I am trying to get inside the minds of congressional Republicans, but it is nearly impossible to discover what is squirreling around in there. Why do they continue to stand behind our President of little brain and no conscience? He may be the leader of the Republican Party, but he also has caused untold numbers of deaths by his ineptitude and apparent lack of interest in the current pandemic. He has disgraced the United States by pulling out of such international efforts as the Paris Climate talks and the World Health Organization, and he threatens to withdraw from NATO.
Perhaps most dangerous for our democracy, he has sent, uninvited, his unmarked stormtroopers deep into some of our cities—far beyond the federal buildings they were ostensibly sent to protect. He has put our elections at risk by concealing the danger of foreign threats and disabling the effectiveness of the United States Post Office just as the pandemic has encouraged the use of mail-in ballots.
Yet, Republicans do nothing. Does their desire for re-election “trump” character, conscience, and the risks to the very survival of our democracy? Where are you, Lindsey Graham? Before his 2016 nomination, you referred to Trump as a “jackass, kook, and race-baiting bigot.” Now you act as if he could do no wrong. Is being re-elected in 2020 more important than saving your country from this would-be autocrat? We are reminded of James Madison’s cautionary note: “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. . . . When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, . . . enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens.” – Federalist Paper, Number 10
Mitch McConnell? Are you hiding behind that mask you have finally donned? Rumor has it that you despise our President. But you are two of a kind when it comes to your sole interest, that of winning at all costs. We are told that you are unpopular in Kentucky and need the President’s coattails to win there. But the rest of us need our country back.
Asked by Anderson Cooper in April 2018 whether he had ever heard President Trump tell a lie, Representative Jim Jordan said, “I have not” and “nothing comes to mind.” He also said, “I don’t know that [Mr. Trump has ever] said something wrong that he needs to apologize for.” Really?
Mitt Romney dares to speak out, and Liz Cheney has risked a dissenting position or two, but most of the rest of the Grand Old Party is not behaving in such grand style as its name would suggest. As Samuel Adams said, “If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest Seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” – to James Warren, October 24, 1780
The President and his party continue to break laws and thwart our venerable Constitution. Who among this faction will have the moral fiber to stand up for our democracy? Remember Alexander Hamilton, who said, “If it be asked, what is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a republic? the answer would be, an inviolable respect for the constitution and laws – the first growing out of the last. . . . A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.” – Tully No. III, August 28, 1794
Mercy Warren