our democracy matters.
1
Thomas Jefferson said, "The government you elect is the government you deserve." He didn't foresee reality television, and the over 70,000 pages of the IRS Tax Code, that has made legalized extortion by just about everyone of its citizens the norm, courtesy of lobbyists, lawyers, and members of Congress. Did I forget all the borrowed money, that will be the downfall of our government eventually, as you can't keep having a Congress that is afraid to tax for all the legislation it passes that needs funding, as that idea is just what Trump did for decades, and look where that got him, je was elected President of the United States?
2
Isn't this obviously all about money, like most things? The Republicans are protecting their wealthy and corporate supporters. The whole Trump administration is about making more money for that 1%, right, people like himself? The tax cuts, the relaxing of financial regulations, the gun control opposition, the climate change control opposition, the list goes on and on. Isn't it all this simple?
5
Nothing is the matter with them. For the past forty years they have been pursuing a path of uncontested executive authority in service to wealth however gotten.
This is its endgame.
6
When I hear Lindsay Graham and Kevin McCarthy dissemble on the Sunday news shows, I think of "A Man for All Seasons" when the Thomas Moore character tells a courtier that "it does not profit a man to sell his soul for anything but for Wales, Richard?" GOP politicians have become invertebrates in their support of our indisputably, corrupt president. Graham seems to have sold his soul to play golf and Lord knows what the pay-off is for many others. Salt in the wound is that taxpayers are paying for this miscarriage of government. We don't have good health care, affordable education, a safe environment, affordable housing, etc. but by God, we have the most extraordinary mess that our forefathers could have imagined.
10
Welp...... It came inch by inch, didn't it? First the Southern Strategy, then the religious fanaticism with Jerry Falwell in the lead, then Nixon, dirty tricks, and Watergate..... then Roger Ailes and Fox, then Lee Atwater.......Rush Limbaugh....... Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity.....and Alex Jones. .... Birtherism, Conspiracy Theories. Voter restrictions, re-zoning..... And we can obviously assume that swallowing brains as fast as one swallows morals will eventually allow Trump fit right in.
15
Now we find he's muscling the Australians to help him with his mob shakedown ... when will Republicans relent and throw him under the bus? What a pack of cowards ... unreal.
6
Did Mr. Wehner leave the White House speechwriting staff when his boss was lying to get us into the Iraq War? Or did he only discover morality when someone came into the Oval Office who didn't need his services?
6
You dance with the girl that brung ya!
1
What’s the Matter With Republicans? they are owned by the billionaires who are making bank on trump.
their only response is to cry about hillary's emails, attack the messenger or to scream for an investigation into biden whille refusing to talk about trump's behavior. this is how a guilty party acts. evade, deflect and blame.
the brainwashed idiots who spew the right wing talking points about biden while ignoring the issue, show what complete idiot zombies fox news has turned them into.
6
tRump is a mobster, it's too dangerous to turn on him until the moment the Senate votes.
4
Why they aren’t being investigated for treason is beyond me
2
I know it’s been said before. But if President Obama had duplicate conversations with the Ukrainians, Russians, North Koreans or Saudis? The same exact Republicans who are silent now would be slavering for democrat blood, impeachment hearing would be a foregone conclusion. Starts with and H - Ends with a Y. What’s that spell? HYPOCRISY! Trump thinks that impeachment will be good for him and his campaign. He is dead wrong. Clinton’s lying under oath about a sexual encounter and treason with Ukraine and Russia are not equal.
2
The answer is likely centuries old and only requires nine words. In addition, the answer is wholly encompassed in this Chinese proverb.
-- He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount. --
The tiger is getting very hungry.
6
Nicely written essay, HOWEVER, it misses the point, entirely, that a few others have mentioned here - that Trump is not an anomaly in the GOP, he's simply the most recent and extreme example of them. I didn't like the GOP before Trump, and simply getting rid of Trump will not return the party to some mythological land of fairness, honesty, and caring. I don't want the party that hounded President Obama, that worked feverishly to deny Americans a healthcare system that might actually work, that fooled the country into invading Iraq, that hounded President Clinton with endless ranting about his trysts, real or imagined. It's the party that has divided this country on dozens of other issues (abortion, gay marriage, religion, immigration), and simply taking Trump out of the picture will not be a magic wand. "Reforming" the GOP is impossible, it's already gone.
21
"At this stage it’s less about defending Trump; they are defending their own defense of Trump.” [and] “condemnation of Trump is condemnation of themselves.
Somehow, Trump as eaten them all and the bloated body (politic) that had resulted speaks with a voice that Goldwater or Reagan would not recognize. Perhaps, this horrible result is the true Republican party, stripped of its mask of decency and discipline. But not to get too high and mighty, maybe this is what happens to any group of needy people when they are finally fed red meat, regardless of party affiliation.
So okay, now that we understand how hard it will be to dislodge the base or the toady R-Senate, what's the plan?
2
Mr Wehner: The matter with Republicans is the Federalist Society which uses Trump like Putin does. Trump is the useful idiot of Putin and the Federalist Society.
4
Good analysis and reporting on the moral and ethical spinelessness, hypocrisy, and dishonesty of republicans. But you are wrong about Trump having changed the R party. Trump is actually the perfect representative of a party that has had *only* the interests of white 1%-ers at heart for a few decades, the destruction of the rest of the country be damned.
I was and still am delighted that Trump got the R nomination because he brings the ugliness of Republicanism—from Reagan through Gingrich through Bush II through Voldemort Cheney through Rumsfeld through Sarah Palin (!!)—into the open for all to see. All of those aforementioned people, along with practically every other R politician of the last few decades, have been every bit as ugly, stupid, and destructive to American citizens, the economy, and the environment as is the orange circus clown currently in office. Trump is a monster the Rs spent decades creating—through their policies (if you can call them that), through their idiotic rants on white male talk radio, through Fox News, and through their determination to do nothing other than demonize government and provide tax cuts for the rich. Don’t like having an appropriate representative for your party, Mr. Wehner? You’d prefer to keep R ugliness hidden under the guise of normalcy? Too bad. Trump is yours. When you as a republican look in the mirror, that’s Trump’s face looking back at you. It’s true today and it was true last decade, and the decade before that, too.
13
" When the accommodation involves compromising one’s sense of integrity, the tensions are reduced when others join in the effort. This creates a powerful sense of cohesion, harmony and group think. The greater the compromise, the more fierce the justification for it — and the greater the need to denounce those who call them out for their compromise. “In response,” this person said to me, “an ‘us versus them’ mentality emerges, sometimes quite viciously.”
“What used to be a sense of belonging,” I was told, “devolves into primitive tribalism, absolute adherence to the leader over adherence to a code of ethics.”
This whole notion to me, is just like the 'Lord of the Flies'
1
If the Republicans believe that it is perfectly all right for politicians to accept help from other nations in getting elected, why don't they simply allow the citizens in such countries to vote in our elections?
5
Ask yourself the question:
Why won't Trump let anyone see his tax returns?
Is it possible that there is so much evidence of "dealing" that he wouldn't be able to defend himself?
8
Every decent high-level person in Trump's administration has left or been fired. Those in Congress who stand up for Trump don't have to be in his presence on a daily basis. They use Congress as some kind of shield. It seems they are thinking: "I'm a member of a different branch of government, so I'm not to blame. I can hide here in Congress, weather this storm, and keep my job." Congressional Republicans, you are to blame. You can get another job. Better to come out of hiding and stand up for morality.
13
Do the math. Despite all the corruption allegations Trump's approval rating in the Republican Party is 90 percent. That statistic paralyzes Republican legislators to challenge such popularity. There is no integrity. It's only about numbers.
6
What's the matter with Republicans? They've been bought off and sold their souls to the devil. Unnecessary tax cuts for the 1% and corporations, stacking the federal court system with a record number of conservative judges, deregulation, doing away with environmental protections, and so on.
11
Trump has multiple mental problems including bipolar disease, chronic depression, delusions of grandeur, clinical paranoia, and separation from reality proven by his chronic lying. So his atrocious behavior is worsening every time he commits another crime. I do not doubt that if he wins reelection in 2020, he will think he owns the US presidency like he owns the Trump Organization at which point he will declare himself president for life and try to name Don Jr. his eventual successor. Will Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court stand up to him then ?
10
The members of the Republican leadership have enrolled themselves in their own real life version of the Milgram experiment, in which participants obeyed an authority figure to commit acts (shocking people with potentially lethal amounts of electricity) that normally their consciences would prevent them from committing. Ordinary “low information” voters might possibly (maybe) still be forgiven for continuing to support Trump, but Republican politicians have no excuse. They are willing to destroy our democracy, anyone who disagrees with them and their own souls, out of a sordid and toxic mixture of self-interest, self-deception, fear, irresponsibility and hate. Perhaps they should all reflect on a transcript of the Nuremberg trials.
4
91% of republicans approve of his performance. That's all the leadership needs to know. Astonishing, yes, but reality.
2
Nearly all the self declared Republicans in this comment section are offering a combination of virtue signalling and 'whatabouttheDemscandals'.
It's simple, cut through the blah blah and their problem is either to do the right thing or find a way to convert 37% to 51%. For our part, we have to sort out which candidates up and down the ticket to choose to put a cap on Trump's gang of pirates and supporters.
In the meantime, hopefully the Dem committees will focus narrowly and efficiently on the inquiry. Let the Republicans chase the fox of impeachment to their hearts content. The polls are not sliding in their favor.
1
Great opinion piece. Currently reading a book on John Adams (our second president). Two of his quotes come to mind here...
"Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”
2
"moral" and "religious" are not necessarily inclusive of each other. One can very easy be one *or* the other. Moral is certainly a requirement, however I contest that religious has to also be a requirement.
3
@Texan: current Christian fundamentalists who so wholeheartedly support Trump are proof that religion doesn't make a person moral. If anything hypocrisy seems to be the main value these days.
@Texan in Italy
Religion calls on us to believe in God - an omnipotent power, an entity who sees us, cares about us, and calls us to be constantly mindful of both our accomplishments and our sins (failings). Without God living in our minds, the universe is a very lonely place.
The obvious answer is that the Republican party is corrupt through and through and never had any integrity to begin with. (Mitch McConnell anyone? half of Trump's cabinet? even the sainted Mitt Romney).
Wehner would do well to own up to it, rather than serving up justifications and psychoanalysis, to preserve his own self-esteem.
4
The only way a political party as morally corrupt as the GOP can be fixed is if it loses power completely.
That depends upon two things:
(1) The good people of the United States of America speaking out in force in the 2020 election,
and
(2) The Democrats offering a well-designed policy platform that in a reasonable manner addresses Trump’s “dog-whistle” issues.
Key amongst these are:
(A) Immigration needs to be controlled - people should not just be able to “invite themselves in” as primarily economic refugees.
(B) The victims of globalisation who have lost jobs and their access to the middle class in America want an opportunity to get back on track.
Furthermore, Democrats need to critically evaluate the electability of their Presidential candidates.
If Biden is the presidential candidate, it won’t be emails, emails emails but Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine from Trump.
Warren projects as too socialist and will be an easy target.
Sanders is too old, like Biden, although not yet as mentally dulled.
Some combination of Booker, Harris and Buttigieg will make a brilliant winning ticket for the Democrats that will usher in generational change and renewal for the Democrats.
5
Conspiring with foreign governments to subvert our elections in their favor is a feature of the GOP, not a bug. Nixon did so with the North Vietnamese to block Johnson's negotiated peace agreement before the 1968 election and extended the war for 5 years. Johnson knew but thought it would be bad for the country if it got out. Reagan got Iran to keep the hostages with talk of a better deal than Carter had negotiated. They were released on the day he was inaugurated. We then got the Iran Contra deal, which Bill Barr helped many in the Reagan administration stay out of jail, including George H.W. Bush. Republicans like to act patriotic by waving the flag but their leaders are often traitors.
9
Therefore, we must rid ourselves of as many incumbent Republicans as possible, and disallow new ones from winning elections. This will be a long fight. If we love our country, we must get busy and hold the courage to do it, because the Republicans are dragging us all into a morass of corruption, distortions, lies, and ruinous behaviors that are permanently altering the United States of America as we once knew it.
3
My junior Senator from Idaho, Jim Risch, is a proud Trump Sycophant.
Face it, some Republicans (just like some Democrats) are only in the Senate for the ease of the job, the travel comps, the power and prestige.
Jim Risch, who is pushing 80, clearly wants a 3rd term in the Senate to have his Golden Years and continuing travels comped. He's already a multi-millionaire.
We'll see if Idaho wants to send him back in 2020.
6
I think the question we need to be asking about members of the GOP who are rabidly defending Trump at every possible opportunity is -- what dirt are the Russians, among others, holding over their heads? I think this is a perfectly legitimate question to ask.
5
I am concerned about Trump, Biden & Son, McConnell, Barr, and the host of those in Washington whose power and ego have rendered American values virtually valueless. While most of the country lines up red or blue, Republican or Democrat, we are missing the fact that the swamp the biggest swamp rat of all promised to drain is so large and so fetid as to be all-consuming.
The Republicans are acting as they often have acted, and Trump and McConnell represent the pinnacles of deceit, obstruction, and blockading. The Democrats, now that a spine has been straightened, now have the opportunity to conduct themselves with an ethical mindset -- but the country will be watching their debate behavior and their media sniping,
And all of us are too often accommodating the moods, complaints, and passive whining of our own tribe -- we need leaders, and a public, willing to act, resist, and re-create those institutions, laws, and values that make the country healthy for everyone. Republicans have to step up, or step off and out.
I was in my mid twenties when the Watergate Hearings and the House Judiciary Hearings took place. I was a graduate student, so was able to watch most of the hearings. It was an incredible experience watching history taking place. It was even more awe inspiring watching the Constitution of the United States come alive. Perhaps most inspiring was watching republican congress members acting on their conscience and their constitutional and oath of office duty do the right thing, and to vote for country and constitution rather than party and self interest.
This republican congress should review those hearings. They might learn something about integrity and courage. The issue today is as clear as the Constitution. The ethical, moral, and right thing to do is obvious. It does not take unusual wisdom, high intelligence, or even purity of character to do it. It simply requires common sense, an unbiased mind, and a willingness to place country and constitution over party and self. Members of this republican congress have demonstrated an inability to do that. Perhaps they too should be impeached for violating their constitutional and oath of office duties. They are a disgrace.
7
Mr. Wehner, by bloviating on his extensive knowledge of amatuer psychology, cognitive validation, seems to be trying to become the leading behavioral theory wonk of the Republican party, much the way Paul Ryan fancied himself the economic policy wonk of the party. The problem with both of these men is, they are total frauds.
Ignore his seductive words. Focus instead on his loyal service in three Republican administrations devoted to delegitimizing government, dismantling every progressive advance since the Great Depression, and handing the reins of the power to the radical right wing. Realize that this loyal foot soldier helped put in motion the trend that led to the metasticizing politcal cancer that is the Trump administration, the logical outcome of the Reagan revolution and subsequent Bush debacles.
He is revulsed only by Trump's incompetence, not his deeds, and wants only to be back in power to finish the job he started.
3
Elvis Costello wrote the theme song for this stage of the trump/republican relationship in "Hand in Hand":
"No, don't ask me to apologize
And I won't ask you to forgive me.
But if I'm gonna go down
You're gonna come with me."
the republicans are stuck - too late to be a hero, and afraid of crossing their party.
Perhaps what's the matter with Republican politicians and many of their voters is what shows in the headline that says "Trump Pushed Australian Leader to Help Investigate Origins of Mueller Inquiry".
I think people are really overthinking this. It's just too darn difficult to admit having been so wrong or so bamboozled. I watch my own relatives dig themselves in deeper and deeper. Mixing metaphors here, they twist themselves into the most amazing pretzels in order to justify every new grotesque act on the part of the POTUS. They want to feel good about themselves, and the only way they can do this is to willfully blind themselves to what's been going on for the last 3 years. "I like what he's doing, and I just don't pay attention to anything he says."
5
Mr. Wehner, This is the most pathetic of all excuses for Republican actions which belies any pretense of Conservative, ethical, fiscal values. That Evangelicals who wish to give "Christian witness" are part of the, what is it, oh, yes, "Tribe," thank you Mr. Wehner, well, Mr. Evangelical, what does that do for your "witness of Jesus"??
America now is suffering a sickness of hyper partisanship and tribalism.
