BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 It will never be the same again, and that is not a good thing for it or the rest of the country. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/broken-trump/605959/?utm_medium=offsite&utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=yahoo-non-hosted&yptr=yahoo IDEAS The Downfall of the Republican Party To see men and women who had a positive vision beaten down and broken by Trump is a poignant thing. FEBRUARY 2, 2020 Peter Wehner Contributing writer at The Atlantic and senior fellow at EPPC A statue representing "Grief" lays her covered face on the shoulder of the statue representing "History" outside the U.S. Capitol.MARY CALVERT / REUTERS On Friday, Republicans in the United States Senate—with the exception of Mitt Romney and Susan Collins—voted to prevent John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, from testifying in the impeachment trial of the president. The reason they did so is undeniable: They did not want to hear from the most credible fact witness of all, one whose account would further implicate the president in his corrupt scheme—his “drug deal,” in Bolton’s words—to pressure the Ukrainian government to open an investigation to harm Trump’s main political opponent.Republicans, from beginning to end, sought not to ensure that justice be done or truth be revealed. Instead, they sought to ensure that Trump not be removed from office under any circumstances, defending him at all costs. The job of Senate Republicans was to make their acquittal of the president as quick and painless for them as possible. In this particular case, facts and evidence—reality—were viewed as grave threats, which is why they had to be buried. This is simply the latest act in an unfolding political drama, one in which the party of Lincoln and Reagan has now become, in every meaningful sense, the party of Trump. I have written before about the massive moral and ethical defects of the president; there’s no need to rehearse them here. The point I want to make is a somewhat different one, which is that Trump’s takeover of the GOP has happened not because he is widely loved or admired by Republican lawmakers but because he is feared; not because most of the people in the Republican Senate Conference aspire to be like him, but because they are too timid to challenge him. From a certain perspective, their timidity is understandable. They know that to publicly challenge Trump—to call out his ethical transgressions, cruelty, and indecency even as they support his policies—invites impassioned attacks from Trump supporters and, in some cases, a primary challenge. No one likes to be under attack, particularly by the base of one’s own party, and no one wants to lose a job. Moreover, they will argue, they must defend the president in public so they can have influence in private. They have also convinced themselves that they are essential to the project of repairing the Republican Party post-Trump, and that this requires that they not be viewed as disloyal to Trump while he’s serving as president. “What good does it do to attack Trump?” they will ask. He won’t change his ways, and they will only weaken themselves in the process. (Many of them are happy to attack Trump in private conversations, citing, chapter and verse, things he has said or done that alarm them, showing that they both know better and are playing a cynical game.) That, at least, is the story they tell themselves. Some of what they say is worth taking into account. But what they don’t tell themselves, probably because it would be too psychologically shattering, is that they have become fully complicit in a corrupt enterprise called the Trump presidency. (Romney is the rare exception.) They are defending actions they know are wrong and that, if they had been done by a Democratic president, they would be outraged by. More than that, they are validating Trump’s approach to politics—the hyper-aggression, the lawlessness, the mendacity, the shamelessness—and therefore guaranteeing imitators. It also happens that their influence on the president is far smaller than they tell themselves. They have made concession after concession after concession, justifying each one along the way. Then you look back at the road they’ve traveled, and it’s breathtaking. Donald Trump has changed them far more than they have changed Donald Trump. In 1991, when Václav Havel received the Sonning Prize for contributions to European civilization, he spoke about those “who are starting to lose their battle with the temptations of power.” It is an insidious thing, Havel warned, to become captive to the perks of power. Politicians, he said, soon learn how easy it is to justify staying in power even as they give up bits of their soul in the process. It is easier than they think, he said, to get “morally tainted.” “Politics is an area of human endeavor that places greater stress on moral sensitivity,” Havel concluded, “on the ability to reflect critically on oneself, on genuine responsibility, on taste and tact, on the capacity to empathize with others, on a sense of moderation, on humility. It is a job for modest people, for people who cannot be deceived.” To see men and women who in other spheres of their lives are admirable, who got into politics because they believed it was a noble profession and had a positive vision for the Republican Party, beaten down and broken by Trump is a poignant thing. Their weakness and servility, their vassalage to such a fundamentally corrupt man, is dispiriting to those of us who not only lament the injury Trump is inflicting on the nation as a whole but who still care about the Republican Party and worry that conservatism is in the process of being subsumed into angry, ethnic populism. What Republicans who have rallied behind Trump don’t fully grasp yet is the toxic effect he’s had on the younger generation, and on college-educated, suburban, and nonwhite voters. (Trump is wildly popular among blue-collar and rural voters, who are shrinking as a percentage of the voting population.) The damage done by Trump won’t be limited in its reach. He has imperiled the future of the party he leads. And those who think the GOP will simply snap back to the best of what it was pre-Trump—who think the worst elements of Trumpism will vanish once he leaves the White House—are kidding themselves. Those who fell in line behind Trump have empowered him (and his many acolytes and media propagandists) to redefine much of conservatism and the principles that once informed the Republican Party. I don’t think that is what they intended, but that is what they have helped achieve. Few things in life are permanent, most of all in the realm of politics. The fight for the future of the Republican Party, post-Trump, will be an intense one. Those of us who are conservatives and those on the center-right who believe the soul of GOP is still worth fighting for will not go gently into the good night. But for now, Donald Trump has an iron grip on the Republican Party—and Republican lawmakers who privately lament what he has done have publicly enabled what he has done. That is something that must haunt at least a few of them, at least in their private moments, when they lay aside their rationalizations for just a moment and reflect on the role they have played in this horror show. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected]. PETER WEHNER is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Egan visiting professor at Duke University. He writes widely on political, cultural, religious, and national-security issues, and he is the author of The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETIREDFAN1 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Larry evidently hitting the pipe this morning..