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The Republican Party Is as Guilty as Trump
By Sonali Kolhatkar
Every time it seems as though the firewall of apologists protecting Donald Trump might crumble, Republican politicians let us down over and over. In an interview Sunday, one of Trump’s top Republican allies, Sen. Lindsey Graham, was asked in an interview whether he was open-minded about supporting impeachment if damning evidence of Trump’s wrongdoing was to emerge. Graham said, “If you could show me that, you know, Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing.”
But just two days later, the high-ranking senator stood by Trump as the president used the most vile language in reference to his impeachment, saying on Twitter, “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here — a lynching.” In response, Graham said to reporters, “This is a lynching, in every sense.” He did not say, “This is a symbolic lynching,” or “In some sense, this is a lynching.” (Even those terms would have been unacceptable given the history of quintessentially American racist terror the word references). But Graham said, “in every sense,” this was a lynching of President Trump, implying that even in literal terms, Trump was, in his view, being strung up on a tree by a racist mob and murdered by hanging. Just as other high-ranking Republicans have done in the past, Graham went even further than Trump himself to defend him and his conduct. Are not all of Trump’s supporters as guilty of the president’s wrongdoing as he is?
But just two days later, the high-ranking senator stood by Trump as the president used the most vile language in reference to his impeachment, saying on Twitter, “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here — a lynching.” In response, Graham said to reporters, “This is a lynching, in every sense.” He did not say, “This is a symbolic lynching,” or “In some sense, this is a lynching.” (Even those terms would have been unacceptable given the history of quintessentially American racist terror the word references). But Graham said, “in every sense,” this was a lynching of President Trump, implying that even in literal terms, Trump was, in his view, being strung up on a tree by a racist mob and murdered by hanging. Just as other high-ranking Republicans have done in the past, Graham went even further than Trump himself to defend him and his conduct. Are not all of Trump’s supporters as guilty of the president’s wrongdoing as he is?
...
With the testimony of the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor confirming that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo to exact political dirt from Ukraine in exchange for military aid, one might imagine that Sen. Graham would stay true to his claim that he might consider impeachment if such a thing could be proved. But Graham, like McConnell and others, appears to have made the cold calculation that a guilty Republican in the White House is better than any Democrat.
Trump got into office because Republicans allowed it, and he remains in office because Republicans continue to allow it. Until they openly declare war on his presidency, his ongoing assault on our democracy is just as much their fault as his. He remains in office at their whim. They are his enablers, the facilitators of his evil. The stink of Trump’s racist and misogynist hate, abject dishonesty and flagrant impunity over laws and the U.S. Constitution ought to follow every Trump supporter inside or outside government for the rest of their lives. The only way to save their soul from the complicity that history books will surely capture is to disavow him, and to do so now when it matters.
Trump got into office because Republicans allowed it, and he remains in office because Republicans continue to allow it. Until they openly declare war on his presidency, his ongoing assault on our democracy is just as much their fault as his. He remains in office at their whim. They are his enablers, the facilitators of his evil. The stink of Trump’s racist and misogynist hate, abject dishonesty and flagrant impunity over laws and the U.S. Constitution ought to follow every Trump supporter inside or outside government for the rest of their lives. The only way to save their soul from the complicity that history books will surely capture is to disavow him, and to do so now when it matters.
[link:https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-republican-party-is-as-guilty-as-trump/|]
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