I am a liberal Democrat who in 1996 voted for the Honorable Bob Dole and Jack Kemp because Senate actions at the time foretold to me that Clinton would be impeached. When Clinton was impeached, I wanted him, my co-partisan, to resign from office for his perjury rather than put the country through the impeachment process.
So, some of us are weary of partisan apologists left or right.
Time to put partisanship behind us; put country first; put Conservative fiscal and Liberal social policies on the table and come to common solutions we can pay for and that benefit our Country's Defense, support our poor, provide infrastructure, protect environment, and promote education and the common welfare. Liberals and Conservatives can add value through debate . . . in civil tone and with mutual respect.
1
As someone with a degree in anthropology, I am going to state my view of why Republicans bow down to Trump.
It is the simple instinctual, simian drive to rally around the alpha male in order to increase the survival odds of the clan. There's probably even a genetic component to it. The primates we are descended from have depended on this social survival mechanism for millions of years.
It really is just apes doing what they always do.
The sooner they start popping their heads out of the bush and realize this, the better off we'll all be.
But don't count on the mass defection anytime soon.
That only happens when it's clear that the alpha male is beaten down to the point where he can't get up again. That's the only time the apes look for a new leader, and that's when the Republicans will start to question their allegiance, too.
Somebody had to speak the truth here. I'll take the hits, but it's still the truth.
5
Misdiagnosed him? No, they didn't care. Expecting GOP ethics is quixotic, judging from years of evidence. His voter base has been long conditioned.
Repubs upholding our democracy would be a break with party tradition --- to work for the advantage of power and money.
They've long been aligned with our American oligarchs, supported by its state media FOX News. Trump & Putin have a lot in common.
The GOP insults and blocks any laws for the public good, that should be normal in any democracy, as 'big govt interfering in our American Freedoms.'
One of the biggest cons in the history of democracies---that to keep American 'freedoms' everything must be a big profit center. So, what kind of leader does this tend to attract?
That's exactly why the US alone lacks HC for All in 21st C.
Our high court distorted our own Constitution against us, falsely equating mega donor corporate money in elections as ‘free speech’ per 1st Amendment. This amplified the voice of the wealthy & powerful, and muffled the voice of the citizenry---a contradiction to America the GOP won't admit.
Other Repubs may not be blatantly egotistical, unstable sociopaths like Trump, but will still exploit the country in every possible way, cloaking this with pious slogans of American 'freedoms'.
Yes, a relief! Much less gross and offensive, pretending to uphold our traditional ideals. But, using more calculated smarts and control, they may ultimately do more harm than even Trump! Wow, imagine that.
1
Another article today in the NYT mentions those who watched friends and relatives starve to death in Mao’s Great Leap Forward, and yet keep pictures of Mao on their walls and revere his memory. Republican politicians know that a large section of the electorate has a great, animal yearning for a strongman to protect them, to worship, even. If the politicians get between the worshippers and the worshiped, they will be voted out of office, losing their access to wealth. That’s what is wrong with Republicans, they have given up on this country’s Constitution and laws and morality and anything but maintaining their position.
2
It is highly doubtful that any Republicans even care about the moral or other price they'd pay for continuing to cling to Trump. They have debased, dishonored and corrupted themselves so much that they can't even see clean, much less aspire to it.
The groveling, craven capitulation of almost all the GOP to the cancer that is Trump and his armies of darkness is the ultimate step in their own and the party's immersion into a cesspool of corruption, evil and, yes, treason.
The GOP has always been a party of hypocrisy and deceit, from the days of supply-side economics, to the Clinton impeachment proceedings, to the WMDs and Iraq war, to the Great Recession, to eviscerating all the agencies charged with protecting the public (like the CPA, EPA, etc.), to perverting our public dialogue with their incessant vitriol and name-calling, to ... supporting and protecting and encouraging the monstrosity that is Trump and his administration.
The GOP is beyond rescue. It just needs to go away. Maybe somewhere there are conservatives with a little integrity, but it's impossible to see how any of them would be current Republicans.
2
The Republicans are suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome-they have been captivated by their captor-they have been forced to praise Trump and make excuses for him for so long,that they have lost their will to be identified as Republicans.
2
I won't be surprised if Trump has some compromising information about Mitch McConnel, Lindsey Graham and those Republicans vociferously touting his virtues.
1
While Mr. Wehner's reasoning sounds plausible and reasonable, he misses a crucuial factor--that most Republican members of Congress are deeply indebted to our adversary, Russia. Spreading 10's of $millions among Republican candidates in 2016 turned out to be very effective for the Russian oligarchs who were so generous. While there may be no single reason that Republicans continue to support Trump, let us not forget the money trail!
3
I don't know the words for this, but I believe DT has some kind of powerful bully-charisma that causes people in his party to cave and support him blindly, unless they have unusually strong character. (In which case they quietly resign rather than stand up to him.) Even dubious characters like Graham, Barr and Sessions had so much to lose by throwing in their lot with DT. Now they've wrecked their long careers and reputations. I think this power is mysterious.
Trump pulled back a huge, heavy curtain. The Republican Party was ripe for Trump, when you look at what had been done previously, particularly Mitch McConnell, self-anointed "Grim Reaper" of bills, who freely blocks voting on bills simply for partisan spite.
Trump revealed what has been wrong with the Republican Party. The party of disingenuous agendas. Catering to the 1% while stripping benefits & programs for the 99%. Their ultra-pro-business stance throws ordinary citizens under the bus, all the while telling them they're doing the opposite. The deluded who bought into the GOP need to wake up, or history will keep repeating itself.
2
Want to understand Trump's followers?
Read the Bill Maher article.
As others have understood the PC maniacs created the environment demanding an anti-PC leader.
Trump just managed to be the only one available.
2
It has just been reported that another Trump phone call to the Australian Prime Minister asking for dirt regarding the Mueller Report and involving Barr. The Russians have expressed concern that the 11 phone calls between Putin and Trump be kept secret. And in an interview, a former advisor to the Ukrainian President said it was very clear that Trump wanted dirt on his political opponents in exchange for military aid. It would appear we are seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Update: A former member of the Ukrainian parliament and adviser to Ukraine's president told CBS News it was a "well-known fact" there that President Donald Trump wanted "compromising" information on former Vice President Joe Biden.
Serhiy Leshchenko added that Ukraine's president knew that U.S. aid to his country was at stake. "I am sure that issue of Biden was forever on the table between Zelensky and Trump," said Leshchenko. As a former lawmaker and adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Leschenko believes it was clear that President Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rivals
"Of course, he wanted political privileges, favors, for his re-election from Ukraine," he said. "In return for military aid?" asked correspondent Roxana Saberi
"I would say yes," Leshchenko replied.
The answer is simple. It would take courage and integrity. Many elected republicans lack one or both. They have no clue on what it means to be an elected official.
1
My deepest fear about why the Republicans are still standing behind the President is because this layer of corruption is deeper than we know. It may be rooted deep with in the the hierarchy of the leadership.
16
Republicans in Congress will cower as long as Trump holds sway over the Republican base and the primaries. Fearful of losing the primaries, elected Republicans prefer to live with the stench and betray the country instead of standing up for what is right.
6
What confuses me is the ANGER of so many of today's Evangelicals. Long ago the Evangelicals I knew avoided most overt politics as excessive worldliness and placed their happiness instead in the promise of salvation, nay, redemption and "glory" in the spiritual realm after this life was over. I recall the peace and calm they exeduded and the strength they took from their beliefs to weather life's hard knocks.
I understand politicians making their compromises. They are a sleazy lot. I understand the resentment of lower middle class workers who are dead ended. The proles have much to be angry over. But how self-proclaimed Evangelicals can be so angry baffles me. I suppose some of this started in the Cultural Wars of the 1980s.
Meanwhile the Monster in the White House debases everything. He has not expanded his base and is losing support around the edges. I suspect he and many of his fellow pols will be swept away. If you think his base is angry now, just wait...
9
The answer to why, in two words: The Base.
4
I think Robin DiAngelo’s account of white fragility can help answer the “why” question- a great one to ask, and one not being asked enough. But stop looking to the Nixon impeachment for analogues; the better impeachment to review is Andrew Johnson’s.
Like Johnson did after the civil war, when reconstruction was threatening to upend the racial status quo, Trump has claimed the mantle of white identity and solidarity. Anyone who pushes back is subject to the punishment that, as DiAngelo points out, white people are very historically habituated to meting out when someone bucks that solidarity. That these latest allegations about the Ukraine are not apparently racially charged is irrelevant: at this point, any pushback against a Trump will be met by a screaming WHITE mob demanding the heads of their WHITE Republican elected representatives on pikes. Any charge against him is seen as a charge against whiteness. That blend of authoritarianism, ethical sloppiness and simple-minded iconoclasm has much deeper roots in American history than most of us care to admit. It is a much more firmly rooted, and psychologically motivating archetype than the model of moderate, ethical citizenship Democrats are trying to invoke. Trump either knows this, or, if he doesn’t, he acts the part, which suffices.
8
They are all getting very, very rich. Simple as that. Their love of money is the root of their evil alliance with a man they don’t respect. I guess money trumps self-respect, too.
17
Republicans have not "lost their way." They have been plotting this course for 30 years, thinking it would lead them to a permanent majority. Instead, it has led to them a dead end.
11
Trump is just the extreme member of the Republican Party.
Our nation’s problem?
It’s the republicans.
The solution to our problem: VOTE.
11
Recent history suggests that Republicans do not think it is wrong to cheat in an election.
15
The Republican Party has been in decline since 1994 when Newt Gringrich, et al used the politics of personal destruction to investigate and impeach Bill Clinton because he lied about an extra marital affair, even though Gringrich and other Republicans were also having extra marital affairs. It was all about winning, ethical and reasonable behavior be dammed.
Since then, we’ve seen the GOP go down the rabbit hole of deceit, bad faith, and corruption in the extreme. Their relationship with the NRA didn’t start in 2016. Nor did putting donors before people commence with Trump. The ground if decline was laid, well before Trump took office.
12
No, Trump did NOT ask a foreign power to "dig up dirt" on a political opponent. First Biden is NOT even the presumptive Democratic Nominee - he's merely one of several possible. Second, Trump merely said "look into" why the supposed investigation of the firm that had Biden's son working for it had been dropped. NO mention of dirt, no mention that he wanted to reopen the investigation.
All of the facts are being construed to a damming allegation, and thirdly by a NON witness to the events. All the whistle blower evidence is 2nd hand (or third hand), and the whistle blower access to said evidence is suspect to breaking secrecy laws for classified info.
Fourth, the whistle blower many points of further contact with Trump officials is merely based on probable non related coincidental meetings, again being construed as proof of the Biden allegation.
And when its all done, they'll impeach Trump not on Biden allegation, but on obstruction....that was caused by the hoopla surrounding the Democrats outrage (on leaked info on the whistle blower's submission).
And I would like to make one final point, Trumps motive to ask the Ukraine to "look into" why an ongoing investigation was stopped, may expose that Biden did try to stop a foreign government investigation involving his son to aid his candidacy...the same crime that Trump is being accused of. If it was a crime for Trump, its a crime for Biden, and both deserve the investigation.
2
So there is no hope for the republican party as well as our country because of the "Lord of the Flies" mentality of these republican heretics. What will it take for the misbegotten to se the light?
2
I'd be careful, Mr. Wehner.....Adam Schiff just received a TREASON!!! tweet for his rendition of 'quid pro quo.'
Maybe the italics will get you off the hook.
It was many years ago when I first encountered that unconscionable viciousness that emanates from those people who today call themselves Trump supporters. This is nothing new.
It doesn't surprise me to read that they have long yearned for that same 'viciousness' from their Republican leaders--who appear quite happy to accommodate them now.
This idea that Mr. Trump has conditioned his base is rather short sighted. I suggest that you take a longer look back at your conservative pundits--even the 'Never Trumpers.' Look to your right wing talk show hosts, not just the egregious Rush Limbaugh, but also your supposedly reasonable Charlie Sykes. Look to your 'fair and balancing' (a.k.a. "hate for profit") cable news network...and then get back to us.
Trump is the result, not the cause. You all created the monster you now can't reason with. What I find most disturbing is that most of you don't seem to understand that this is a really, really, big problem. Or, even more disturbing, that you just don't care.
9
If this was a somewhat normal person, with a somewhat normal family and somewhat normal friends and colleagues. An intervention to prevent further harm caused by this person to himself, those around him and others negatively impacted by his actions.
Alas, that dynamic is not possible in this situation due since everyone who is involved with this person is complacent, complicit and hypocritical in their fanatical support of him and his
demented determination to destroy our democracy.
Therefore, it's every American's patriotic duty to be a whistleblower on our totally unfit president.
Vote.
3
Why back trump?
One word: POWER.
1
There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See.
7
Rome is burning and the gas valves are locked open.
4
Dear Republicans,
Gnaw off your foot and run away from the trap that is Donald Trump. The country will think better of you for it. If you don't you risk the very real possibility of dying from his corruption.
Citizen J
8
I believe there’s another reason the trump supporters stick by him. Call me crazy, but I’m confident that many of the people who outwardly support him have serious doubts inside, especially recently, but after having been criticized and called stupid by those who see donald for the conman he is, they’re digging in their heels. It’s similar to when you have a big argument with someone, and halfway through you realize they’re right, but the more they rage at you, the more you defend the side you no longer actually believe in.
As Donald grows increasingly unhinged and vicious, I’m convinced there will be a tipping point.
5
Everyone has a price.
Everyone has a prostitute who will cave in if they are not aware that all humans have all human traits to a degree. No person is exempt from being human if they are still breathing.
Better know your price so you can pause when the money shows up.
It’s difficult, challenging to stand on your own two feet. It’s lonely and lonesome, scary.
You’ll be kicked out of the tribe, you won’t win re-election. So what? Is it worth losing your being? Yourself? Who cares if those voters support the president?
Do you? What’s the reason it matters to you what they believe if you can no longer support what is going on?
Umpteen examples in literature:Sold my soul the devil, David making sure Bathsheba’s husband went to the front to be killed, etc
You’ll pay in the end but regretfully you’ll hurt others, maybe millions of others on the way down. But mostly you’ll lose yourself.
Is he worth it?
1
Well, Mr. Wehner--
--I am reminded of Dr. Johnson's dictum two and a half centuries ago:
"He that knows not whither he is going is in no haste to move."
Could this be said of today's GOP? My sense is that basically--down deep--at bottom--
--they stand for nothing.
Oh yes. I know. They're against abortion. Okay. They're against gay marriage. Okay. And of course--
--long after the nullity of "supply side economics" has been shown up for what it is--
--a dead fish floating on the waves of conservative thought--
--they cling to it like so many drowning men.
Oh but excuse me. "Supply side economics" is deeply beloved by ONE prominent sector of our society.
The RICH. The VERY rich. The SUPERLATIVELY rich.
They love it. As for everyone else. . . . ..
Mr. Wehner, if you find my language strident or offensive--then I'm sorry. But so many of us find today's GOP utterly barren. Bankrupt. Empty of ideas. Empty of backbone. Empty even of some basic rudiments of self-respect.
What to do?
Get rid of 'em. Lock stock and barrel. Clear 'em out of Washington. Vote for Democrats. Vote ONLY for Democrats. SUPPORT Democrats--whenever and wherever you can. BECOME a Democrat. Look at me. I just did.
The one political party that sounds and acts like a political party--
--not a cadre of cynical time-servers, clinging to power like an inveterate drunk hugging his bottle.
Time for America to sober up, wouldn't you say?
While we still can.
7
When people become "morally disfigured" because they have to display their tribalism, they do more and more morally disfiguring things to show their loyalty to the tribe. Witness Germany in WWII.
3
...because they see their world fading away and there's nothing they can do about it. Women are empowered, the climate scientists have been proven right, their children are leaving the church, they can't force women to have babies -- whatever they do is resisted, they cannot make enough money to support themselves and see no future. Changing any one of those factors would bring own the whole house, and they're terrified.
2
"There’s also this to factor in: For many Republican members of Congress, the president is more popular among Republican voters in their districts and states than they are. Even in the districts of moderate Republicans, Trumpist true-believers are the most vocal supporters of the party, the ones who do the essential grass-roots work. So to go crosswise of a sitting president of one’s own party invites political trouble, which most politicians seek to avoid. That is especially true when it comes to Mr. Trump, who specializes in savaging Republicans — and everyone else, for that matter — who dare to criticize him."
How can one be sure? Propublica reports that under Trump, the RNC no longer shares polling data that would allow them to assess Trump's relative popularity with Republican members of congress. It is highly probable that at least a few Republican members of congress remain more popular in their districts or home states than Trump has become.
