Republican Myopia

Faced with overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump incited, encouraged and seemingly enjoyed the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, 43 of the 50 Republican senators voted to acquit the former president, making it clear that they did not think what Trump did was worthy of impeachment. There are only two reasons why those 43 senators voted to acquit Trump; either they were afraid of a primary from a Trump-backed opponent or they are true believers in what can perhaps best be described as the cult of Trump.

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Trump Lost but Democrats Didn’t Get the Win They Wanted

We are stuck with the unalterable reality that almost 70 million Americans, representing more than 45% of those who voted, looked around at the racism, democratic rollback, ties to the Kremlin and 230,000 deaths from Covid-19 and decided it was a good idea to give Donald Trump four more years in office.

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What Continued Republican Control of the Senate Could Mean

In the final days of the election the race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump remains the main attraction, but the battle for the senate is as crucial. If Biden wins, but the Republicans hold on to the senate, the Democratic victory will be pyrrhic and incomplete.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Makes the Election Even More Volatile

The Vichy-like capitulation that has defined the Republican Party since 2016 means that whomever Trump nominates will be confirmed by a close vote along party lines. There may be one or two Republicans who vote against the nominee, but McConnell needs fifty votes (in case of a tie the vice-president casts the deciding vote) and he will have them.

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Republican Senators Need a Quick Acquittal More than Trump Does

It is far more probable that the general outline of the next few weeks will remain the same as Trump is speedily and, to the extent possible, discreetly, acquitted by senate Republicans. Collins, Gardner and others facing potentially tough challenges in November can then turn their attention to trying to thread the needle of trying to appear like rational, patriotic, moderate adults, while running interference for a kleptocratic president with little respect for democratic principles and an enduringly disturbing relationship with the Kremlin.

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Mitch McConnell’s Dilemma

There is no question McConnell possesses a keen legislative mind that is not hindered by any notions of integrity or consistency. This approach has allowed him to thrive and succeed as the leader of his party in the Senate, but he is now being tested like never before. The dilemma McConnell faces is that as the evidence against Trump mounts, and as public opinion begins to turn even more firmly against the President, McConnell may have to choose between his President and his Senate majority.

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Rosenstein, Kavanaugh and Trump's Coverup

If Trump is able to succeed in creating a legal buffer by curtailing the Mueller investigation and getting Kavanaugh on to the Supreme Court it will be with strong assistance from the Republican controlled Congress. Republican Senators could have urged Trump not to nominate Kavanaugh, but to choose a conservative with a different view of presidential power and immunity, as that is not yet a partisan or ideological issue. Similarly, at any time in the last 20 months, either House of Congress could have begun a real investigation into Trump’s relationship with the Kremlin or passed laws seeking to protect the Mueller investigation. Their failure to do that only solidified their role as co-conspirators with regards to Russia, but also to the corruption that has defined this administration.

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The President's Mental Health →

It is frightening, although not as surprising as we might like, that despite Trump's clearly tenuous mental health, most Republican leaders have been complicit in trying to conceal this for months or longer. The reason for this, is similar to the reason why the likes of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have been reluctant to probe deeply into Trump’s Russia ties-once the issue was ignored initially, Republican leaders became complicit in the cover up. For Ryan, McConnell or any other influential congress member to recognize what is palpably obvious to millions ofAmericans would force them them to confront their previous silence on the issue and lay bare the reality that for the Republican Party lower taxes and partisan victories are more important than to have a president who is sane. Rather than do that, the GOP leadership avoids confronting the reality of Donald Trump’s mental instability.

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Ryan and McConnell’s Definition of Obstruction of Justice →

Comey’s remarks have led to a spate of discussions about what constitutes obstruction of justice, whether the President obstructed justice and how this concept applies to a sitting president. These are questions with which better legal minds than mine should wrestle. However, they are not important at the moment because with regards to Donald Trump, the definition of obstruction of justice is very clear. Obstruction of justice, or any other abuse of power or illegal contact with Russia, are what Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell say it is. That is good news for the President as Congress continues to be very loyal to the President with whom they share a party affiliation.

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Why Congress Won’t Investigate Michael Flynn, Russia and Donald Trump Yet →

What makes this scandal unique in American history is that, while it is an offense that is impeachable, and that makes both Watergate and the Clinton scandals that brought about his impeachment, but not his conviction, look like a day at the beach, it all occurred and was known before the election. Other presidents committed offenses that drew attention, scrutiny and even impeachment once they were in office. Trump did it all in the year preceding the election. This has brought him immunity of a sort, because if he is impeached, it will be very easy to bring down much of the Republican Party with him. This is the Faustian, and poorly thought out, that the Republicans made when they nominated and then rallied behind this more than slightly unhinged kleptocrat with authoritarian, and perhaps treasonous tendencies.

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Ashley Judd Could Be a Problem for Mitch McConnell →

Over the next 20 months, the campaign for Senate in Kentucky will undoubtedly become very nasty as Judd will seek to expose McConnell as a right-winger who has spent most of the last decade working for interests that are distinctly not those of the people of Kentucky. McConnell, in turn, will try to overstate the extent to which Judd is an outsider and a creature of the liberal Hollywood elite. The campaign due to Judd's celebrity and McConnell's position will become a national campaign with very high stakes.

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Michael Steele's Challenge →

It is possible that the job facing Michael Steele, the newly elected chair of the Republican Party, is even more difficult, albeit far less important, than the one facing Barack Obama. Moving the Republican Party forward after two successive drubbings in national elections would be challenging under any circumstances, but Steele's task has not been made any easier by the inability of the Republican Party, and its supporters in the media, to adapt to the new political context.

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