Republicans may never have the nerve to quit Trump
Opinion by Jennifer Rubin
Guessing when President Trump would turn presidential, and when Republicans would stand up to him, started as exercises in wishful thinking and soon became the stuff of sarcastic memes. At some point during the Trump presidency the impeachment, perhaps even the most optimistic observers would have to confess neither was going to happen.
Now we are told Republicans are humoring Trump so he can process his loss or maybe to keep him from sabotaging the Republican candidates in the Senate runoffs in Georgia. Then again, maybe the Republicans play along out of fear of the MAGA crowds fury. Not to worry, we are told. Soon it will be settled, and Republicans will move on. The fond hope for Republicans to return to Earth 1 and find their spines would be funny if not so tragic for democracy.
Does anyone imagine Trump will ever accept that he lost fair and square? Of course not, and, therefore, the Republican Party will be forced to agree for the foreseeable future. If not, the Trumpian, red-hatted horde will descend taunting and maybe seeking to primary incumbents who dare to recognize reality. Right-wing media certainly will continue to host him, giving him a platform to hector Republicans who acknowledge after the inauguration that President Joe Biden is, well, president. For right-wing media, the imperative will be to live in Trump-in-exile land lest he start up a competitive network and take his audience with him. The conspiracies and phony claims of fraud will go on for years.
Watch the Senate hard-liners reject nominees, filibuster legislation, fail to show up to the State of the Union, perpetuate baseless conspiracies and otherwise deny Biden the respect he and his office deserve. There will always be an excuse for this crowd to take sides with Trump against democracy and reality: If they anger him, they wont be able to raise money for 2022. If they poke the bear, he might run for office in 2024 maybe as an independent. (Really, if he has his supporters, why does he need the GOP?) And if it is not Trump, whom Republicans cower before, they might feel compelled to come on bended knee before whichever one of the princelings becomes the next MAGA figurehead.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/12/republicans-may-never-have-nerve-quit-trump/
tanyev
(42,550 posts)But only directed at all the imaginary transgressions of the Biden Administration.
HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts). . . that candidate (let's face facts, it'll be a "he" will be rejected like green bread.
The Republican party is only going to get worse over time. Trumpism is the "live and die by the three" of right-wingers . . . they hitched their wagon to a extreme Fascist that ruined America and will now always be known for that.
72 million people thought giving quite literally the WORST fucking president in American history a second chance was a great idea. They'll never be able to elect a moderate again, because moderates are now conservative Democrats. They cannot go back from extremism because anything less than "Fascist" isn't going to enthuse their racist fanatic base.