1
The author hints at it, but the real problem is that Republican voters think like Trump and have for years. They have had this delusion nurtured by Republican politicians in the interest of votes. For 40 years they got away with fanning ridiculous ideas like "cutting taxes won't increase the deficit" or "we will be greeted as liberators" that their base wanted to believe. Well, in 2016, those voters got tired of lip service and went for the real deal. Now they either have to give up being a Republican (and foreswear those sweet lobbying jobs after retirement) or try and re-educate their voters. Good luck with that.
3
Trump supporters are the key here. They are what gives him the power to intimidate the entire Republican Party. So as one drills down, this is not only about the fear and intimidation the party leaders exhibit, it is also about a group of people whose grievances and anger support a man like Trump. Without them there is no Trump.
Indeed, even if all can see they are wrong, there will be little change unless they change. Well known, is that the first step to recovery is to admit who you are and what you have done. Trump supporters are with him because he gives voice to their darkest wishes. He is doing as they would do.
Our challenge here is akin to the battles the nation fought during the darkest days of the civil rights era, where citizens in the deep south supported George Wallace and politicians like him to the death. They made segregation and every injustice that came with it, possible. Such are the forces of Trump.
Thus our battle is not just with Trump, the struggle is also with those who will look the other way and who justify what is unjust and unethical. They enable Trump's profanity and disrespect for our institutions. They are his strength.
But at a deeper level, the nation has always been able to summon what Lincoln called "our better angels". That will save us. America is better than Trump and those who enable him.
6
The GOP is not and never has been the party of family values. And it certainly is no longer the part of Lincoln. It isn’t even the party of Nixon!
6
What's the matter with Republicans?
"Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them ... They think American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it."
— Harry S. Truman, October 13, 1948, St. Paul, Minnesota, Radio Broadcast
Same old same old.
19
Because they are power hungry. They don’t have a message or a messenger to fight against the developing energy of the democratic candidates and they don’t want to lose their power. The only chance they have right now is Trump. Sad but true.
"Trump has given them another chance to break away. Why won’t they take it?"
This a rhetorical question, right?
When a president nominates the appropriate (Federalist Society approved...) judges, maintains an anti-choice/anti-immigration posture and cuts taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals, that president is golden as far as Republicans and other conservatives are concerned.
7
I am a retired teacher. You come in contact with all kinds of situations with people and their kids.
We had a student in fifth grade, M. M was a sneak and always doing something out of line. When the students were on the computers researching for a report, M was on a violence website with knives and other weapons.
One day a student, whistleblower if you will, told us they had been in M’s house and he had stolen items from the art room. Another teacher and I confronted him. At first he denied it. Then he retreated, admitted it, but said the items were in A-one shape and he would return them. He did.
Maybe a week or so later I walked past M’s grandmother, who he lived with, in the hall. She looked straight at me and said, “M didn’t steal those things.” I just looked at her and walked on.
When people are blinded by something they literally cannot see the truth.
Thus the Republicans driven by power, money, revenge, whatever, cannot see Trump for what he is.
10
I found this column an enlightening psychological explanation for what may be going on inside a Trumplican head. But my god! How pathetic are these human beings who would so easily betray their own morality to follow such a disgusting and evil force?
4
Have you not ever heard of The Vichy?
1
September 30, 2019
Yes, yes, always the truth is stranger than whatever! Strange to say to Americans of all ages love the personality contest and dare say obsessions with social media heat throbs - age irrelevant, but money rules and unlimited fantasies and indeed no superior education required - second grade wisdom is normative and what the hell is political party anyway.... here, there, and indeed forget universal democratic rights and freedom to be contradictory and there is the rub - defeatism is the answer to Mr. Peter Wehner and so goes the matter, for history died when a great leader like Senator Hillary Clinton was abused, ignored and etc. etc. etc. etc........
2
I keep wondering if the Trump base actually understands the type of government that they seem to be wanting. I was recently in England and talked to many people who were very pro Brexit until they were made aware of the implications of their vote.
5
I think this article is basically describing the mentality of the urban street gang. The leader of the gang enforces discipline in the gang by the threat of extreme penalties. Other members of the gang are the enforcers, and the informers for the leader. For those in the gang who want to leave, there is no way out. Anyone breaking ranks is a threat to the leader. If one leaves, then he is possibly dead or at best ostracized in his community. Each gang member is complicit with each other member. Such has become the Republican party. This being the case the only way the neighborhood (the USA) can be saved is to vote the Republican gang out of office at every level: city, state and Federal.
5
For the same reasons that Sen. Clinton supporters argued that Sanders' supporters should ignore her foibles and personality flaws and vote for Sen. Clinton because she was the candidate that most closely supported the issues Sanders' followers found important, Republican voters and Reps. are unlikely to move away from Pres. Trump, because Trump, while a deeply flawed individual, promises to pursue policies on issues like immigration, gun control, abortion, trade and fiscal policy most closely held by R. voters.
The Dem's provide no middle ground on those issues, and while Dem candidates may appear to be more "ethical" there policy positions are not palatable to R. voters, thus giving R. voters no choice but to continue to stand by Trump, much like Dem Voters were forced to stand by the Clintons.
@Gregg Duval I don't understand this argument at all. The biggest legislative policy of the last generation was The Affordable Care Act, which was about as middle of the road as it gets. When polled, Dems' proposed policies are likewise smack, dab in the MIDDLE of what a majority of those polled (both Rep and Dem) say they want on health care, gun control, immigration, infrastructure, taxes on the wealthy. You are repeating a mantra that makes GOP voters believe they have no choice and only helps the GOP, not the rest of us.
7
@Gregg Duval
The Dems offer no middle ground?? I'd argue that they have bent over backwards offering middle ground on immigration, gun control, abortion, etc...
Obama made tons of compromises with the Rs, even Obamacare was a huge compromise.
The Rs have moved so far right that they have shifted the goalposts. We can't even ban military style weapons in our country, unlike every other developed nation.
1
@John
I respectfully disagree with your position. When it comes to immigration, the D's have proposed policies which promote mass immigration of low and unskilled labor into the country which has had the effect of suppressing wages for low and unskilled labor while simultaneously increasing the demand for affordable low income housing. The Dem's have also indicated that they will promote stricter gun control legislation with Beto O'Rourke announcing that he will be seeking mandatory gun buy backs which have the earmarks of confiscation. The Ds have also announced that each intends to nominate justices that will expand access to abortion and each has implied that they would consider eliminating the electoral college and changing the construction of the Sup Ct. not to mention reparations for slavery, socialize health insurance and a continued desire to globalize US markets. A voter who does not support these policies is extremely motivated to vote against the Ds and with no alternative vote for Pres. Trump and if 2016 has taught us anything, polls are not indicative of voter preferences.
2
Your question and analysis regarding the lack of a moral compass among Republicans was compelling reading, but it was also nauseating.
This voter has been casting a ballot and following national politics since before John Kennedy and Richard Nixon were on the ticket, but I have never been so anxious about the possibility of our Republic being destroyed.
Although Watergate and Nixon were distressing events that tore the nation apart, I was persuaded during those dark days that we had patriots from both parties in Congress that would do the right thing for the American people. That confidence in our political leaders vanished with Trump's takeover of the Republican Party. Am convinced that we continue to have patriots in political office, but I need only one hand and fewer than five fingers to count Republicans among the nation's patriots.
13
Back when Nixon was in office, we had the communist threat that, to some extent, both parties came together to protect us from.
When the wall came down, it seems that politicians had to look for another villain to run on protecting us from. For Republicans, it seems to have become the Democrats.
The ladies and gentlemen of the GOP will have to decide fairly soon whether to continue to believe Our Trump is a life-ring for the party...or a millstone. I can't understand why they need him anymore...unless it is to save themselves and their careers. Hardly a profile in courage, eh?
7
More and more lobbying on Republicans from the Opinion section.
I guess they’re worried about the fallout for Democrats if voting in the House and Senate goes party-line. But that would be in Republicans’ best interests, given how popular Trump remains among their voters, so I fear it will be a hard sell.
>>> Trump has given them another chance to break away. Why won’t they take it?
Follow the money? I.e., ITTBS: It's the Tax Breaks, Sir.
4
O, it’s Putin.
The two greatest threats to America today are Republicans and Democrats. Some
Of the founding fathers warned of political parties. Their power would grow to such an extent that people would feel more allegiance to their respective political parties then to the country. This is where we are now. The parties are controlled by the extremists on the right or on the left. Republicans won’t do anything it doesn’t make political sense.
2
The Republicans need help, in being rescued from the Trump cult. Psychological theory proves that when people are traumatized and threatened frequently, they will cooperate with their abuser to prevent further trauma. Any Republican psychologists in the Senate? This is a classic trauma response.
EMDR anyone?
6
The answer to the question posed by the headline is obvious. This is who most Republicans are. They agree with Trump and have no problem with his corruption as long as it seeks to maintain white power and privilege. It's that simple.
12
For all Washington denizens it is about winning, fairly or unfairly. It is almost a standard comment, "they all do it".....right up there with "everybody lies". Trump gives everybody all the ammunition needed to go from disgust to impeachment. The attempt to make this Ukrainian situation look like a matter of equivalence is the current stand of the Washington Republicans. The eventual Senate exoneration of Trump will have "complete exoneration" added to the Trump bawl of "no collusion" and "no obstruction". What really matters is what happens with the 2020 presidential election. It is surprising the other wannabe candidates haven't already brought out the long Biden family history of "benefitting" from Joe's political fame.
2
While I appreciate your current position on Trump Mr. Wehner, the fact remains that this did not begin with Trump. Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, George W. Bush and many other Republicans, including yourself, supported a GOP over the years dealing in racism, plutocracy, and a general lack of scruples.
16
“All people in elective politics are interested in self-preservation,” a Republican who served in the Senate told me.
This quote makes sense especially in our country, where most people will turn a blind eye to a mass murder called war in exchange for our own survival.
It's the weakness in morality that's at the core of Trump Republicans.
Just as it's the weakness in morality that's at the core of our endless and senseless wars.
6
The republican party, as most know, is a bastion of evangelical Christianity, with many of them seeing Trump as a 'necessary demon' and 'the hand of God'. and so forth. Many are adherents of white nationalism and afraid white males will lose control to women and non-whites. On the whole, they are afraid they will lose their seats if they counter Trump in any way.
It is primarily these factors that allow the GOP to care little for the constitution or the feelings of the majority of Americans. They have lost what it means to be patriotic or to uphold the Oath of Office.
6
Quid pro quo is irrelevant. The law makes it illegal simply to ask for anything of value from a foreign national. Republican office holders who raise quid pro quo are offering a bait and switch argument - setting up a straw man easy to knock over.
8
I love how Republicans think that having Donald Trump as their president is "owning the libs."
Do republicans realize just how enjoyable it is for Democrats to watch Donald Trump's implosion in real time? This is the most fun we have had in two and a half years. Each new Trump tweet indicates further evidence of his decline into despair and paranoia. Two years ago we wished for Twitter to block his account. Not anymore.
Additionally, we get the joy of watching the Republican Party being dismantled single-handedly by one man who proved that everything the party once touted as their core principles meant absolutely nothing to the vast majority of their voters.
Donald Trump has distilled the Republican Party to its essence. He has successfully proved what the Democrats had always unsuccessfully argued about the GOP. And that is, at its core, it is a party primarily populated by the most racists, the most greedy, and the least intelligent among us.
There, I said it.
18
What would happen if, say, 200 of 253 Republicans in Congress abandoned Trump all at once? They can't peel themselves off one by one without retribution. But if the vote to impeach, assuming one is held, were 395-40 or something like that, what, pray tell, would Donald Trump be able to do about it? Indeed, what would Mitch McConnell be able to do if he knew the vote would be 92-8 in the Senate? Are there 200 Trump cultist primary candidates out there ready to challenge Republican incumbents and others in open seats in 2020 (and 2022)? All they have to do is decide the president has betrayed his oath of office, based on clear and convincing evidence not subject to interpretation, if it is there once Chairman Schiff and his committee get done, and politely gang up on him. After all, Nixon resigned when Republicans told him he didn't have 33 votes in the Senate. That's what it takes. Mind you, the American people need to decide if nine potential years of Pres. Pence is preferable to 14 more months of a weakened Trump.
6
This is how dictatorships start. Enough people "go along" for their own self-interest, and eventually it becomes impossible to break away because there are too many others who have done the same thing. I feel sorry for the Republican party of my parents, who passed away some time ago. They would be very sad to see what has happened to the formerly decent, honest party they believed in. Though my siblings who became Republican have now morphed into full-blown Trumpists. They don't see any problem with him, possibly for the reasons outlined in this article. I just pretend to myself they were bitten by Trump zombies, so they can't really help it.
10
I was going to answer the question posed by Mr. Wehner, but I simply don’t have that kind of time....
6
Wow. The Republicans that Wehner spoke to essentially said, "My job as a politician is more important than justice, law, order, and country." That's so terribly shameful.
Yes, you might lose an election. Does the country mean that little to you?
Note: I'm an expatriate that left before Trump was in office, but is planning on moving back in a few years.
5
There is no deal with the Devil in which our GOP friends don’t have to endure purgatory.
There is no squaring oath of office with this behavior.
They know that.
The results of the game now are either we lose the Republic, or we lose the Republicans for a generation, except for those that renounce this corruption. It is their choice.
6
What’s the matter with Republicans? They are evangelical Christians and conservative right-wingers who believe they epitomize morality. Admitting wrongdoing would completely invalidate their reality as moral elitists. So, denial is their only choice, a very real psychological disorder.
10
This is more like Game Theory or the Prisoner's Dilemma. I imagine that most Republicans privately believe Trump is a degenerate loser but if they break with Trump and no one else does Trump will sick everyone after them and they will be met with challengers. No one wants to be the first to break. But if a few break and we hit a tipping point they will all bail on Trump in a matter of hours.
OTH maybe they truly have drunk the kool-aid and have lost all sense of perspective. They will no longer be able to run campaigns based on character and consistency. Instead, it will be end-justify-means logic and might makes right. History will jusge the current Republican congress harshly.
3
If all it takes to send the entire Republik Party over the cliff and into oblivion is a firm push of a hand, I stand ready to provide the push. With my Left hand, of course.
10
Impeaching and removing the trump, standing up for what is right, moral and Constitutional, is something Republicans are incapable of. It is not even about trump being a Republican - he's obviously a faux-Republican - or his policies. They had plenty of choices that would have followed the same destructive hateful policies Republicans are know for
Impeaching and removing trump still leaves a Republican as POTUS who will obviously continue with the same policies. So why are the Republicans so hung up on supporting Donald? Makes no sense except that trump represents exactly what Republicans really are and what Republicans want - as terrible as that makes them.
2
A person who believes they can shoot someone with impunity will eventually shoot someone.
14
"He is an extreme narcissist, pathologically dishonest, shameless, a man who delights in flouting norms."
Trump is not alone. His supporters share his traits and that is a huge problem. Pundits have whipped these people into a frenzy touting conspiracy theories, hatred and fear. And of course the Internet has allowed the mischief to proliferate to the point of no return. We may in fact be closer to civil war than Trump's rhetoric portends.
3
Two answers : There is not enough storage space to list what's wrong with Republicans.
Trump is the creation from Republican philosophy . The gop spawned him. His parents are ignorance,stupidly, bigotry and greed.
8
Donnie Boy, the guy who "would never call the FBI", who thinks the despots of NK, Saudia Arabia and Russia are his BFFs, is a career criminal who has a long history of trying to use dirt against people. It is bad enough to know that the GOP are so utterly corrupt? But does Donny and/or his BFFs have dirt on the GOP? Moscow Mitch, are you trembling because of what would happen if you do tell the truth?
9
.
@Ralph,
.
Good point, all DT knows is dirt and hurt and bribes and sexually assaulting so many women and girls on the street !
DT's a monster who fell into the Pres by accident --
a societal cancer spreads from him
and he CAN be removed.
----------
Many rank & file gop cling tightly to DT,
but what are they getting out of it ?
It that just a knee-jerk reaction to DT as pres,
be his Useful Idiot?
Thats the time-honored way to make your career as a pol?
I couldnt do it
.
.
You got a point here, as republican's investment in following, and falling, into a spider's nest concocted by corrupt Trump, and are now in an impossible 'labyrinth' to wade through without getting their humanity cut off from all morals and any decency. So, they stay put, and rot in a stinky hole of depravation. Even professional mafiosi may, by now, be jealous at the power Trump has to screw us all...just because he can. Ugh!!!
