I read somewhere the other day that the US is now a lot more like European Parliments where there are multiple factions, and two or more of those factions need to partner to share power. If the Republican "Moderates"* were to make common cause with the Democrats, then a lot could get done. They could moderate the Progressive left, and have a lot of influence, but they would also need to recognize that they can't just ram through their pet projects without compromise.
In this scenario, the screeching jackal caucus (thanks Ben Wittes for this in today's post) would have no power and influence. They could bellow and screech all they want, but they would be powerless to get shit done.
I am not holding my breath.
(* I suspect that many of these self-proclaimed moderates cheer silently for the loonies to win, because they really want to do terrible things to the "other" tribe, and thus are not moderate in any sense of the meaning)
True, but they created this monster, they have to deal with it.
What bugs me about the "Never Trump" Republicans is that they seem to have a lot of advice for Democrats to help with the "Trump" problem, but they seem to be flummoxed about how to control or change the base.
News flash: there isn't a damn thing Democrats, or Democratic pols can do to fix that. That cohort is unreachable from the left. Counting on the left to clean the mess is just not a strategy.
Yet, they seem to put most of their eggs in the basket of the Dem's solving their problem.
As a Never Trump Republican, the only thing we have in common with the Republican party is the name.
The problem isn't "ours" to fix. There is nothing conservative about MAGA. Trump is a Democrat and took what he could because uneducated R voters fell for it. He changed the party into an entirely different type of monster, and we ran away as soon as that happened (some of us ran when Palin happened).
The only thing we can do is work together to move forward, and hope that enough people join us that MAGA republicans shrink small enough to no longer have influence. We are counting on Democrats to work with us to solve this issue, because that's the only way.
Please don't confuse us with the spineless R's that are in congress now that stood by Trump and MAGA when convenient, but now are turning to D's to help bail them out when the jaguars they let into the party got out of control and started attacking them. They don't deserve any sympathy.
Thank you for your comment, and I do relish the opportunity to work with people like you.
My tirade above was largely around the pundit class, where the "Never Trump" folks (like Charlie Sykes @ The Bulwark) decry what the orange man-child does, but in the same breath excoriates the Democrats for not being a monolithic block that does what they feel is needed.
I can point out countless times that they tut-tut the Dems for not doing what they think is best, and then they throw up their hands that there's nothing that can reach the MAGA electorate.
That is what pisses me off.
As for the spineless R's who in private excoriate Trump, but publicly toe the line? Fuck those opportunistic cowardly turds.
Speaking as a former Republican, you hit the nail on the head. This was a gradual decline into madness, but it was clear long ago where the party was headed.
I genuinely have a hard time referring to them these days as Republicans. They are nothing like the Republicans of my youth or even the ones I worked with in DC during the late 90s. All they are are Tea Party Nihilists. Once the GOP incorporated them into the party and then it became MAGA, the Republican Party failed to exist. Its just a bunch of senseless, stupid nihiists who want to bring the whole thing down. It's actually quite sad.
Spot on.
I read somewhere the other day that the US is now a lot more like European Parliments where there are multiple factions, and two or more of those factions need to partner to share power. If the Republican "Moderates"* were to make common cause with the Democrats, then a lot could get done. They could moderate the Progressive left, and have a lot of influence, but they would also need to recognize that they can't just ram through their pet projects without compromise.
In this scenario, the screeching jackal caucus (thanks Ben Wittes for this in today's post) would have no power and influence. They could bellow and screech all they want, but they would be powerless to get shit done.
I am not holding my breath.
(* I suspect that many of these self-proclaimed moderates cheer silently for the loonies to win, because they really want to do terrible things to the "other" tribe, and thus are not moderate in any sense of the meaning)
They're genuinely afraid of their own voters.
True, but they created this monster, they have to deal with it.
What bugs me about the "Never Trump" Republicans is that they seem to have a lot of advice for Democrats to help with the "Trump" problem, but they seem to be flummoxed about how to control or change the base.
News flash: there isn't a damn thing Democrats, or Democratic pols can do to fix that. That cohort is unreachable from the left. Counting on the left to clean the mess is just not a strategy.
Yet, they seem to put most of their eggs in the basket of the Dem's solving their problem.
As a Never Trump Republican, the only thing we have in common with the Republican party is the name.
The problem isn't "ours" to fix. There is nothing conservative about MAGA. Trump is a Democrat and took what he could because uneducated R voters fell for it. He changed the party into an entirely different type of monster, and we ran away as soon as that happened (some of us ran when Palin happened).
The only thing we can do is work together to move forward, and hope that enough people join us that MAGA republicans shrink small enough to no longer have influence. We are counting on Democrats to work with us to solve this issue, because that's the only way.
Please don't confuse us with the spineless R's that are in congress now that stood by Trump and MAGA when convenient, but now are turning to D's to help bail them out when the jaguars they let into the party got out of control and started attacking them. They don't deserve any sympathy.
Thank you for your comment, and I do relish the opportunity to work with people like you.
My tirade above was largely around the pundit class, where the "Never Trump" folks (like Charlie Sykes @ The Bulwark) decry what the orange man-child does, but in the same breath excoriates the Democrats for not being a monolithic block that does what they feel is needed.
I can point out countless times that they tut-tut the Dems for not doing what they think is best, and then they throw up their hands that there's nothing that can reach the MAGA electorate.
That is what pisses me off.
As for the spineless R's who in private excoriate Trump, but publicly toe the line? Fuck those opportunistic cowardly turds.
Speaking as a former Republican, you hit the nail on the head. This was a gradual decline into madness, but it was clear long ago where the party was headed.
Thanks Meg.
I genuinely have a hard time referring to them these days as Republicans. They are nothing like the Republicans of my youth or even the ones I worked with in DC during the late 90s. All they are are Tea Party Nihilists. Once the GOP incorporated them into the party and then it became MAGA, the Republican Party failed to exist. Its just a bunch of senseless, stupid nihiists who want to bring the whole thing down. It's actually quite sad.