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild74 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Far from dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Everyone knew the result coming on Wednesday was a foregone conclusion, but when the Senate had a chance to do the right thing, once again, they showed their lack of integrity and subservience to Trump. Sad times ahead... 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETIREDFAN1 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 11 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Everyone knew the result coming on Wednesday was a foregone conclusion, but when the Senate had a chance to do the right thing, once again, they showed their lack of integrity and subservience to Trump. Sad times ahead... Lay off the sauce this morning, Larry...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleTeam Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 The senate voted the same as all the dem in the house voted. They didn’t want him as a witness either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 8 minutes ago, DoubleTeam said: The senate voted the same as all the dem in the house voted. They didn’t want him as a witness either. Barry ain’t ever had a positive thing to say about Trump, ‘cause he beat Queen HRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 17 minutes ago, DoubleTeam said: The senate voted the same as all the dem in the house voted. They didn’t want him as a witness either. I have no idea what THIS means. AND, I don't have a positive thing to say about Trump because I think he is a terrible human being first, then an unfit, incapable POTUS second. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: I have no idea what THIS means. AND, I don't have a positive thing to say about Trump because I think he is a terrible human being first, then an unfit, incapable POTUS second. Orange Man Bad?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Sorry, Barry. I don't buy that you believe that the "downfall of the Republican party" is a bad thing. Though you can convince me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 I grew up with a Republican Party that started the EPA, that had real statesmen, that reached across the aisle to work with Democrats, and that while they generally might have opposing views, they defended them with integrity. I would like that party back. Not the Tea Party, not the Trumplicans, not the party of disparagement and acid insults and purity tests. How about you? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: I grew up with a Republican Party that started the EPA, that had real statesmen, that reached across the aisle to work with Democrats, and that while they generally might have opposing views, they defended them with integrity. I would like that party back. Not the Tea Party, not the Trumplicans, not the party of disparagement and acid insults and purity tests. How about you? You just described the exact opposite of the dimocrat party .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 22 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: I grew up with a Republican Party that started the EPA, that had real statesmen, that reached across the aisle to work with Democrats, and that while they generally might have opposing views, they defended them with integrity. I would like that party back. Not the Tea Party, not the Trumplicans, not the party of disparagement and acid insults and purity tests. How about you? It's why I am Independent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 40 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: I grew up with a Republican Party that started the EPA, that had real statesmen, that reached across the aisle to work with Democrats, and that while they generally might have opposing views, they defended them with integrity. I would like that party back. Not the Tea Party, not the Trumplicans, not the party of disparagement and acid insults and purity tests. How about you? Through that Whole rant, you didn’t say anything about Democrats “reaching across the aisle” to work with Republicans...js 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 minute ago, CarthDawg77 said: Through that Whole rant, you didn’t say anything about Democrats “reaching across the aisle” to work with Republicans...js That's because what he really wants are "Republicans" who are really Democrats. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 49 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: I grew up with a Republican Party that started the EPA, that had real statesmen, that reached across the aisle to work with Democrats, and that while they generally might have opposing views, they defended them with integrity. I would like that party back. Not the Tea Party, not the Trumplicans, not the party of disparagement and acid insults and purity tests. How about you? Did you ever vote for any of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, AKA said: That's because what he really wants are "Republicans" who are really Democrats. Get a lot more done that way! But, seriously, I can point to the Texas legislature as a more recent example when Dubya was governor and Bob Bullock was LT as a time when things got done through working together. And, Tip O'Neill and Reagan had respect for each other and worked together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Just now, Monte1076 said: Did you ever vote for any of them? Locally, sure, and for a state rep more than once. Most of the time, no, as they were the 'loyal opposition'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Get a lot more done that way! But, seriously, I can point to the Texas legislature as a more recent example when Dubya was governor and Bob Bullock was LT as a time when things got done through working together. And, Tip O'Neill and Reagan had respect for each other and worked together. You hit the nail on the head, Barry; Problem is, The Democrats have been infiltrated by Communists who are trying to bring down this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETIREDFAN1 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 12 minutes ago, AKA said: That's because what he really wants are "Republicans" who are really Democrats. he wants all of kirts neocon buddies and "chamber of commerce" republicans...all of who may as well BE democrats.............lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 17 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Get a lot more done that way! But, seriously, I can point to the Texas legislature as a more recent example when Dubya was governor and Bob Bullock was LT as a time when things got done through working together. And, Tip O'Neill and Reagan had respect for each other and worked together. The chasm is almost too wide, now. That will be hard to fix. Case in point: you have people who believe that voter ID ensures that only those legally eligible by law to vote are allowed to do so, and you have others who believe voter ID is racist, etc, and leads to disenfranchised voters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Monte1076 said: The chasm is almost too wide, now. That will be hard to fix. Case in point: you have people who believe that voter ID ensures that only those legally eligible by law to vote are allowed to do so, and you have others who believe voter ID is racist, etc, and leads to disenfranchised voters. “Racism”.... The most often used weapon of The Left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETIREDFAN1 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Just now, CarthDawg77 said: “Racism”.... The most often used weapon of The Left. a weapon in their minds only due to their over use of it......... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Well, they do have that PC deck of cards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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