1
Obviously Trump is not as evil as Hitler, but his command over his party and their willingness to abandon all principles to support him is eerily similar.
3
@John B.
.
We dont know if Trump has truly Hitlerian instincts that lie in his gutted soul waiting for a trigger.
DT's power to exercise those instincts must be permanently neutralized
.
Thanks, this clarifies.
One should be aware, though, that this defense of the indefensible while being locked-in is the same process that allowed the European dictatorships of the previous century to emerge.
8
@What'sNew,
.
Sorry, that's a lil vague
.
We have White House documents that Trump attempted to plant a false flag story of corruption being investigated by Ukraine in exchange for US military support. I think what is important is that Trump was told the Biden corruption story was a hoax but he still hoped to promote its veracity by later claiming the Ukrainian government was investigating it and that alone might be enough to use it more effectively in the 2020 campaign.
But when you consider this action in conjunction with Trump's slow walking the increased sanctions against the Russians, lifting sanctions from Rusal as they develop an aluminum plant in Kentucky, and other non-interference with Russian aggression, I can't help but wonder what deeper motives are at work here.
Some may see the latest developments as partisan but I think this impeachment inquiry may be our best chance at getting to the truth. Even if Trump escapes consequences from his actions as president, that won't likely be the same for the rest of us.
6
This article makes no mention of the religious connections of the Republican party, yet even a megachurch evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress (of the infamous "civil war" quote, tweeted by Trump) is a prime player. These religious loyalties go beyond political ones.
8
@fishergal
That's a great point.. and look at the new US stance on "Religious Freedoms" mentioned last week at the UN.
2
This is among the very best commentaries I've read on this growing national tragedy--and on the dereliction of duty, and the moral failing, that will "stick" if the Republicans continue to scrape and cower in fealty to a thug.
Setting Trump's fate aside, we really need to consider the fate, and the ethical state, of the nation itself, which transcends the immediate situation.
The comparisons to 1930s Germany are not overdrawn. The current, 2019, examples of allegiance to dictators in smaller countries around the world should be seriously considered. It IS possible for the citizens of a modern, highly developed country to devolve into unconditional support for a rogue government and to a "cult of personality." When and if elected officials abandon foundational values, and will not confront and oppose the rogue, even the most fundamental virtues will have no champions, and hence no realization in the public sphere.
11
@Robert,
.
And the rogue will be touted as
"having the STRENGTH to bring America BACK ! "
Unlike Mr. Wehner, I don't believe Republicans can, from their enabling position, find a way back to a sane stance until they kick out their unclothed Emperor. This person is a dictator, and will stop at nothing until he owns everything, everybody, and to use his own words, "gotten a piece of the country"- but he will take not a piece, but the whole thing.
The trajectory he's headed on contains no room for political parties, for a Congress, for checks and balance, for government agencies- for anything but Trump. These petrified GOPers are riding on a death star into a black hole.
9
Can we call a spade a spade here? that Rep senators could so casually admit to the basest betrayal of the public good for their retention of power/status/personal privilege (and violating their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies) is a sure sign of their moral depravity and unfitness for office.
13
I am not erudite as much as the author,so let me keep it simple
The reason Republicans are silent on this issue is because their constituents are willing to overlook all these obvious transgressions from Trump
In their mind,an imperfect ,corrupt white guy is after all their guy
They will tolerate him than any minority candidate
#whitelash
6
What was the GOP of yore is now the Greedy Old-Mostly-White-Mostly Rich Party of today. Their pockets get lined by the Evil One and, like him, they are amoral. Of course their worship of him is understandable, at least till He comes for Them.
7
The Republicans are behaving just like the wives of abusive husbands. Scared into obeisance. One man, Trump, has turned the Republicans into an abusive family.
8
Robin I believe your analogy comparing Trump to an abusive husband is exactly spot on. Trump has been gaslighting our entire nation. The enabling Fox News, Republican Party and extremely wealthy donors have made it seem hopeless to stand up to his continued abuse. It has worked for him for 70 years.
4
Republicans stand by while the president of the United States suggests that whistle blowers should be put to death and that the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee should be arrested and charged with treason. They are silent when the president embraces the intervention of Russia in our elections.
I consider myself a pretty reasonable and understanding individual but I now regard Republicans as the party of thugs.
10
They are not Patriots. They are cowards.
11
@BB No we are not cowards. This is nothing more than continuation of the Deep State coup against the voters who elected Trump. We will not abandon Trump and the more liberals attempt to overthrow the 2016 election, the more we will defend Trump. Cowards would run away and hide. We're here to stay, all the way.
‘Republicans “are nearly unrecognizable versions of themselves pre-Trump’
Isn’t this psychological change what happened to good people under Hitler? Too far in and too deep to get out now; the consequences of getting out are way too high.
For the modern republican, imagine the ostracism if not outright exile from the tribe to now oppose or even criticize Trump.
5
What Trump does not realize or wont accept, is that shaddy ot abusive business practices wont work on the international and political area
As a "business man" you may borow money that you do not intend to repay: you just go to chapter11,
You can threaten competitors, force contractors to give you a "great deal".
You can be an abusive clown in " Fire them"
You can fool students in a phony "University"
But being the "President" of any country, is of a different nature.
You have to respect the word you give on behalf of your country, you must respect its Constitution and laws, you cannot tweet insults like "little rocket man" or enpty and stupid threats like " Fire and Fury", you cannot call treason a difference of opinion You can demand loyalty to your country, not to yoursef. And personnality cult only exists in dictatorships of "shitholes countries"!
3
Trump is a vile, despicable human being. His cowardly Republican lapdogs are worse, though, because unlike him they know better.
4
Oh great, so now we're governed by brain-washed psychologically damaged people.
4
Trump is not Hitler, but the Conservatives in Germany who supported him, thought they could control him as well. I don't believe the Nazis ever got >40% of the vote in the early 1930s before Hitler abolished the German legislature. For whatever Trump has in mind (mainly lots of ego support), the Republican party will follow him - the personal rewards of their offices are too great. It's become a religion.
6
I don't think Republicans see they will be punished in any way. They seem to feel invincible even if there's underlying desperation to it. Maybe they also love the big gamble they're taking, a damn-the-torpedoes thrill, a hope they will be more powerful at some point in the future and that will justify all the means. I worry that with Trump threatening Adam Schiff with arrest and charges of treason and Republicans not condemning it, we could see violence. What will happen if Trump orders the military to intervene on his behalf?
3
I’m worried Fox News will support anything crazy Trump and his sycophants want. We need some Republicans to stand up. At the very least the old guard like Bush and Romney should start loudly speaking up.
"If Republicans don’t break with the president now, after all he has done and all he is likely to do, they will pay a fearsome price generationally, demographically and, above all, morally."
There may be a few who will make such a break, but probably not may. And for those who do not, I hope Mr. Wehner is underestimating the price they will pay for their faithlessness to the nation.
3
It seems to me that the issue at stake here with Mr. Trump's silent Republican followers in Congress goes far beyond "primitive tribalism", and just winning politically.
What's happening is a willingness on the part of Republican politicians to severely hamper the ability of healthy governance to succeed while, as a consequence, also jeopardizing our nation's standing both internally and globally.
These Republicans have done irreparable damage to not only the fabric of their party, but to the meaning of the oaths they've taken to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That's extremely important because it's at the heart of "rule of law" and all that that implies--otherwise it's nothing but a loose cabal of would-be followers of a dictator--hmmm.
Of course politicians are self-serving but they are also holding a public office for which they are paid to serve the interests of the American people to the best of their ability.
This Republican silence about Mr. Trump is certainly a long way away from anything close to "their best".
Ultimately, as Americans, and as voters, we are the ones who must demand better quality candidates in order to once again place at the center the normalcy in our political system that we so sorely need.
7
US politician salaries are a pittance compared to most of the people lobbying them. The US might have to eliminate all the state legislatures to bring the pay of Congresscritters up to that of people in comparable stations in business.
Ever since the Roman Republic, politicians have been expected to work for free and pad their own pockets with graft.
1
It doesn't exactly speak well of Republican politicians if, as Mr. Wehner suggests, they're more concerned about self-preservation than in preservation of the country.
3
I can but feel the GOP and its supporters, including many commenters to this article, have regressed into (or never grew out of) the very juvenile practice we see in all children: "Well, all the other kids are doing it, Mom."
Our nation, in the context of our history, has been facing its maturity since the passing of the post-war era --- and a great many among us don't like being adults.
2
The Republican Party has largely made itself incompatible with a functioning democracy. They simply no longer believe in the law or anything else of principle.
Perhaps their wealthy benefactors... whose fortunes they always favor, and for whom they work so hard, might buy them a little Banana Republic somewhere where they can ply their trade.
Trump can join them after he does some hard time!
7
No, Mr Wehner, the GOP has NOT lost its way. In fact, a review of GOP stated aspirations, goals and successes in achieving thier goals find the GOP the same rapacious bunch of 'for the top 10%' they have always been.
Reduced taxes for the all, but only the top 10% benefits from. Increased tax breaks to businesses. Increased subsidies to corporate farmers. Removing higher education grants and loans (Perkins Loan program has been abandoned by the GOP congress). Tossing needy off medical insurance and restricting women's health funding for pregnant women & their infants.
The Republicans have always been the party of the wealthy with a narrow agenda of further concentrating the wealth and by doing so they are constructing the precise political system the Framers of our constitution wished to avoid. . .rule by a wealthy landed upper class.
10
"They misdiagnosed the individual they were dealing with..."
This is EXACTLY what occurs with domestic violence victims when they first becoming involved with their abusers, who wear a charismatic mask. When the mask drops, as it inevitably does, the tendency is for the victim to question themselves, to excuse and justify the behavior of the abuser, and to cling to the false hope that the abuser will become something more noble than a criminal and wife-beater.
Won't happen. Best solution is to get away from the abuser.
Easier said than done.
4
The Republican Party's post-Watergate recovery surely was aided in no small measure by the number of senior Republicans who broke from the President when it became clear that he was, in fact, a crook. Nixon was the problem, not the Party. Having been a life long Republican raised in Jack Kemp's district, I was taught to believe that yarn. Perhaps that really was true back then but as Mr. Wehner states "things are very different today".
Good luck to those who try to sell that story this time around. We can only hope that Mr. Wehner's prediction that the Republican Party will pay a generational price proves true so that they will have a long time to reconcile with their rampant duplicity.
5
A large contingent of the Senators is beholden to white nationalist constituents. Through demographic changes and time, these senators will eventually be weeded out. The Republican party will not regain the trust of the bulk of Americans again until its members have the same diversity as American society.
4
As long as he can swing primary elections, he has the GOP by the short ones.
1
The traditional republicans (that have survived) had to trade in a part of their traditional voting block (moderate middle class more educated whites) for a bigger low-education white voting block that is inspired to vote only for candidates that are willing to blame 'others' for everything that has gone wrong in their life. The article does a nice job of explaining how these voters became a tribal group completely enmeshed with angry anti-'other' politics (though, in language far too academic for these Trump voters to even being to understand). For Republicans to turn against Trump and stand for dignity now means abandoning a wide majority of their voting block and a definite end to their political careers.
Well maybe.
I don't know how the GOP survives, but it doesn't need to. The republicans that find their backbone and support impeachment could potentially lead an effort that splits enough moderate democrats away from the more liberal wing to form a new party, with a new brand, that focuses on global economic growth and moderate sensible government, to counter the green revoluation, social justice liberals (for the record, I'd rather belong to the latter group, but would easily see a strong political party emerge from the center when so many Democrats are trying to claim the left).
1
.
@Jim,
.
Not so easy "to see a strong political party emerge from the center..."
.
For one thing, a large amt of $
.
So, the Republican's have become lemmings, moving with the pack over the cliff.
Leadership would involve just one of them raising his head, looking around and saying "no, I will not follow. I will lead in another direction. Who will follow me?"
Even if the answer is none, leadership demands that such a Republican proceed down that path - leading a group of one.
But displaying leadership none the less.
2
Trump's Republican enablers have become dependents whose continuing political viability hangs on their unflinching support for him regardless of how cruel, inappropriate, and illegal his behavior becomes. Republican politicians support Trump because they believe it is in their self-interest to do so. If public support for impeachment grows as more and more information comes to light about Trump's Ukrainian gambit, Republican lawmakers may reevaluate their loyalties. Like Trump, Republican politicians care more about themselves than about the people they were elected to represent. If the tipping point comes, Trump's political demise will be swift and brutal.
I think that now that the pressure is on, Trump will accelerate the process by convicting himself by tweet or loose talk. It’s what he does.
Mr. Wehner, "they [will} pay a fearsome price"? The fact that you can even make that statement, Mr. Wehner, demonstrates that not only they, but you have already paid the price. Sorry, given what Trump and his supporters have long since done and supported and that you and yours are already begging "renewal and regeneration" leads me and millions of others to say, no, you are not and will not be forgiven.
1
@REK,
.
I see forgiveness is trending now --
Greta Thunberg mentions it prominently
.
-------------
But do sociopaths care ab being forgiven ? I doubt it
-------------
What is missing from a very thoughtful piece is cognitive dissonance: that state where one is holding two thoughts in mind that are in conflict. One thought or the other has to give. I smoke and I know it's harmful. What do I do? Give up smoking or dispute the fact that I know it's harmful?
Does one "give up Trump" or does one - despite knowing it's harmful - give up believing that Trump is harmful?
2
@Peter Hornbein,
.
As a media topic, I think they feel cognitive dissonance "has been done."
.
Don't forget one more reason...many of trump's fellow republicans are in on the treason. Once we start getting more info on the NRA/Russia connection, I predict it will be very clear that the NRA has been a front for Russian or other influence among on our elected officials. trump is just the tip of the corruption iceberg. republicans are fighting hard for team trump because they fear jail time if they lose!
Oh...that, and many of them desperately want a one party theocracy to run the country.
15
"Understanding the close compact between Mr. Trump and the Republican Party starts with acknowledging the false hope many establishment Republicans placed in the shady real estate mogul as he rose to power. They misdiagnosed the individual they were dealing with, assuming that Mr. Trump would “grow in office” and that they, the “adults in the room,” would be able to control and contain him."
If you want to find out who someone truly is, give them power.
Donald Trump is not an aberration. He is the end result of around 40 years of the right-wing noise machine pumping out endless agitprop. The base/grassroots have learned through osmosis from such figures as Karl Rove and Sean Hannity that there are such things as 'liberal facts' and 'conservative facts'; that the ends justify the means; that character assassination is a perfectly acceptable tactic to employ when one is confronted with inconvenient facts; that one can dismiss any criticism of a Republican by resorting to whatabout-ism, even if the whatabout is purely made up. If you can imagine that some liberal somewhere jaywalked, you can excuse a conservative committing murder!
Trump was simply shameless enough to say out loud the quiet parts that other GOP politicians only thought or only said to fellow hardline Republicans behind closed doors. The GOP is beyond hope; it must be burned to the ground and the land beneath it salted so that someday a responsible and non-treasonous conservatism may rise in its place.
9
@Michael Fallai,
.
I hope your right and gop soon burns to the ground,
and also be concerned ab what replaces it
.
How long can the madness go on? How far can it go? Recent history has an answer for us. It can get as sickening as 10 million people gassed and incinerated. It’s not hyperbole. It’s a warning.
7
This column could be reduced to one sentence: Republicans are sticking with Trump as long as the base sticks with Trump.
5
Republicans should be proud. In successive Republican presidential administrations, they have provided two extremely strong contenders for the title of Worst President in US History. Mr. Wehner, where were you when the Republican Party spent the past 50 years laying the groundwork for a president of Trump's ilk?
9
What makes you think the Republicans will suffer? When the National Socialists were elected in Germany, they were never again defeated at the ballot box. The very same thing can happen in the United States.
7
@A reader,
.
When were the NA elected?
.
I mean, I think that any logical person wouldn't jump on the band wagon just because the media says this or that happened. The Republicans are obviously making an appropriate judgment based on information that they receive and is not public knowledge. After all the crazy tactics by dems to get him impeached it would be crazy to jump into believing anything about this "whistle-blower" situation without solid evidence of an actual crime or blatant breach in moral policy. Right now it seems to be just a he said she said situation that amounts to again, nothing. God I wish they could actually have a legitimate complaint/excuse so we can get him out of office, but this is just starting to get ridiculous as Trump plays the politicians and media like a fiddle.
