A year ago Republicans flirted with dumping Trump, then doubled down to embrace him
I have not felt the need to watch too much January 6th coverage on TV, because it already feels vivid in my mind, but it is really worth watching clips of Kevin McCarthy’s strong condemnations of Trump he made one year ago today.
The Republicans, whose lives were in danger too on January 6th, had a perfect opportunity to cut themselves loose from Trump as their party overlord after the attack on the Capitol. Politicians like Kevin McCarthy and Lindsey Graham publicly signalled that they might be done with Trump. In the background, GOP leaders were talking about the 25th Amendment to remove him, or immediate resignation. Think about that, an American President so toxic and dangerous that he could still wreak havoc in the last week of his term!
Alas, the Republican politicians changed their tune just weeks later, as McCarthy traveled to Mar-A-Lago to kiss Trump’s….ring. McCarthy didn’t look happy to be there, but what matters is that he showed up to bow and scrape. I believe that it is self-evident that politicians like McCarthy and Graham were either bought off, promised power, or threatened with consequences if they got out of line. Now, a year later, McCarthy is breaking his stated promise to testify to the January 6th Select Committee.
This matters now because Jonathan Swan reports that Kevin McCarthy is signalling that if the Republicans win the House in 2022 midterms, and McCarthy is made Speaker, McCarthy will double down on Trumpian priotities. This is of course setting the stage for another potential Presidential run for Trump in 2024, but whether or not that happens, McCarthy’s rule would be bad enough.
For all of us who don’t want either of these outcomes, it’s time to get to work to support Democrats in the upcoming elections. 298 days to go.