It’s Time
I am tired. Tired of the betrayal of American values that is the Trump Administration. Tired of being told that “elections have consequences.” Tired of pretending that the Trump election was legitimate, and that we should honor the results.
There is a “rumor” floating now, that Republicans will acquiesce in a Trump impeachment or resignation, “…as soon as Kavanaugh is confirmed, the midterms are over, and another tax cut is passed.” They will get their agenda complete, then throw Trump to the wolves. What has become of the “honor” of the Republican Party?
They made a “deal with the Devil” in April of 2016, when the leaders, particularly Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, determined to allow the Trump candidacy to continue. They decided that it was more important to keep the “Trump voter” on the Republican side, then to worry about an actual Trump Presidency. They knew, then, that he was unfit to be the President of the United States. But they, like everyone else, presumed he would lose, and in losing, give the benefit of his voters to elect a Republican Congress.
They continued the deal, even after the Access Hollywood tape. They fought the Obama Administration’s attempts to warn the nation of Russian interference. They wanted their majority in Congress, and they were willing to do anything to get it. They made sure that there was enough pressure on James Comey that he felt it necessary to interfere in the final days of the campaign. What they didn’t plan on, at least I hope, is the effectiveness of the Russian influence on the election. They didn’t plan on the incredibly dangerous alliance between the “psycho-profiling” of Cambridge Analytica, the divisiveness of the Russian social media campaign, and the still untold story of Russian hacking into the election system.
We don’t know that Trump really “won,” we weren’t allowed to recount the votes in Detroit, and we aren’t allowed to consider the possibility that other states were hacked. It has “been determined” that it didn’t happen, yet drip-by-drip we hear of more digital incursions into voting systems. It was 77,744 votes out of 130,000,000 that determined the outcome – and we just don’t know.
We do know that there is growing evidence of the influence of Russian intelligence on the Trump Campaign. We do know that the President has “bowed down” to Putin, and has espoused a foreign policy that could have been written in the Kremlin. We saw that policy again yesterday, when National Security Advisor John Bolton attacked the World Court, denigrating their authority. We know that the future of Syria is being decided without our involvement, even as our troops remain at risk. And we know that the Trump Presidency has done everything it can to weaken the Western Alliance. We suspect that we have a President who is somehow compromised (kompromat) by the Russians.
Mark Hanna, the political boss of Republican Ohio in the 1890’s and backer of President William McKinley made his “deal” by putting Teddy Roosevelt on the ticket as Vice President in 1900. WhenMcKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in September of 1901, Roosevelt ascended to the Presidency. Hanna is famously quoted as saying, “Now look!! That damned cowboy is President of the United States.”
Perhaps Ryan and McConnell said something similar. And perhaps they were hoping that, like Teddy Roosevelt, Donald Trump would surprise them and become a strong President. Or perhaps they thought they could surround him with “adults in the room” who would lift up his Presidency, or at least protect the United States from the excesses of his actions. It didn’t happen.
They were the leaders of their party, and they didn’t have the RIGHT to risk our nation on such an unsound bargain. They were supposed to be PATRIOTS and instead chose this dangerous path to get the partisan benefits. And WE are the ones now paying the price for their bargain. But they are not.
I am tired of pretending that it’s OK. It’s not, and out nation is suffering. Paul Ryan, the “Hamlet-like” figure in this drama, will leave the action and return to Janesville, Wisconsin (probably to increase his fortune through lobbying.) McConnell will continue in the Senate, though it wouldn’t surprise me, should the Democrats gain a Senate majority, if he too left to increase his bank accounts. They will “dip out” and take their money with them. And we Americans are stuck with the mess.
They, and the rest of the Republican Party, including the “good” members who have acquiesced in their leadership decisions, are to blame (“Hear-Hear” for John Kasich!!) They should stop lining their pockets with tax cuts. They should stop their long-term plan to distort America by turning the Supreme Court over to the Federalist Society. They should recognize their fault, and help clean up the mess. And if they don’t, then the Republican Party needs to follow the historic path into oblivion of the Know-Nothings and the Whigs. It’s time.
There was a time when I voted for the person, not the party, and I felt that a mixture of red and blue was ideal for balance. Not any more. The Republicans are dangerous, throwing the country to the wolves for their own benefit, There are going to be repercussions from this, even if we manage to get control back into the hands of honorable people. I worry.
I often wonder if we are ever going to able to recover from the price we and generations to come will pay for this mess. Sadly, I don’t know who will have the necessary backing and support needed to beat him in 2020. We are living in an attention deficit society and clearly one that believes what they hear over and over again – especially when it comes to the improper use of the word entitlement. To complicate it further, the privatization of education will further reinforce the long-term damage caused by this President and his appointees. I never cared much about politics in the past. I always felt that most of the people acted with what they thought were the country’s best interests in mind and that there was somewhat of a check and balance in the legislative branches. I no longer think that. What worries me is that every time Trump goes off on a tirade about the Russians and “no collusion” something else is being destroyed and we don’t find out about it until it’s too late. Sorry for the long winded comments. Like so many, I worry also. That sad thing is that it’s having a much deeper impact on my life than I ever imagined. It’s impacting family and personal relationship in ways I would have never thought. And as I think about it, all I can think about is wanting to find Melania Trump’s jacket that says “I really don’t care, do you?” I don’t care anymore if people are mad at me for not being willing to respect the President. I really don’t care if they disagree with me because I’m concerned not about myself but for the future of this country.
I echo these comments and share your concerns Dahlman. The current incarnation of the Republican Party (as a whole) is without honor. I’ve felt that way since they stole the Supreme Court during Obama’s last year and rejected his offer of a moderate judge pick. Now they emphasize their disrespect for the country, their opposition, and the democratic process with their conduct in the Kavanaugh hearings. These are not people who are looking out for the good of America.