1
Trump plays Repubs and Democrats. Just watch CNN.
What gets me is the attitude of Trump supporters - “Dems are corrupt too, so there!” These people defend their choice by saying the other side is just as bad. Many Dems are problematic, I do not like Biden’s use of nepotism, for example, but there are degrees. This type of argument gets us nowhere. Surely there is a term for this. What is it?
2
The answer lies in acceptance that Trump is an unpleasant personality who has not been as bad as CNN makes him out to be, for 24 hours a day at the expense of delivering truly newsworthy stories.
.
@LJIS,
.
Red herring &
Scapegoat
.
Wehner has either fallen into the trap of thinking or embraced the the mistaken idea that Republicans and their party are somehow separate and distinct from Trump. Not true. He didn't materialize from another dimension and capture the party from an unwilling membership. With few exceptions, they willingly embraced, backed, and continue to empower him. This is who they are. The only thing he's done is rip the scab off the party and exposed their absolute moral and ethical corruption and hypocrisy.
8
“We have been starved of freedom, so we think that freedom should have no limits. But unless limits are set to freedom, there can be no well-adjusted society. The restrictions, however, must not be of the kind that shackle us now. And people must be kept honestly informed, not deluded. We think of democracy as a sun that never sets. But what does democracy really mean? Truckling to the uncouth majority. And that means accepting mediocrity as the norm, pruning the highest and most delicate growths. The votes of a hundred or a thousand blockheads set the course for the enlightened.”
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, In the First Circle
3
Everything is the matter with Republicans; the list is long and horrendous.
5
For way to long the American electorate has suffered from pathologically low expectations. And we've gotten what we asked for.
Bill Clinton was having sex with an intern in the oval office, but deep down inside, most supporters weren't surprised by it. Same with Trump's lying and cheating.
Supporters didn't elect these men because of their morals or ethics, but in spite of them.
Come on America. Demand better!
2
@Patrick Talley,
.
what supporters? All DT had was ab 300 Electors of the College
.
@Patrick Talley shoplifting a 6-pack and child rape are both illegal, but on the continuum of both the law and morals, one is substantially more serious than the other.
I will never forget how when Clinton attempted to kill Bin Laden, Republicans howled that he was trying to distract from the real threat to the country: fellatio.
Nor will I ever forget how furious Republicans were that the black guy made the capture of Bin Laden a priority upon assuming office, and got it done. (The cherry on the cake was that it occurred on the anniversary of W's deeply misbegotten 'Mission Accomplished' PR stunt.)
Nor will I ever forget how Republicans spent eight years throwing tantrums on a daily basis about the most trivial and inconsequential matters. They even stooped to attacking his wife as well as his young children, who were never and have never been political. Meanwhile they conveniently forgot about the mess bequeathed to him by his GOP predecessor and the tremendous job he did saving the auto industry and bringing the country back from the brink of a full shutdown of the economy.
Then once they were back in power, Republicans blew up the deficit and endlessly kowtowed to a grotesque, ignorant man-child with the emotional maturity of a spoiled rotten five year old who literally invited a hostile foreign power to assist his election campaign via cyberhacking in front of millions on national TV.
I demand a better right-wing, one not led by cowards and treason enablers.
Republicans are compromised by Trump for sure, but they and Trump are all compromised by amoral corporate capitalism and its political lobbyists/donors. Trump is the logical embodiment of neoliberal ideals - totalizing selfish, predatory, pursuit without any regulation.
Perhaps difficulty critiquing Trump or holding him accountable are simply consistent with anti big government and anti regulation positions. Integrity, moral concern for others and the planet, limiting laws, democratic norms - get them out of the way!
2
"This may be asking too much of Republicans, who have lost their way in the Trump era."
They haven't lost their way. This is the path they willingly chose to take. They sold their souls once they saw Goldwater take the South using white supremacist coded language. As I heard one person say, "They only act surprised that they grew a dragon after spending years planting dragon's teeth. They knew what they were doing."
7
Peter Wehner denounces Trump but his premise that there exists a part of the Republican Party that is still a principled democratic conservative party.
What if the premise is wrong? What is Peter Wehner's answer then?
This is not a rhetorical question. I am scared by what Republicans want today. It's not only Trump. It's Mulvaney and the Tea Partiers. It's Stephen Moore and all the incompetent "experts". It's cranks everywhere.
It's more than policy. I disagree with limiting immigration; perhaps I am wrong. But putting kids and families in cages is comparable to concentration camps and worse, ranking among the cruelest and vilest acts of violence. Republicans are now irredeemable.
5
Dear Congress,
Please legalize marijuana so I can stomach this insanity just a bit. If you get to ruin our civil and environmental protections, and there is nothing we can do but watch (and don't give me that "go vote" hogwash, we've done that); then, let me take a toke and purge my anxieties.
2
The GOP are the Borg. They have been assimilated. Follow orders. Can't think for themselves. Will go down with the ship. Power is everything. All or nothing.
2
@Jim
.
Hubris [ power , ] and
Greed
.
Completely brainwashed and steeped in the psychology of accommodation, what will these Republicans do when Trump is gone? Will they continue in their moral void? Will they wake up and wonder where they are and how they got there? Will they go back to the way they were and pretend this never happened to them? Because it will end, probably next year, and they will be left with the hangover.
Because they haven’t conceived of or employed a single useful, efficient or time-sensitive policy in over three decades that doesn’t directly come back however adulterated to whites only.
3
We will NEVER leave Trump. NEVER.
Chris Collins(Republican) is pleading Guilty and resigning from Congress. Trump; take the hint. Get Out!
1
Let's pose a good Republican or Conservative idea. One that benefits all, not just the wealthy or themselves.
....
I am waiting! Hence the problem. They are utterly bankrupt.
4
How about cowardice or love of power or low self-esteem or they just like letting their "dark side" run wild after suppressing their true feelings for years. This GOP is still the same group that started a civil war in 1861 and has kept the racism pot on a slow boil ever since. They're the ugly side of America's conscience. I just hope their are more of us than them next year.
2
It is very simple. Cowardice .
1
The Republican base is so poisoned that respecting the law is political suicide. Better to follow Mitch McConnell and use government as a path to personal wealth.
1
The problem with Republicans is that too many Americans are motivated by hate. Hate of immigrants, hate of black people, hate of those of us who don't hate.
When I was a child, we had a song they made us sing: "they will know we are christians be our love, by our love..." As an adult, I scoff at that. One thing I know, however, is that I can tell who is a Republican by their hate.
4
The faux equivalency about Joe and Hunter Biden would be hysterical except it's ridiculous and already disproven. Imagine if the light was shown on the dealings of Ivanka, Jared and the Trump sons? there's real criminality and advantage with that bunch. Republicans are disgusting hypocrites, talk one way and "rule" the other.
1
"Peter Wehner is a veteran of three administrations (Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush) ... He is an American writer and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank." (Wikipedia) I have to wonder what Mr. Wehner's "conservative" colleagues think about his outlook: " ... [Trump] is an extreme narcissist, pathologically dishonest, shameless, a man who delights in flouting norms. He has a mobster’s mentality. Mr. Trump’s behavior isn’t governed by moral standards; he doesn’t seem to believe objective moral standards even exist." Well, yes, but beyond that ... Mr. Trump is a disgrace to our country and the people who worked and fought to keep it honorable.
1
They are afraid of being tweeted ... tweeted, for heaven's sake! Doesn't get much more cowardly than that.
3
@Rpssp
I have thought the same thing!
Who gives a ....hoot what trump says anymore. He is so predictable that it is now no only all lies but boring too!
You would think anyone would wear his negative tweets as a badge of COURAGE!
This article shows how slanted you are. Trump is the republicans best chance to re-election. We know that! Why should they listen to a Democratic supporter like you? You will just advise us to do what is good for your party.
1
have you listened to devon nunes? republicans aren't the party of trump. they are the party of conspiracy theorists, white supremacists, gun lovers, christian extremists and right wing terrorists.
5
The training film for this situation is the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy accidently melts the Wicked Witch, and she starts apologizing to the guards. But not only are the guards not upset, they drop to their knees and start exclaiming "Hail Dorothy!"—because she has liberated them.
So the question is, "What’s the Matter with Republicans?" The answer is they live in terror of their wicked witch, Trump, mostly because they fear if they oppose him they will get pushback by his supporters in the Republican primaries, and they will lose their precious little jobs. However, they would of course love to have a Dorothy come along to liberate them. And that might take the form of revelations in the impeachment hearings that are so damning that Trump is rendered unelectable. But I don't see him being removed from office, since that would take the votes of 20 Republican senators, and they don't have that kind of courage or integrity.
As in his previous articles on this subject, Mr. Wehner's argument here needs a close trim with Occam's razor. In this case the simplest explanation really is the best one: Republicans will not break away from Mr. Trump because they love him! He has stratospheric approval ratings among the party's base and in taking office delivered the party tripartite control of the government. Trump's goals are Republican goals, and his actions in office serve Republican interests; given that Mr. Wehner served under Presidents Reagan and Bush, surely he understands this.
At some point the question of why the GOP's members aren't acting on their deep-seated ethical objections to Mr. Trump's behavior will have to be answered by asking whether those objections ever existed in the first place. If Mr. Wehner is confused by this, perhaps he should consult his fellow conservative thinker Ayn Rand: "Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."
5
All excellent points. I continue to be amused by Republicans - those who oppose Trump and those whom embrace him - who cannot stop themselves from responding, "yeah, but Democrats. . . " It's a wonder how they get through life.
One point I found odd in this piece. You write: "As a conservative-leaning clinical psychologist I know explained to me. . . " Does clinical psychology have a conservative or liberal bias? Would you describe a heart surgeon as conservative- or liberal-leaning. I would like to think that the concepts underlying clinical psychology are the same regardless of one's political biases. I'd be interested to hear how a "liberal-leaning" clinical psychologist would have responded to your query.
5
Although I think this piece was a lot of words just to describe venal cowardice, I mostly agree with Mr. Wehner's opinion. But, I wonder, why does this tend to happen on the conservative side of the political spectrum? Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall anything like this happening on the more liberal side of things (and I'm not talking about Communism).
4
Sorry, but you need to talk about Communism if you are making those comparisons.
I voted for Hillary but I am now a Trump supporter. Trump lowered my taxes in excess of $15,000 and he has been the best president for Israel since Truman. No one else cares about me, so I must look out for my myself and my family. As long as Trump benefits my interests he has my vote.
2
History tells us that societies fall when there is the dominance of selfishness, when people live for themselves and attach no importance to the wellbeing of their countrymen & women. It’s so sad this is our country today.
Went to visit my son @ college this weekend. He told me many of his classmates are now Nihilists. And my daughter has said to me “what’s the point” no one cares about our future. This is the message you’re sending. And FYI. We’re Scrimping and saving to put our children through college , but even with that, We would pay higher taxes to help others with education, & healthcare. A healthier, educated society just seems worth striving for.
6
@MJG you're right about one thing: no one cares about you.
2
@MJG How civic minded of you.
4
The few Trump supporting people I know do so for lower taxes. Because of their demographics, they don't think they are unaffected by his other policies.
7
There seems to be such an appetite around the world to tear everything down, shake things up, destroy the status quo, no matter what norms and laws have to be broken to do it or how many lies have to be told. The people doing it benefit from the chaos to make money on the sidelines. That's all this is. And when the dust settles, they will retire to their islands, castles and walled estates and leave the rest of us to live with the consequences. These are wealthy Republicans supported by wealthy donors. Follow the money.
9
"This isn’t to say that some Republican members of Congress aren’t deeply uneasy with Mr. Trump’s conduct. A few, including Senators Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse, have expressed their concern."
I wonder if Mr Wehner knows that "uneasy" Republicans "expressing concern" has become a shorthand for centrist DC-groupthink among those of us with eyes and ears who understand clearly that these people's "concern" is as hollow as the "thoughts and prayers" these same ringwraiths claim when lives are lost to the predictable violence that our culture promotes on a daily basis.
"At the outset of this unholy alliance, they were convinced they would change Mr. Trump more than Mr. Trump would change them. But the transformation turned out to be in them, not him."
I don't think anyone was "convinced" of this, at all. That's a convenient narrative, and maybe they'll go back to it publicly once Trump is out of office if they think it will serve them, but these people chose to support a monster who has a decades-long track record that provides absolutely no evidence that anything was going to change after 70 years of being a monster. Everyone needs to stop covering for them and taking their excuses (and public "concern" for those who've chosen that brand) at face value.
They sold their souls and I don't think whomever they sold them to offers refunds.
4
Peter:
Thanks for your insights. I agree with your observations.
Here are two quotes, which I found very relevant to your Opinion Piece, from Scottish journalist, Charles Mackay, contained in his "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds", published in 1841:
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
"Of all the offspring of Time, Error is the most ancient, and is so old and familiar an acquaintance, that Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder, and meets the intruder's welcome."
4
Framing the narrative means everything right now. If I were a Tom Steyer type, I’d now be airing ads with former Trump supporters who did support him initially but now don’t. Let them tell their stories from farmers hurt in trade wars, people still losing manufacturing jobs, people losing health care, or vets being neglected. Polls that disapprove of Trump are just numbers, people want stories.
Get ads running on TV, social media, and I’m pretty sure many Republican voters will have second thoughts about Trump.
8
I only hope the overwhelming preponderance of anti-Trump comments over those of his supporters in these comments shows on election night in 2020. The opposite might be a nail in the coffin of the post-World-War-II liberal democracy here and abroad. I'm not religious, but if I were, I'd pray daily for Trump's lifetime steady diet of hamburgers and chalupas to catch up with him sooner than later.
2
As I was reading this editorial, I was reminded of another from summer of 2018. Wasn't it by this same guy? Yes, and it is linked. From Wehner's "The Full-Spectrum Corruption of Donald Trump": "There’s never been any confusion about the character defects of Donald Trump. The question has always been just how far he would go and whether other individuals and institutions would stand up to him or become complicit in his corruption."
3
All the psychological analysis in the world is no excuse for just what it is--a lack of courage and will to confront what is clearly many grave wrongs by this President. And most of Trump's Supporters are older and old greedy men--who love power and money or are beholden to corporations more than their fellow man or their country. The NRA (I have read) gave $30 million to Trump's campaign and is giving more to help him fight impeachment. How can anyone support this? There has to be term limits (and age limits) for all elective offices and especially the Supreme Court (which isn't elected). Then, maybe, we can stop this travesty and tragedy from occurring.
2
What's really troubling is that, even after Trump, the Republican party will remain popular because its policies appeal to a lot of Americans: lower taxes, pro-growth, conservative values (yes, really).
The 'base' will still be important and almost all Republican officials supported Trump. So what incentive do they have to reform the Republican party? It won't happen. They'll all just chuckle and shake their heads and say 'Trump'. And give each other a pass, and move on.
There is probably an opportunity for Democrats to pick up some voters, but most Republicans will still find the Democrats too liberal. So, in our two-party system, not much will change. Of course, just removing Trump (and Mitch?) from the scene would be great news for our democracy.
2
Once Trump is no longer in the picture, I'm curious how many Republicans will come out saying that they "Stood up to Trump" How many will act like they spent the last for years banging the drum of the moral high-ground?
I would guess a lot.
Side note: the problem with our political system as it currently exists is the MONEY that's involved...and unfortunately that's not partisan.
3
If there were any moral backbone and respect for the constitution among GOP Senators, enough would have exited the party months ago so that McConnell would lose his position as czar of the Senate and Chief enabler of trumps criminal administration. But not even Flake or Collins were brave enough to take that small step across the aisle to protect American Democracy.
5
Grassroots Republicans are more important than any one senator. Impeachment will only begin to heal our country when the tide turns among Republican voters.
Many Republicans quietly despise the president. They don’t need to stand on a soapbox. Just simply say to friends, co- workers and neighbors “I’m not so sure about the president anymore.” Or “There’s nothing wrong with finding out the truth.” Or “I voted for Trump but the threats and lies are getting worse.”
Questioning the president gives other doubters cover to speak up. They won’t stand out as heretics when others are saying the same thing. Republican voters will begin to change their minds when everyday people they love and respect start standing up for what’s right. It’s time to raise the flag for our country, not just Trump.
Brave Republicans at every level need to start talking, even if it’s only a whisper.
6
Respectfully, I think it isn't a Republican issue, nor a partisan issue in any way. It hasn't been one for a considerable time.
It is a matter of: You like this man as President or you don't. That means many Republicans will turn on him. Though, many Democratic voters are secretly voting (and liking) him as well. This man was not a politician and never ran for office. He didn't run on Partisan appeal. He ran on popular opinion.
