No the reason that Senate wonāt impeach Trump, is that political cowardice is in the DNA of almost all politicians since the Roman Republic. Now if you want to say that current Republican party as taken this cowardice to a new low, you wonāt get an argument from me. But Trump, isnāt the cause of that.
Yes, probably. This started with an exchange between Gordon and me over whether the Barr of today is different than the Barr of 20 or so years ago. That led to the question of whether the GOP is different, and that led to comparisons between Trump and Reagan. I agree that comparison is largely a distraction, as is the question of which one is worse. Whether the GOP is really different now than it was is, on the other hand, not a distraction, and the examples weāre dredging up go to that question.
W, Reagan, and Nixon did horrible things, some of them worse than anything Trump has actually accomplished. Trump is likely to do things as horrible, especially given a second term. But more importantly, and the thing that makes him way more dangerous, is that he is actively working to prevent the opposition from ever again having power. He is laying a blueprint for permanent rule by bringing foreign powers into our elections and making elections about loyalty over issues. That means that no shift in Democratic policy or national views on policy can swing the country back the other direction, the way it did under Clinton or Obama.
So yes, Trump is simply an expression of the GOP DNA, but heās also dangerous cancer that threatens to kill the whole Republic, rather than just do bad things with power. It is important to specifically repudiate and dismantle Trumpism to stop this from happening, and in that sense he is unlike previous examples. Stopping the man himself isnāt enough, though. It requires consequences not just for him, but for everyone who enabled him, from Gym and Nunes to Mitch and Lindsey. It especially requires consequences for Fox News. I donāt know how to make those happen without endangering a free press, but if Fox is allowed to continue as it is, then Trumpism will continue as it is, even if he is removed or defeated.
So basically, there have been terrible leaders throughout history and there have specifically been terrible GOP policies and presidents recently. But now we are a hairās breadth from the world of 1984 and this is a last chance to step away. Better to have whatever allies we can in that. Iām happy to forgive rank-and-file Republicans if the leaders of this BS are removed and prosecuted. Iām happy to welcome Republican voters back to their racist, misogynist, xenophobic, and anti-science norms, if it means destroying Fox News and allowing us to go back to fighting their views on a semi-level playing field.
Matt_W
3593
The crux is the point of the argument. If itās just a ranking of GOP presidents then whatever, Trump may or may not be the worst. If the point is to cast Trump as something uniquely bad in order to exonerate the GOP of yesteryear then itās wrong.
Timex
3594
Heās obviously the worst.
I mean, obviously. To anyone who isnāt crazy.
Zylon
3596
Are you people done arguing that getting shot in the stomach is just as bad as getting shot in the head yet?
Yeah, not making apologies for any of Reaganās misdeeds, just noting that they pale in comparison to Trumpās. His are exponentially worse.
Itās not even an argument. There has rarely been an elected dogcatcher or township rep in the history of the country as clearly incompetent for their office as DJT is, let alone a freaking president.
McCarthy is an embarrassment. Keep asking him about that, every freaking press conference. He has nothing else to say.
antlers
3602
Yes, the Republicans donāt really think they have a shot at winning back the House this cycle.
Vote this motherfucker out.
Nesrie
3604
Yeah I canāt wait until we get to the someone worse part so we can have some idiots running around saying hey look guys, donāt say Trump was worse; I mean Trump could tie his shoes and knows his left from his right. Only idiots would say Trump is worse!
Meanwhile, GOP is still doing the same thing they always do, worrying their hands together, furrowing their brows and shaking their hands and continuing to destroy the country to win southern votes and get tax cuts, oh and giving targets they donāt mind killing because thatās still okay, apparently.
Infamous, old, horrific, and so many ready to excuse it.
This is quite a good thread, framed as a response to a National Review article. Read the whole thing:
Hereās the summary line:
I donāt entirely agree with it ā I think heās wrongly conceding some virtue where it isnāt warranted ā but itās close enough.
Yeah, the problem with āthrow us a bone so we can compromiseā is that it turns this all into a valid strategy. If I want you to pitch in with the chores and you instead set fire to the living room then demand that I give you three months of no chores before youāll let me in to put the fire out, wellā¦ violence is more likely to be my answer than ācompromiseā.
Matt_W
3607
I actually thought this summed it up best:
RichVR
3608
Every fascist needs a Quisling.
