Robert Reich had an interesting post relaying a conversation he had with a former republican congressman.
Robert Reich
I spoke this morning with my friend, a former Republican member of Congress, who’s as worried as I am about Trump’s mental state and the growing possibility that he or people around him committed treason by collaborating with Russian operatives to throw the election.
Me: Do other current and former Republican members of Congress feel like you do?
He: Lots of them. They think Trump’s loony tunes, and he’s in Putin’s pocket.
Me: Well why the hell don’t they say something? As long as this looks like a partisan brawl we’re never going to get anywhere.
He: No one wants to be the first. They worry Trump will start tweeting on them, or his crazy-ass supporters at home will go after them.
Me: Then why not issue a joint statement? A bunch of Republicans could call for a Select Committee to look into all of this, a special prosecutor. There's safety in numbers.
He: A few of them are talking about it right now, but McConnell and Ryan don’t want to rock the boat. They want to focus on repealing Obamacare, getting a giant tax cut, wiping out environmental regulations, you know the drill.
Me: But don’t they know the Trump issues are just going to get worse? Republicans need to get ahead of this or they’ll get bulldozed by it.
He: McConnell and Ryan don’t see it that way. They figure Trump will continue his circus act, stirring up the press, driving everyone crazy. So they can quietly work with Pence and get their agenda through when no one is paying much attention.
Me: You mean Trump is a decoy?
He (chuckling): Yeah. At least for now.
I this presents an interesting point about the GOP work around with Trump, and the propping up of the man in order to engage the GOP line.
They will not resist Trump, as they would blow their opportunity at the present time, however, they are also setting him up as a patsy. When the average person is deprived of things like education, social security, environmental standards, and healthcare, Trump will be framed by the GOP as the bad guy.
Robert Reich
I spoke this morning with my friend, a former Republican member of Congress, who’s as worried as I am about Trump’s mental state and the growing possibility that he or people around him committed treason by collaborating with Russian operatives to throw the election.
Me: Do other current and former Republican members of Congress feel like you do?
He: Lots of them. They think Trump’s loony tunes, and he’s in Putin’s pocket.
Me: Well why the hell don’t they say something? As long as this looks like a partisan brawl we’re never going to get anywhere.
He: No one wants to be the first. They worry Trump will start tweeting on them, or his crazy-ass supporters at home will go after them.
Me: Then why not issue a joint statement? A bunch of Republicans could call for a Select Committee to look into all of this, a special prosecutor. There's safety in numbers.
He: A few of them are talking about it right now, but McConnell and Ryan don’t want to rock the boat. They want to focus on repealing Obamacare, getting a giant tax cut, wiping out environmental regulations, you know the drill.
Me: But don’t they know the Trump issues are just going to get worse? Republicans need to get ahead of this or they’ll get bulldozed by it.
He: McConnell and Ryan don’t see it that way. They figure Trump will continue his circus act, stirring up the press, driving everyone crazy. So they can quietly work with Pence and get their agenda through when no one is paying much attention.
Me: You mean Trump is a decoy?
He (chuckling): Yeah. At least for now.
I this presents an interesting point about the GOP work around with Trump, and the propping up of the man in order to engage the GOP line.
They will not resist Trump, as they would blow their opportunity at the present time, however, they are also setting him up as a patsy. When the average person is deprived of things like education, social security, environmental standards, and healthcare, Trump will be framed by the GOP as the bad guy.