What if we looked at all this from the point of view of the next generation? What are we going to leave our children?
Children aren't born Republican, Democrat, or anything else, but they are born into those families. It took a statement from a 16-year-old to tell us the truth: we are selling out our children's future. Why should they look to us for values when our own leaders are visibly corrupt?
Impeachment, yes. We owe it to our Constitution, to all the institutions we have built from it, to the earth, and to all the decent people of this country to do so. But for goodness' sake, let's stop fighting each other and vying to prove that the other party is more corrupt than one's own. Stop mouthing about family values and take a look at what actual families and children are facing in this world. Step forward and do something for the children, all of them, regardless of how their parents vote. They are all going to inherit a world that is crumbling environmentally and socially; they need all the help we can give them.
4
As an amateur historian, I can’t help but think of this in history-book terms. The word “trump,” which has always meant something like “top,” or “overcome,” will, I believe, become in its adjectival or adverbial forms a synonym for “beyond crazy,” or “viciously narcissistic.”
And what about the names of McConnell, Graham, Jordon, Nunes, McCarthy, and the other trumpian sycophants? Do they gaze into the future and imagine how they will be historically remembered? Will their grandchildren and great grandchildren stand beside the old home place and proudly discuss their forbear’s service to this country? Will they be extolled as some of America’s patriots? Or will they be remembered as we do Benedict Arnold?
When I recall the history of the 1950s and the name of Joseph McCarthy, my gratitude goes out to Joseph Welch.
1
I experienced all of this at small corporate level some years ago with a malignant narcissist at he helm. Everything Mr. Wehner outlines here was present in that group. The opposition was a small but attentive group of us who saw his excesses for what they were but soon learned that any questioning of his methods would result in a scalding backlash. All of us were terrified. Quitting him would mean cruel and public retribution. No one was immune.
But eventually he went too far and was revealed. He almost seemed to want to get caught. Within six months he lost everything. The condemnation did ultimately silence him and send him to new conquests elsewhere. Yet, still, he had a loyal core of devotees because to deny him at that point would be to admit to years of having been duped.
This may be a tiny echo of the trump saga. I don't care if he keeps his toadies. Just take him down.
4
On the "Republican agenda," it's not like Mike Pence wouldn't be all aboard for the same policies, ruinous as they are. Apparently party officeholders are afraid of those people who go nuts at Trump's rallies - even though those crowds are declining.
If we are fortunate, this will spell the end of the current Republican Party. Bring on the Conservatives, the Whigs, or whatever name political conservative want for the successor.
2
What part of "cult" doesn't Peter Wehner understand?
In any case, the most fundamental question, which has never been decided and would invariably go right to the Supreme Court, is whether, and for what crimes committed where and when can a President pardon himself?
3
The Republicans act as if Donald Trump is the only Republican who can lead the country, as if there is no other Republican in the country--zip, nada, none--who could take his place. Eventually, a Democrat will be in the White House again, and when she or he is, I can't wait to see what the Republicans are like. They certainly won't have any morals to fall back on--zip, nada, none.
3
If the Republicans don't see the writing on the wall here, then they are toast. Their party is searching for decent moral leadership right now. They have no one but for a small handful willing to take this on. The American people are exhausted by Trumps behavior. Time to cut the cord.
4
Mr. Wehner--
The answer lies in plain sight: Republicans who support the "President", as well as those who might believe otherwise but refuse to condemn him, have the same "mobster mentality" as their leader. Look no further than his inner circle: McConnell, Giuliani, and Barr.
6
Republicans have gotten how many right wing and often unqualified judges on our Federal benches around the US, including 2 on our Supreme Court? And, then there are those tax cuts for corporations and billionaires ... Plus, the anti-abortion stances loved by Trump's evangelical followers. And -- all of those pesky regulations that help keep people healthy and safe being removed....This is a Republican dream! They love it!
5
Are there no opportunists left in the Republican Party ?
Is Don a candidate with strong though covert support of the Bush Family ?
Or does the Don have them on camera in their hotel suites in Trump hotels ?!
However absurd the probable answers, the question remains as to how such a strongly political minded Republican Party is allowing an amateur politician to get away with anything and everything ?
Wait a sec, is promoting and supporting a 'businessman' as President another way of the Rep Party to promote a capitalist agenda as against the socialist agenda of Dem Party ? Doubtful, since Don hardly qualifies as a shining example of capitalism. Actually he represents the worst of capitalism.
Then why ? Why ? Why ?
Is racism of white supremacy really the answer ?
I think not.
Whatever the answer may or may not be, it is clear that it is very difficult to defeat someone if one does not clearly define what drives him.
And don't say Russia.
It doesn’t matter whether you can define him or not, clearly or not. With one tweet he can rip your career and your legacy. No politician can afford that.
@BR
Take a look across the pond, politicians did just that, even Boris Johnson's brother. Johnson came off far worse. Safety in numbers?
Because they realize President Trump is the only elected official in this country to stand up to the Washington swamp, the corrupt media and the clowns on the left who believe that selling our country down the drain is progress.
As the clowns continue their attacks more and more Americans will be drawn to support the President. A silent majority is building.
@John Gilday Why silent? If you support the corruption, lies and total lack of humanity of your candidate, you should be shouting it from the rooftops! Do I sense a little bit of shame?
1
@sugz
No not shame but a realization that the left has weaponized the msm to try and destroy President Trump his supporters and their families.
So silent support and financial support for the President and other worthy Americans is the tact that is being deployed. While the left and msm attack the President and his supporters his work is getting done. Judges, the wall, immigration reform , a roll back of globalization and its demoralization of American workers is all being achieved (silently) while the left rants and raves.
What’s the matter with the people who have worked directly with Trump? They know the inner workings and attitude of this man.
Speak up Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, HR McMaster, Jim Mattis, Dan Coats, Kristen Neilson, Nikki Haley and the others that have first hand knowledge of his inept and self serving mode of governance.
4
"All people in elective politics are interested in self-preservation."
"Until Republicans feel their existence is threatened."
"They don’t want to get bludgeoned'"
Let's back off on the rhetoric here. Nobody gets "whacked" in the mob sense because they break with the party line. Some former congressmen even manage to have productive lives after being turned out of office.
What this is really about is the embarrassment of admitting that you are wrong. Republicans bought into the advantages of chanting, as in a single voice, complete nonsense until it began to sound like truth long before they adopted Trump. Admitting that is what is so hard.
1
This is good for everybody. It's just feel good all over. The Democrats get to vote for impeachment in the House. Celebration!
Mitch tosses it in the bin. Celebration!
Trump wins like Bill Clinton but in 2024. Celebration!
Democrats get to push for a new impeachment proceeding in 2021. Celebration!
This is great. Everybody gets to have a party.
Why is everybody getting upset?
2
One word: gerrymandering.
It may not be sexy, but it's at the heart of Trump's ongoing success. Members of Congress are only concerned about their voters. In a 'normal' district map, they'd need to care about members of other parties. (True, that doesn't directly explain Senators lack of movement but it indirectly does. They too are dealing with the polarized electorate that we have thanks, in large part, to gerrymandering.
2
The Intel. IG left too many doors open in his evaluation of the complaint and the Republicans rushed right on through. For starters, he wrote about the whistleblower's "arguable political bias" favoring a rival candidate of Trump's. Not good. Remember Peter Strzok? Also, Nixon's smoking gun was an actual recording of Nixon. The whistleblower gathered materials from others and didn't listen in on the phone call with Zelensky. Hearsay! Who wants to be a victim of Trump's tweet attacks and risk losing a seat in Congress? I regard these Congressmen/women as cringing sycophants, but I sort-of understand why.
The GOP is exactly like Trump now, in it for themselves only. They have completely stopped even trying to appear that they are legislating. The only things they are interested in is staying in power and consolidating power.
2
At this point, they have to hold on to power. Otherwise, as in France after the war with the Vichy collaborators, it will start with shaved heads, tarring and feathering, and move on to the firing squad. Just a matter of time.
3
Republicans are authoritarians at heart and will be loyal even to the most base, corrupt, lying treasonous fool. It's the way their brains work. Look at the psychology and evolutionary theory on this one. They value authority and have deep fears (outsiders, death on the horizon, the unknown) that motivate them, more so than other people.
4
Here is a more simple commentary that gets to root cause. Republicans (most all of them, not just elected officials) have become increasingly authoritarian in recent years. That has left a vacuum for such a leader, as most authoritarians are followers, and fearful by their very nature. This is science. They now have their leader in Trump.
These scared, authoritarian followers will follow him to the abyss. They are too afraid to do anything else, as are the 33% of Americans that call themselves Republicans. They must be defeated and crushed, if democracy is going to survive. There is no "fixing" the GOP in the short-term.
6
I can understand the calculus that some of the more formerly high-minded Republicans may be using. If they resign or get defeated in a primary, there's a high chance they'll be replaced with a genuinely (not superficially, temporarily) pro-Trump minion. Probably a know-nothing, as well. Then, either on the "deep state" level (how is it that there isn't a better term), or when the opportunity to turn against Trump and easily convince the voters finally comes, or in the hoped for post-Trump era, that minion will continue to do damage where they hope to do some good. Personally, I think it's valid thinking, but at the same time they need to do more to convince the voters within that context. Nudge enough, publicly, in the right direction and you can help tip the balance. Fail to do so, and the consequences can be horrendous. I don't think Republican voters are -as- toxic as they seem nowadays, but that the ignorance of low-information voters (not always a pejorative; some people just aren't that into politics and news) is one of the more innocent reasons the toxic behavior is allowed to continue. Republicans who get it must do what they can to get through to these people. An additional detail is that probably, few Republican politicians--either working or retired--want to come out as strongly against Trump as they genuinely feel, because they could be risking their lives. Definitely not, I think, what the founders intended with the 2nd amd... but our reality.
For better or worse, the Republican Party has tied it’s fate to Trump’s. The opportunity to break free is in the rear view mirror and now it’s a matter of “every man for himself” — and indeed, we are talking about almost exclusively men.
If Trump goes, the Republican Party goes.
One hopes a reasonable and thoughtful conservatism will rise from the ashes, but the Republican Party of lore faded away decades ago as reasoned arguments and platforms were abandoned for propaganda and gaslighting. Trump has successfully reconfigured what was left into his personal entourage and there is, really, no independent Republican Party left.
3
The Vietnam War draft dodger and the Republican Party are at their Waterloo. Accommodation of the tyrant for self serving preservation is no virtue. GOP senators and congresspersons are compelled with addressing the hard cold facts that their chief executive's trampling upon the Constitution, ignoring Congressional subpoenas, and maligning Democratic House chairmen prosecuting the impeachment inquiry does not bode well. Racial and immigrant issues figure prominently for the GOP. Cowering under the literal intimidating weight of the occupant of the West Wing, facing implied threats that will torpedo their political longevity, now is the time for Republicans to act. Placing America before party is necessary. In August 1964 Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon and Senator Ernest Gruening of Alaska-Democrats-cast the only no votes against President Lyndon Baines Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Both senators publicly condemned the president's sleight of hand machinations that conferred absolute executive authority to wage war in Vietnam without Congressional authority. Their prophetic and tragic forecasts about America's ill fated military intervention proved prescient. These senators exhibited political courage and spine to speak truth to power. They were both right, suffering politically for their outspokenness to warn the nation of what lay ahead. They were absolutely right,their prophecy proving true. The Republicans need to standup and show that courage. No more excuses. Now.
3
This is exactly the kind of reasoning that allows someone like Hitler to rise to power. A pathological narcissist promises to reshape the world order to benefit the neglected. However corrupt that person might be, glomming on to such a person removes the responsibility of the individual (or people) to repair and/or change what is broken in society. It becomes easier to hate and lie then to mend, embrace, and rebuild.
It is also the result of a Congress and an elective system becoming so thoroughly corrupted by dark money, voter suppression, and gerrymandered districts. All elements that the late Justice John Paul Stevens stated encouraged extremism.
The GOP began selling its moral compass and the soul of this nation out decades ago when they adopted a radical anti-government, anti-regulatory stance and peppered it with scare tactics and racist underpinnings.
It is time for term limits in Congress. And it is time for people of conscience and courage to stand up and demand that truth and scientific facts be returned as a keystone for public discourse in government. To demand that our elected officials hold those who have broken our laws and trampled on our constitution be held fully accountable. As a democratic nation we have no other choice. Former Secretary Albright wasn't kidding us when she said, "See something. Do something." and wrote the book "Fascism: A Warning."
5
The traitors need Russia to help them and their corrupt treasonous leader to stay in power
4
I wish more whistleblowers would come forward to support the current one - with additional facts - and with other transgressions to force the trump-protectors in Congress to do their jobs in what would be a reality of overwhelming evidence.
This article, in tandem with the NYT book reviews today on the implosion of the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, presents two points in time on seemingly very dangerous paths.
4
Mr. Wehner, I refer you to the "Theory of Cognitive Dissonance," promulgated by social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s. According to that theory, for a Republican member of Congress to accept that he (and it's around 90% male here) has willingly and ardently supported someone as you describe would be so painful that he will bend reality to amazing distortions in order to maintain cognitive consistency. This holds as well for the nonelected base. That's the bad news, for the nation. The good news is that the rest of us, not so committed, can gather around the need to rid ourselves of this abomination as quickly as possible.
4
Complex question with a very simple answer.
The problem with Republicans is that they ended up believing their own propaganda of lies and deceit aimed at Democrats.
Now they face a situation akin to being an alcoholic. You know that your lies and alcohol addiction are hurting you and those you purport to support and love, but you refuse to accept the truth of your condition and continue to believe the lie.
3
You act as if republicans had any integrity to begin with. Not for 40 years or more. The same goes for his 'base'. They just want their way, rules or no, and the heck with The Others.
4
Once upon a time, the GOP was "the party of the grownups." Trump's genius was based in large part upon the inspiration he got from his reading materials - reportedly before he became a serious candidate, the book on his desk was a collection of speeches by Hitler. Trump understands how to tap into the grievances of Whites, which previously would have been seen as pandering to the dark side of the American culture. He also knew that the GOP had already started down this road with the Gingrich/McConnell approach to polarization for political gain.
The same grievances of low-mid-class whites (the system of social progressivism and economic elitism has failed us, and THEY are to blame) coupled with residual and outright racism in the country, became the cultural code of the Trump GOP. It's powerful narcotic of tribalism that has trapped the GOP in a form of addiction. Some in the GOP know it was always wrong, but to disclaim it now is to betray the tribe, and withdrawal can kill you.
Either senior members of the GOP will risk this and start talking truth to the GOP tribe, as Trump has crystalized it in place, or the nation will truly become a two-tier political structure, ripe for conflict. US - the tribe - versus THEM, with neither finding cultural, political or moral common ground. It makes the country ripe for an attack by outside forces that can sense this weakness.
3
Very well said.
Explains Trump"s obsession with getting dirt on Hillary and Biden. He needs everyone down in the dirt with him to mitigate the moral compromise faced by Trump supporters.
1
It’s not a difficult question, though you may dislike the answer: “Trumpism” is a synonym for proto-fascism. It is about mind-control and unification of the supportive minority via fear-politics and demagoguery. Of course, there are other, dastardly implications there too. But the undying public support is just allegiance to the strongman, the dear leader.
8
Hillary Clinton's famous remarks from 3 years ago are worth remembering:
“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” Clinton said. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”
Depressingly, the Republican party and its leadership have embraced the basket of deplorables in an effort to disguise their utter failure to act in the interests of the rest of the country - including the other Trump supporters in 2016, who Clinton characterized as people who “feel that the government has let them down” and are “desperate for change.”
7
If Trump suspended the Constitution tomorrow and made himself dictator for life, Republicans would cheer.
In Trump, the racist Evangelicals of the GOP finally have a President who doesn’t believe in diversity and only cares about white people.
The idea of this country becoming a multi-racial and ethnic democracy offends Republicans. Republicans believe that only white Evangelicals should exercise power.
2
Isn't also possible that some of thsese Republicans are implicated in Trump's scandals so have to stick with him and help cover everything up? If it weren't for the whistleblower we wouldn't know half of the stuff the Dems are focusing on for impeachement.
3
GAWD, sounds so hopeless. Both sides desperately want a post-trump world, but each sees advantages over the other in the current situation.
In particular, T has become the R's bull dog - advancing the message far beyond the realm of reason/logic/decorum, allowing them to then back peddle to mere outrageous and unfounded.
