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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKrugman: Faust on the Potomac
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/opinion/faust-on-the-potomac.htmlFor more than a generation, the Republican establishment was able to keep this bait-and-switch under control: racism was deployed to win elections, then was muted afterwards, partly to preserve plausible deniability, partly to focus on the real priority of enriching the one percent. But with Trump they lost control: the base wanted someone who was blatantly racist and wouldnt pretend to be anything else. And thats what they got, with corruption, incompetence, and treason on the side.
Nonetheless, aside from a handful of Never Trumpers, just about everyone in the Republican establishment decided that they could work with that. They knew what Trump was, but were willing to overlook it as long as they could push their usual agenda. What about the populism? They guessed, correctly, that this wouldnt be a problem: Trump didnt even hesitate about abandoning all his campaign promises and going all in for cutting taxes on the rich while slashing benefits for the poor.
Early on, some speculated that this would be a temporary alliance that establishment Republicans would use Trump to get what they wanted, then turn on him. But its now clear that wont happen. Trump has exceeded everyones worst expectations, yet Republicans, far from cutting him loose, are tying themselves even more closely to his fate. Why?
The answer, Id argue, is that theyre stuck. They knowingly made a deal with the devil, and cant back out.
More specifically, Trumps very awfulness means that if he falls, the whole party will fall with him. Republicans could conceivably distance themselves from a president who turned out to be a bad manager, or even one who turned out to have engaged in small-time corruption. But when the corruption is big time, and its combined with obstruction of justice and collaboration with Putin, nobody will notice which Republicans were a bit less involved, a bit less obsequious, than others. If Trump sinks, hell create a vortex that sucks down everyone involved.
And so we now have the Republican party as a whole fully complicit in Trumps crimes because thats what they are, whether or not he and those around him are ever brought to justice.
What this means, among other things, is that expecting the GOP to exercise any oversight or constrain Trump in any way is just foolish at this point. Massive electoral defeat massive enough to overwhelm gerrymandering and other structural advantages of the right is the only way out.
Nonetheless, aside from a handful of Never Trumpers, just about everyone in the Republican establishment decided that they could work with that. They knew what Trump was, but were willing to overlook it as long as they could push their usual agenda. What about the populism? They guessed, correctly, that this wouldnt be a problem: Trump didnt even hesitate about abandoning all his campaign promises and going all in for cutting taxes on the rich while slashing benefits for the poor.
Early on, some speculated that this would be a temporary alliance that establishment Republicans would use Trump to get what they wanted, then turn on him. But its now clear that wont happen. Trump has exceeded everyones worst expectations, yet Republicans, far from cutting him loose, are tying themselves even more closely to his fate. Why?
The answer, Id argue, is that theyre stuck. They knowingly made a deal with the devil, and cant back out.
More specifically, Trumps very awfulness means that if he falls, the whole party will fall with him. Republicans could conceivably distance themselves from a president who turned out to be a bad manager, or even one who turned out to have engaged in small-time corruption. But when the corruption is big time, and its combined with obstruction of justice and collaboration with Putin, nobody will notice which Republicans were a bit less involved, a bit less obsequious, than others. If Trump sinks, hell create a vortex that sucks down everyone involved.
And so we now have the Republican party as a whole fully complicit in Trumps crimes because thats what they are, whether or not he and those around him are ever brought to justice.
What this means, among other things, is that expecting the GOP to exercise any oversight or constrain Trump in any way is just foolish at this point. Massive electoral defeat massive enough to overwhelm gerrymandering and other structural advantages of the right is the only way out.
Emphasis added.
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Krugman: Faust on the Potomac (Original Post)
highplainsdem
Jan 2018
OP
Phoenix61
(17,001 posts)1. Sadly, very sadly
I think this is completely correct. They are operating on the "in for a penny, in for a pound" philosophy. Some are leaving office in an attempt to escape the fallout. Others are going to ride this wave until they walk off the board onto the beach or are pounded into nothingness against the bottom. I'm usually pretty upbeat but... this is taxing my Pollyanna attitude to the max.