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American Exorcism: Republican Power and Politics in the Age of Trump
Instead of that, we got this. The most corrupt administration in history. Open grifting from the president on down. A musical chairs effort to try and identify competent government employees. A complete assault on both historical norms and the rule of law. Aiding and abetting a foreign adversary who openly attacked the sovereignty of our elections. Openly intimidating the FBI Director. Waging war on individual states' rights to end marijuana prohibition. Giving away American public lands to mining corporations. Passing a tax cut adding nearly $2 trillion to the deficit while simultaneously raising taxes on middle-class Americans. Unconstitutional executive orders targeting Muslims, immigrants, and refugees. Failed disaster relief for American territories. An inability to disown White nationalists and an active inclusion of them in our government. And an America First foreign policy that has alienated our allies, emboldened our enemies, caused our country to lose out on trade and climate agreements, and made our government the laughingstock of the world.
They knew. As Michael Wolff's book has verified, Republicans closest to Donald Trump know how unfit he is for office. The gravitas of this has been secondary to passing their agenda. A political party once concerned about our national security has willingly handed over the nuclear codes to a man engaged in a pissing contest with the North Korean dictator. A political party once concerned about manufacturing job losses has now willingly given CEOs extra money with zero guarantees that money will ever make it into the hands of their workers. A political party once concerned about rising deficits (remember the 2012 deficit counter at the RNC Convention?) has now willingly voted to add $2 trillion to the deficit. A political party that once prided itself on compassionate conservatism has now willingly endorsed a child molester for Senate. And a political party that once warned of an overreaching federal government is now willing to trump states' rights in order to send more people of color to private prisons.
In short, Republicans have been like the family members of a drunkard. But rather than seek help for that drunkard, they not only let him keep his keys but they walked him out to his car and encouraged him to take it for a ride. They have done this with Donald Trump because they saw him as a means to an end: a way for the party to enact its regressive agenda after having endured 8 years of successful progressive policies that positively impacted the lives of millions of Americans. The extent to which they sold their soul remains to be seen. But in due time it would not be surprising to see prominent Republicans like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsay Graham be called before the Special Council to answer questions as what they knew and when they knew it. Like giving that drunkard the keys, Republicans may not be feeling guilty about anything now. But when the police show up at their door asking what they know about the accident down the street, they will be quick to give answers and sell each other out to save their own careers.
The great irony in all of this is that every day America needed to witness all this first hand to truly understand who Republicans were. It's easy to be the Party of No but it's a lot harder to be the Party of Yes when your yeses demonstrate what your true priorities are. Over the past year, we've seen what Republicans value: they want to make America great again by instituting racist policies that protect wealthy White men and roll back protections and advancements for women and people of color. They care nothing for the people they were elected to represent. They are willing to take health care away from 22 million Americans. They are willing to support a White House that employs Nazis and fails to condemn their rallies. They are willing to slow track disaster relief to Puerto Rico. They are willing to jail peaceful protesters. They are willing to demonize Muslims, immigrants, and refugees. And they are willing to ignore the concerns of their constituents, the vast majority of whom have been women.
They knew. As Michael Wolff's book has verified, Republicans closest to Donald Trump know how unfit he is for office. The gravitas of this has been secondary to passing their agenda. A political party once concerned about our national security has willingly handed over the nuclear codes to a man engaged in a pissing contest with the North Korean dictator. A political party once concerned about manufacturing job losses has now willingly given CEOs extra money with zero guarantees that money will ever make it into the hands of their workers. A political party once concerned about rising deficits (remember the 2012 deficit counter at the RNC Convention?) has now willingly voted to add $2 trillion to the deficit. A political party that once prided itself on compassionate conservatism has now willingly endorsed a child molester for Senate. And a political party that once warned of an overreaching federal government is now willing to trump states' rights in order to send more people of color to private prisons.
In short, Republicans have been like the family members of a drunkard. But rather than seek help for that drunkard, they not only let him keep his keys but they walked him out to his car and encouraged him to take it for a ride. They have done this with Donald Trump because they saw him as a means to an end: a way for the party to enact its regressive agenda after having endured 8 years of successful progressive policies that positively impacted the lives of millions of Americans. The extent to which they sold their soul remains to be seen. But in due time it would not be surprising to see prominent Republicans like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsay Graham be called before the Special Council to answer questions as what they knew and when they knew it. Like giving that drunkard the keys, Republicans may not be feeling guilty about anything now. But when the police show up at their door asking what they know about the accident down the street, they will be quick to give answers and sell each other out to save their own careers.
The great irony in all of this is that every day America needed to witness all this first hand to truly understand who Republicans were. It's easy to be the Party of No but it's a lot harder to be the Party of Yes when your yeses demonstrate what your true priorities are. Over the past year, we've seen what Republicans value: they want to make America great again by instituting racist policies that protect wealthy White men and roll back protections and advancements for women and people of color. They care nothing for the people they were elected to represent. They are willing to take health care away from 22 million Americans. They are willing to support a White House that employs Nazis and fails to condemn their rallies. They are willing to slow track disaster relief to Puerto Rico. They are willing to jail peaceful protesters. They are willing to demonize Muslims, immigrants, and refugees. And they are willing to ignore the concerns of their constituents, the vast majority of whom have been women.
Read More: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/2018/1/7/american-exorcism-republican-power-and-politics-in-the-age-of-trump
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Great read. All true and depressing as hell.