In such circumstances, attacking only reinforces the relationship.
The D's own the moral (and legal) ground and see an opportunity to not only punish the R's, but weaken the R's for a generation. This reinforces the R's situational loyalty (fake relationship) to T.
What is required is a strategy that weakens the T-R relationship. As any worthy seductor or seductress knows, you empathize with both spouses and then exploit weaknesses.
Attack T's fear of losing (given the opportunity he will throw his entire administration under the bus) by offering to forgive his transgressions for political favors (his game, our rules). This undercuts the R's reason for their support - once his loyalty to their "causes" is suspect, their support will weaken (more carnage under the bus). Simultaneously, offer the R's salvation by letting them reclaim ownership of Presidential morality. It would be good for the country to have the R's lead the Impeachment.
1
This dude is perfect for them
1) He signs the bills ( aka The Grover Norquist "working digits" doctrine ), and appoints whomever they want to the bench
2) He does all the dirty work - threats, intimidation, insinuation, you name it, he'll do it
3) He deflects all the blame onto himself ("we're powerless to stop him ... " )
4) Will eventually be the perfect scapegoat ( "he held us all hostage ... " )
2
Even before his shakedown of Ukraine's president, Trump was a supporter of neo-Nazis, a businessman who stiffed his contractors and students of his so-called university, fired people gleefully, cheated on wives, used racist and vulgar terms, and cozied up to dictators while insulting our allies. Yet even "former" Republican officials and aides could not speak out against a man so lacking in character and decency openly, "requested anonymity in order to speak freely." Did you ask them what they feared? That mere request says everything we need to know about today's Republican Party. Cowards, one and all.
6
My theory is much simpler The Russians are masters of kompromat. The Russians want trump as president. Did Putin give compromising information about Graham, McConnell, Barr, etc. to trump who uses this to blackmail them into defending him and singing his praises I have thought this from the very beginning
3
Grab a hot poker, and try to pull your hand away. You will lose a lot of skin in a very painful way. The Republicans are afraid of the pain, but may finally start to realize that if they don't let go now, they will lose the whole hand.
2
To quote the great documentary, The Matrix, vis-a-vis the Trumpublican party:
No, lieutenant, your men are already dead.
Lots of modified aphorisms can answer your question: why hop from the Republican pan into the Democrat fire? The Republican devil you know is better than the Democrat devil you don’t know. Of course, we actually do know the Dems pretty well, and they are s pretty despicable bunch. Have you seen Dem Rep Tlaib’s new re-election t-shirt? Heard Rep Schiff read a fake transcript excerpt, watched AOCs silly jellybean popping end of the world videos, etc, etc? And Trump gave, and will continue to give, conservative Supreme Court justices. Would the Dems even in these metoo years keep Bill Clinton in office after the Lewinsky incident (most powerful man in world takes advantage of young naive intern in the White House)? Yes you would because abortion rights and other issues were more important than a President’s character flaws.
In a word: spine-ectomy. Seems they've all had their backbones removed, and, as a consequence, cannot stand up. To anyone. Or for anything. Pitiful, isn't it?
2
Why won't they break away? Because they are all bandits, plain and simple.
1
"Why has Mr. Trump, an ethical wreck of a man both before and after he reached the White House, earned such fealty from Republicans?" Because they are all like him in all respects - morally, ethically, vindictively, egocentrically, etc. It's in the Republican DNA.
The fact there were plenty of qualified Republican candidates with conservative policies and a history and record to prove their conservative bona fides - something trump never had - he was a liberal on many issues! - Republicans willfully and intentionally decided to vote for the known corrupt immoral criminal, conman, buffoon, liar and abuser of women, contractors and students. In spite of all we now know they still support him. Indeed, are they still misdiagnosing him?
Trump represents the best Republicans can come up with to lead this country.
It's all about the psychology of vindictiveness. As trump bludgeons others, even Republicans who fall out of line, they visualize it as an extension of themselves doing the bludgeoning - accommodating of what they wish to get away with over others - like rooting for the villain in a movie. Indeed, trump cheats, breaks rules and pulls fast ones on their behalf. They are co-conspirators in this con and mess!
“Owning the libs” is self-harming too - like killing the environment - they don't realize it or don't care.
Trump removed the Republican mask exposing it's naked "morally disfigured" id. "Find its way back"? They've discredited themselves for as long as I'm alive!
2
An old saying comes to mind: “When you dance with the devil, the devil doesn’t change. The devil changes you.”
4
When the GOP hopped aboard the Trump Titanic I thought they'd likely all go down with this lawless president once the facts came out. Now I think that Trump's muddled the waters enough that he might only take out himself, Pence and those closest to him out. The GOP leadership likely can distance itself. They just need to get rid of him. Guess we'll see.
1
We are very likely witnessing the greatest con job that the world has ever seen.
1
Why is Ukraine so important to Trump and Putin? It's at the heart of Trump-Russia, as I note here https://realcontextnews.com/how-cohens-and-manaforts-ukraine-ties-tell-the-deeper-story-of-trump-russia-and-the-mueller-probe/ Also, as Giuliani embarrasses himself over Ukraine and Biden, a look at Rudy's own shady ties to Ukraine and the Russian mafia https://realcontextnews.com/rudy-giulianis-kislin-connection-raises-issues-for-his-role-as-trumps-russia-lawyer-exclusive-analysis/ And with Trump using his official power as POTUS in conducting foreign policy to target Joe Biden, we may have his most explicit attempt to make govt into his own personal political tool for hurting his political enemies, part of a trend with him/GOP I note here https://realcontextnews.com/trump-gop-destroying-the-pillars-of-democracy/ On impeachment, I believe that Trump should have been impeached some time ago, but practical considerations make this issue much more complicated, as I noted before here https://realcontextnews.com/the-impeachment-of-donald-trump-russias-victory/ And let's not forget the main opening chapter in this whole saga, what I call the Russo-American Cyberwar of 2016. See the big-picture you haven't read about in my take here: https://realcontextnews.com/the-first-russo-american-cyberwar-how-obama-lost-putin-won-ensuring-a-trump-victory/ Trump telling the Russians in 2017 he wasn't concerned about election interference is grossly unacceptable after what happened.
Why is Ukraine so important to Trump and Putin? It's at the heart of Trump-Russia, as I note here https://realcontextnews.com/how-cohens-and-manaforts-ukraine-ties-tell-the-deeper-story-of-trump-russia-and-the-mueller-probe/ Also, as Giuliani embarrasses himself over Ukraine and Biden, a look at Rudy's own shady ties to Ukraine and the Russian mafia https://realcontextnews.com/rudy-giulianis-kislin-connection-raises-issues-for-his-role-as-trumps-russia-lawyer-exclusive-analysis/ And with Trump using his official power as POTUS in conducting foreign policy to target Joe Biden, we may have his most explicit attempt to make govt into his own personal political tool for hurting his political enemies, part of a trend with him/GOP I note here https://realcontextnews.com/trump-gop-destroying-the-pillars-of-democracy/ On impeachment, I believe that Trump should have been impeached some time ago, but practical considerations make this issue much more complicated, as I noted before here https://realcontextnews.com/the-impeachment-of-donald-trump-russias-victory/ And let's not forget the main opening chapter in this whole saga, what I call the Russo-American Cyberwar of 2016. See the big-picture you haven't read about in my take here: https://realcontextnews.com/the-first-russo-american-cyberwar-how-obama-lost-putin-won-ensuring-a-trump-victory/ Trump telling the Russians in 2017 he wasn't concerned about election interference is grossly unacceptable after what happened.
" Mr. Trump has “conditioned people in the base so much so that it’s just ‘us versus them’ "
This conditioning is not Mr. Trumps doing but the Republican Party's doing and they've been doing it for the past 40 years.
It seems the "useful idiots" of the past - the rank and file - have turned the tables. Good for them.
Sorry but I find it very difficult to muster any compassion for a Republican Party that that has devolved into a manipulating and opportunistic shell. It's pathetic if the sources in this essay want sympathy. They should instead grow a spine and show some leadership.
The transformation of Lindsey Graham into cockroach was preceded by this from Graham in 2016:
“I want to talk to the Trump supporters for a moment. I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know why you like this guy," he began. "I think what you like about him is he appears to be strong and the rest of us are weak. He’s a very successful businessman and he’s going to make everything great."
"He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot," Graham continued. "He doesn't represent my party. He doesn't represents the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. ... He's the ISIL man of the year."
4
Nixon's resignation did not help the Republican Party nor the established Republican leadership, it hurt both. Trump's fall would probably work even more powerfully against Republicans.
It's odd that the party that views itself as the Constitutional strict constructionists won't call out the President whose actions threaten the Constitution.
3
Real easy to talk about moral superiority, adherence to Rule of Law, helping the common man, standing on principle, social responsibility, justice for all, and universal prosperity when one is in the minority.
The GOP has in the majority for quite some time. One day their voters will ask for results. But not today.
"Why won't the Republicans break away from their unwavering support for the present occupant of the Oval Office?"
That's easy to answer: they are fearful of alienating their 'natural constituency' across the country, and thus, facing the prospect of being SOUNDLY THRASHED in November 2020, losing control of both the Senate and the White House -- while the Democrats manage to maintain their majority in the House. (As well as losing to the Democrats a spate of state governorships and legislatures.)
To quote the Bard: " 'Tis a dream devoutly to be wished."
4
This is the same underlying psychology that was brought to light in the famous Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Experiment.
It is also what explains how previously decent German citizens became Auschwitz guards who led millions of Jews to their deaths.
Never think it couldn't happen here. People are mostly the same all over the world.
Another good one to read up on is the Lifeboat Theory.
That explains what's happening at the border.
4
"Why, then, are so many Republicans yet again circling the Trump wagon rather than taking this opportunity to denounce what the president did and declare some independence from him by doing so?"
It's obvious if you, y'know, go talk to an actual Republican.
- They like what they call his straight talk.
- They don't believe what they think are lies from the Left.
- They love his getting rid of regulations.
- They love his judicial nominations.
- They love his agenda.
- They think that folks who support open borders, coddle illegals, want to take away their guns, and want to steal their money and give it to the poor are sick, evil, liberals.
- They will not ever, ever, ever, denounce, renounce, back away from, separate themselves from, etc. someone they view as a hero.
You want to win in 2016? Get your head out of your class.
Stop talking about free rides to elite universities and start talking about putting red America back to work with real jobs.
@Omar
Yes. I have observed just that. The GOP talks about jobs, getting back to work, better healthcare. The strange thing to me, is that they never have to deliver, and they still get the votes. I mean, those districts remain some of the poorest in our country. Of course, a lot of winning those GOP seats is that the Dems are too ineffectual to even try to compete.
Republican members of congress seem to believe that they were elected to represent the interests of the Republican party; but they were elected (yes, by a Republican majority presumably) to represent the interests of ALL of their constituents. The oath they swore was to uphold the interests of America and the U.S. Constitution, not the interests of the Republican party. To uphold the interests of the Republican Party (or themselves) at the cost of the interests of America is, in a word, treasonous.
Their responsibility is to not only create the laws of this country, but also to UPHOLD the laws. Ignoring (or justifying) the violation of laws for personal (and / or party) gain is an abdication of their responsibilities accepted with the oath of office, plain and simple.
7
I appreciate that neither of the major political parties is pure. But that is not the issue at hand. It is not about Republicans or Democrats and should not be positioned that way.
It is about respect for the Constitution, the rule of law, the safety of our country. Just because we feel someone else has done wrong it does not condone our doing it.
There is such a thing as right and wrong, legal and illegal. And we must respect that, it is the basis of our society and stature in the world, and ultimately our self respect and morality.
3
#s...
If Trump is dumped, or just dissed, by any Hill GOP, odds are the T-wrecks dead enders stay home. Given that is maybe more than half the GOP vote...political suicide.
That is also why running Pence instead won't work now. That train left the station Jan 20 2019. He will lose worse than T.
So the only choice is to go down with Ahab at the helm (Capt Queeg?) and the survivors clinging to the flotsam can rebuild a party in December 2020.
4
The Republican Party's moral center died with John McCain.
8
@Red Rat
The same John McCain who was excoriated by Obama and his minions.
These subservient Republican Senators and House Representatives are disrespectful of the Constitution , disregard the rule of law and ignore dignity and integrity.
Their egos come before the Country to the point of being unpatriotic.
Shame on them !
6
If Bill Clinton or Barack Obama asked Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political rival in exchange for American aid, I hope our country would impeach them. This isn't about party anymore.
7
@Scot The press would have ignored it. And Trump didn't ask Ukraine to dig up dirt. That's not in the transcript. The Ukraine prez was talking about draining the swamp, getting rid of corruption. Trump mentioned the Biden affair in response. While Biden may have a defense for what happend (including how his son got the board seat) on the surface it looks like a corrupt use of power and should be investigated. The left simply wants to ignore that part of the story.
Choose one, or both.
1. They are making out like bandits
2. Kompromat
3
I'm being objective here, as I'm observing this from European person's viewpoint...it is chilling to see how low most Republicans have sunk. At best, it's a cult-like mentality; at worst their language is that of the moronic stooges who worshipped Hitler.
10
Trump is scary, but some of the notions implicit in adherence to them are even scarier. Consider the reference to tribalism. This will be the last or lowest rung on the latter of descent into a very primitive state. We are headed that way with the rejection of multilateral alliances, partnerships, trade, etc., and the embrace by some of a renewed nationalism. But this will be a nationalism not of unity but of subjection of one tribe by another and the exploitation of the national social, economic, and governmental apparatus by one tribe at the expense of another. And that sort of spiral will not end with some sort of reconciliation or accommodation by the tribes, but will end up in the extermination of all tribes but one. Which, frankly, fits well into the Trumpist view of things.
1
As the human genome mapping project continues, I’d challenge scientists to dedicate some time to help solve one of the more inscrutable problems facing modern day America. Namely, are there genetic factors that explain the chasm-sized differences in people who identify as Democrats and those who identify as Republicans?
By any measure, and I expect, in any civil society, Donald Trump IS a vile human being.
How does one explain the overwhelming continuing support for Trump among Republicans? The unabashed, overweening defense and praise by politicians who once denounced him?
How does one explain why men who spent decades constructing impeccable reputations, have been willing to have them demolished in order to rescue a man whose own reputation is objectively, one colored by self-interest, immersed in deceit, encased in immorality , AND, who may have loudly, publicly disparaged them in the past?
Maybe, they can’t help it. It’s in their DNA.
Let’s do the mapping and find out. I understand that there are many “science deniers” who will never believe, but those of us who embrace truth, will no longer need to ask ourselves, “What’s wrong with these people?”
3
I am a proud constituent of Adam Schiff who at times has seemed to be all that stands between a free America and a Putin government in Washington!
I would prefer Trump be arrested and jailed why the remaining investigations take place but I will trust Congressman Schiff's judgement as I always have.
Pelosi is wise to put this matter in his hands!
4
One only needs to compare the comments from Lindsey Graham about Donald Trump prior to his nomination, and what Mr. Graham says now, to see the problem. Trump did not create the self-serving hypocrisy of modern day Republicanism, he is the inevitable result of it.
6
I think it's time to consult Primatologists about what happens to the wounded bully-alpha. He gets set upon and killed by the other males, acting in-concert.
Just guessing here, but there's very likely a whispering afoot among GOPers as to when and how to raise their hands against this particular wounded bully. So far, we've only heard that they'd boot him if it could be done anonymously, but once they reach consensus, the "Goldwater Visit" (now the Romney Visit?) may follow swiftly.
2
There seems to be a large segment of the population who are not willing to hand it all to the Democrats. They do not appear to trust them entirely enough to become a sea of blue. Democrats should really ask themselves what they are doing that makes people wary of them. They have great policies overall, much better than Republicans. My own take is that there is a fear of overreaching and encroaching on other people's sovereignty. Trump himself mentioned this in his UN speech. There is a fear of hypocrisy, of not respecting personal property, and of not achieving a fair ruling if they are accused of something. And of not being forgiven. Hence they stick with the guy who won't judge them at all.
@CJ As an addendum, there are also just those Trump's court who want to get away with bad behavior and reject law enforcement, good governance and rules. There is no excusing that behavior.
1
This is what is the matter with Republicans: Their own gain first, country last.
3
I gagged at the sentence " Republicans could support Mr. Trump's agenda while simultaneously condemning his corrupt behavior." What agenda would that be? Deny science and facts? Start trade wars that are ill-advised, ill-planned, and have resulted in severe hardships for Americans? Or is it the trillions of dollars in tax breaks to corporations? Maybe it's weakening of the environmental regulations? Or perhaps putting migrant children in jails? There isn't one thing that the republicans or this president has done so far that will support humanity as a whole, or preserve human dignity. Because they don't understand either. For them, greed trumps all, and for that they will go to any length. Today's republicans have lost all pretense of being human beings, let alone a decent one at that.
2
Why won't Republicans take this chance to break away? Perhaps, they are not Republicans by your grandfather's standard. Perhaps, they are more closely characterized as Russian. If they are Russian, there is no point to break away.
2
Republicans didn't lose their way in the era of Trump; they lost it well before Trump possibly being causal to Trump. Reagan had Iran Contra and possibly meddled pre-election to delay hostage release; Bush was complicit too and had previously tried to help Nixon. Gingrich started the idea of total obstruction which McConnell took to a new level denying votes and confirmation hearings totally against democratic norms and adverse to Constitutional order, Bush committed fraud to take us to Iraq. Only after all these messes and many more did we get Trump. So, would you really expect them to break?
2
Mr Wehner is taking the bait and rationalizing one of the Presidents irrelevant defenses. In short, talk of a qui pro quo becomes a defense that misses the point. The President asked a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a political rival, full stop. That is illegal for a President to do. This isn't complicated. Does this illegal act warrant impeachment? That is the question.
3
This is very uncomplicated.
The GOP are so beholden to foreign campaign money and technical assistance (read into that what you will) that they have no choice but to stick with Trump.
They are so compromised - financially, morally, legally and ethically - that Trump is able to keep them in line because of the information his foreign accomplices have compiled to use as a Damocles Sword.
To wit, why is it that every. single. time. a republican member of Congress even mildly voices complaint, he or she is on record reversing course 180 degrees only hours later? This is more than just the threat of Tweet retaliation from an insane Cheeto with opposable thumbs.
Mark my words: If this president is willing to hold up aid in return for assurances from a foreign country to dig up dirt on his political opponents, that pales in comparison to the methods by which he uses to extort and control his party members.
1
After watching the Netflix special The Family, I think I know why Republicans stay with 45. No doubt many republicans find him to be selfish, narcissistic and odious. That said he’s given the GOP everything they’ve ever wanted: massive deregulation, the near elimination of abortion rights, a reshaped judiciary with a right leaning Supreme Court, curbed voting rights to counterbalance changing demographics, massive tax cuts for the wealthy and an insurgent theocratic state. 45 is the Wolf King mentioned in this Netflix documentary. All the while Democrats have played checkers while the Republicans have played chess to establish minority rule for decades. Only time (and informed voters) will tell if the GOP will pay for its Faustian bargain. Turns out American democracy is much more fragile than we ever believed.
7
Campaign finance. Bernie’s been saying it for years
3
Trump has merely magnified what the Republican party is at it's core: 50+ mostly older, white male, millionaires enriching themselves and posturing for power. Not a statesperson left in the Republican party.
3
Trump is now willfully calling for civil war and bloodshed. Beware!
“The greater the compromise, the more fierce the justification for it — and the greater the need to denounce those who call them out for their compromise.”
2
93% of Republican support the President's policies because he reflects and represents their own beliefs and values so much so that they give him a pass on everything. Any Republican lawmaker who would split with Trump and any Republican Senator who would vote to remove Trump would face a primary with 93% of Republican participants voting against him/her. it would be political suicide, not that these Republicans got in to office with high ideals about serving America, rather they were paid for by the oligarch class paying for their political ads e,g, Koch Bro's and NRA. So are you (America) really surprised by this?
2
Because their constituents like the “no holds barred, racism is okay, social safety nets are communism” pablum of the Trump team. That they will be mowed down by the Trump train never occurs to them. They also believe they’re going to win the lottery so they better make sure they won’t have to pay taxes when they are rich. Not smart, but Trump likes them that way.
2
Just read the comments here by the Republicans who keep supporting Trump, despite the crocodile tears they shed because they find him unseemly. The thing that they all have in common is hating liberals and fearing strangers. Thus they will support anyone who agrees, and will continue to fall back on false equivalencies like suggesting that anything Bill Clinton might have done is no different from the string of horrors Trump has done. Lying about an affair is exactly the same as shaking down a foreign leader for your own political gain as far as they're concerned. As long as Republicans believe this, and base their politics on hatred of liberals (along with blacks, immigrants, women, LBGT people etc.) they will never stop supporting Trump. It's really not that complicated. The politics of fear and loathing, which always, everywhere has been the foundation of the reactionary party - which is what the Republican Party now is in the United States - permits no other response to the world. They Republicans will never change, until they are thoroughly defeated politically and discredited intellectually. Don't hold your breath.
5
All I know is that the Republican party will never get another vote from me for as long as they keep this up. I used to vote for local Republicans, but no longer. It's going to be Democrat, Independent, or nobody from here on out unless their national party dumps Trump and everything he represents.
Why? Because we the people are ultimately responsible for this despicable farce of a presidency. The threat of retribution by the millions of people who voted for this fool is being used now to bludgeon otherwise decent Republicans into supporting a man with deep character flaws, autocratic tendencies, complete disrespect for the office he holds, and a dangerous penchant for corruption. The only way this ends well is if we the people put a stop to it with our votes.
4
Asking "What's the Matter With Republicans?" was answered in the first sentence in your first paragraph Peter.
Goes something like this; "In a sane world..."
Peter; My right honourable friend!!! There is your answer. We are no longer in a sane world, something the media missed from day one during the president's campaign. I'll go a step further and say it's something the media seems to like. After all, the pres has been constantly rewarded with free air-time during and after his campaign. Can you understand why the Republicans would do the same?
So here is my question Peter. When did you, along with so many others, come to the realization that things like "morals" no longer matter?
The president gave us so many "in-your-face" clues Peter, one of which you cited in this Op-Ed, yet only now, some three years later, the question is "What's the Matter...?"
We love you Peter. Seriously. I really mean it. You seem to carry morals on your sleeve, just as many of us try to do the same.
That said, try not to allow your morals to hinder you from calling out ridiculous behavior from the time you see it, especially in individuals from whom we expect better.
1
If you have the capacity to look at the transcript objectively, you would see why Repubs aren't setting their hair on fire over this.
First, the left wing media have misrepresented the transcript -- no where does Trump ask Zelensky to dig up dirt on his political rivals. He mentions the Biden incident that is well known and not contested by the dems as something the Ukraine should look into. After all, if Zelensky is trying to get rid of corruption, then we certainly don't want our politicians interfering in their internal politics or taking advantage of corruption -- Biden, for example, needs to explain how Hunter got that nice little board seat for $50k a month.
Basically Trump made his comment in response to Zelensky talking about draining his swamp. The purpose of the call was to congratulate Zelensky. There wasn't a quid pro quo. There wasn't a follow up call asking how the investigation was going nor did Trump suggest a date for when he needed the investigation completed.
The call was pretty much a nothing. The left has been looking for some reason to impeach Trump since he was elected so they have no credibility on this issue. First it's Russia, then it's he's mentally incompetent, then it's obstruction, then it's racism or some other made up garbage. Now it's the Ukraine. Good luck. This will blow up in the dems faces.
2
Why should we? Best president in my lifetime. Sure he’s rough around the edges but he works hard, we like the policies, and he fights for middle class America. 2 Supreme Court picks, over 150 federal judges, tax cut, border security, criminal justice reform, reforming trade, over 10,000 sex traffickers arrested on federal warrants, etc etc. Trump is a pragmatic machine trying to solve issues. What does the Democrat Party have to offer? So far all I’ve heard is impeachment & socialism. That’s not a good message and Democrats certainly don’t have a good messenger.
Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come here to praise trump, not to bury him.
If not for him, the republican party would be doing all that they are doing now but the people would still believe the charade and lies that the RNC has been foisting upon us for the past 40+ years.
The evil that repubs do lives after them;
The good (whatever little that they did!) is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with the GOP
1
Rats without even the courage to abandon a sinking ship.
2
The pendulum of political thought really does swing back and forth. When Barack Obama was elected he was smart, moral, well educated and a loving family man with an excess of apathy and social conscience. Then the pendulum swung to the other extreme and we got Donald Trump. The anti-Obama. The Bizarro World version of Obama. The "opposite day" version of Obama. I hope Americans stand up for our Constitution next year, but I'm afraid so many of the wishy washy middle roaders will pout and not vote. Maybe the young voters and non-voters will wake up and throw this abomination of a President and his followers, the GOP out with the trash.
What this comes down to, despite all the psychoanalysis, is knowing the difference between right and wrong. Any Republican who has reached the point where criticizing Trump amounts to criticizing self, needs to take a look in the mirror. Is this me? Is this what or who I have become? Really? And when the honest ones say no, they need to then ask, is the me of before? And if the answer is no, s/he must ask, how can I in good conscience support this man? How can I put my re-election before my country? Jeff Flake asked these questions and put his integrity and his country first. (and says it again today in a WPost op ed). I think the Lindsay Graham we see now is the real Graham, that the McCain's last years Graham was a temporary detour, and he'll look in the mirror and like what he sees. To the extent others see a similar image, hopefully the voters will see it too, smell the stench, and vote them out.
1
Thank you. Great article. May those Republicans with true courage, inner strength and integrity, realize they actually can and must stop circling their wagons around this toxic, destructive, amoral bully unworthy of the Oval Office.
Anybody who ask the question "What's the matter with Republicans and dosen't mention Fox news is cleary out of touch.
All this talk about Trump means nothing. Fox is in control now and he is their cash cow.
1
These 21st century Republicans are not acting like Lincoln Republicans. They are acting more like members of the National Socialist German Worker's Party in lock-step with everything Trump says and does.
2
Would you risk your job for your country? This will not end well. It can only escalate.
2
The are Trump want to Be's.
Proud to corrupt.
Proud to divide.
Proud to Lie.
They are scared of the future.
They are unable to Govern the Present.
The reasons that the majority of republican politicians support and protect the most corrupt president ever is that they are as unfit to serve and corrupt as he is. They don't represent what is best for all Americans. Quite the opposite. Forget about clean water, clean air, safe roads, access to decent affordable healthcare, education, childcare, job training. and most importantly addressing climate change. The list of issues being neglected by these self serving crooks is shamefully long. Just one look at the out of control deficit tells the tale. Their hypocrisy is is outrageous.
3
His fans are the fans of professional wrestling. Trump is Gorgeous George.
2
The S&P 500 rose today, on track to enter the fourth quarter with its biggest year-to-date gain in more than two decades. Keep spinning your wheels Democrats--you will be losing in 2020. This writer thinks Republicans should join the Democrats in their war on prosperity—it will not happen. Vote for America--Vote Republican.
The Democrats have taken a page out of the Republican playbook. When you don't have a winner in your lineup, Vote to Impeach. It's just business as usual. Nothing to get upset about. Mitch will toss it in the bin. Vote in 2020. Good luck to all.
1
If the Republican party had been in a healthy place prior to the 2016 election, they would have banned from the debate stage a candidate who espoused birtherism and still claimed the Central Park Five are guilty, on the grounds that he was as vile as David Duke.
2
So it seems to me the real, deeper question to ask is, what's wrong with the true believers, because I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would love to sell to them
Claiming that Adam Schiff should be arrested for treason claiming that spies are responsible for The Whistleblower complaint are all indications the Trump has slipped his gears and probably ought to be put into a straight jacket under the 25th Amendment. Senator Graham and representative Kevin McCarthy would make good companions for him in the mental institution.
4
The bulk of Republicans benefit from the policies of Trump and have very low psych empathy scores.
1
It is honestly astounding to me that any member of the GOP continues to support President Trump. The rotation of die-hard supporters on the Sunday morning political talk shows left me aghast. (Jim Jordan's shouting "But Hunter Biden made $50k per month!" over and over again and refusing to make eye contact with Jake Tapper was both amusing and infuriating.) Furthermore, it seems every day another sane Republican is announcing departure from Congress at the end of his term. If removed, Vice President Pence will become president, so what's the hold up? With Trump in office, the country ricochets from one crisis to another. Pence appears to be emotionally stable and is not prone to Twitter rages inciting domestic and international incidents, which would be a dramatic improvement over what we have now. Seriously, what's stopping the GOP from kicking Trump to the curb? Curious minds need to know!
It's too late, and they must hope that they will be 'saved' in 2020. But the stain will remain for the remainder of their political careers, long or short. The voters will remember.
1
@BroncoBob
"The voters will remember."
Really???
The obvious conclusion is we are dealing with a physiological problem. Can we find a solution without an olive branch? I don't think so. We must come together and be inclusive with our advisories. That's not to say we ignore transgressions. We're simply giving others the opportunity to reverse their decisions without shame. The solution is not: we're right, you're wrong, we win, get over it. We know who's right. We have to be the bigger force, the force that knows we're right, thus we don't have to prove it, thus we can do what's necessary to move on. Because, in the end, we need to move on and restore order.
Mr. Wehner condemns Republican members of Congress for declining to ignore the wishes of the Republican voters in regard to President Trump. His moralistic critique is conveniently aimed at Republican politicians, but his real beef is with the Republican voters to whom those politicians are accountable. Mr. Wehner, comfortably ensconced in his Beltway sinecure, dismisses politicians’ desire to faithfully reflect the views of their constituents as venal “self-interest.” To the contrary, the Republican politicians he criticizes are merely doing what they’re supposed to do in a democratic republic.
Mr. Wehner should come clean and acknowledge that the real reason he left the Republican Party is that he has little in common with the party’s voters.
3
Republicans have blithely hitched their wagon to a submarine and seem determined to follow Donald Trump to complete destruction.
3
I think the broader psychological issue is the attitude of half the country.
You know the same people who drive on the same roads, visit the same beaches and grocery stores, have kids on the same teams, watch the same movies.....
What is going on?
Is there really such differences?
There seems to be a way of looking at world that is just different and that difference leads half the country to support Trump. What is THAT psychological profile ?
The Republicans in Congress are only mimicking their constituents .... NOT leading them. Could it be Trump is also mimicking his voters and NOT the other way around.
Is America made up of a bunch of egotistical greedy liars, philanderers, cheaters and bullies?
Yes, it probably is. That is the real issue. Trump is just the face of it.
3
@Steve
That “difference” is a fear of change and the belief that America was created by and for straight, white males of European heritage.
Goodness me! and do we need a guillotine as well? How very archaic we are, living in some kind of strange fantasy world... his apartment in Trump Tower does remind me of Versailles...
He should step down before things get weirder. Republicans, if your listening, use some commonsense and realize that to defend this rhetoric implicates you in an attempt to circumvent the established laws of the republic to the ruination of all. The republican party, with its "win at all costs" tactics has facilitated this, and Trump is out of control. There is no spin here, he is a treasonous, self serving despot who wants to be King. No the Democrats are not perfect, but our democracy is at a stand-still. If leaders(of both parties) refuse to lead, what happens next? It's time to move forward with vision and reconciliation.
What's the matter with Republicans? Have you gone back to history and see how they've treated minorities? Of course you think this isn't normal, but for minorities like me? it is just another regular day.
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I laugh when I hear the tired, old “own the Libs” trope. I feel like it’s now the Libs who “own the Cons” because the Trump years have shown how hypocritical and duplicitous the Republican Party and their supporters truly are. Moral Majority? Yeah, right.
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Because Trump is the apotheosis of the contemporary Republican party. The corruption, the science denial, the admiration for authoritarians, the disdain for the middle, working, and lower class, their thinly-veiled disgust for women and people of color in positions of power, the contempt for expertise and truth, the eagerness to undermine democracy to win--these are the Republican party's core values now. They did not begin with Trump. Trump just finally said the quiet part out loud.
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Trump is the leader of a cult of personality. Every indicator of cult behavior lies flagrantly exposed in Trump's "leadership."
I worry about Trump's great group suicide call. He's dropping hints of super-extra Constitutional acts, like arresting Adam Schiff for treason and going after the whistle blower and associated sources of his malfeasance. He has his pack of unscrupulous lawyers actively breaking the law by hiding his dirty laundry. Honestly, how can you get the Republicans to snap out of it before it's too late?
I continue to believe there are more people free of the Fox News zombie disease than there are Trump supporters. These Republicans should set their sights on that fact. It could be their lifeline.
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Are you kidding? Probably 50% of GOP voters are white supremacists in one form or another. It has been like this for decades. White supremacists voted for Trump and that was the only reason that kept the GOP relevant in politics.
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