Party or country?

[Dill]

(07-15-2017, 04:24 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Now, I'm not saying in this thread that Trump has done anything to warrant removal from office, that is not the point of this. The point here is to discuss how the politics in this country, in Washington specifically, has seemed to be to place party over country/law. This is an example of this where we have politicians that, in private, discuss how much they dislike the actions of the POTUS but because it can damage the party they do not express these concerns in public. Even if they believe that these actions are damaging to the country. Whether or not you like Trump is really irrelevant here, this behavioral pattern is troubling. We should have elected officials that stand up for the country and stick to their principles, not kowtow to someone because of party loyalty.

But this is why I handle the behind the scenes stuff and am not a politician.

So far as I know, Kasich has never Kow Towed to Trump.     Cruz--wow--who expected that?

Remember that there was a "never Trump" movement in the Republican party.  People have opposed him, including, recently, Paul and Murkowski. The constant leaks are also another way in which people have resisted Trump. And remember the 1,000 signature memo from the state department personnel, and the guy who from the ethics office who resigned. This kind of resistance is unprecedented.

I am curious if you think the current situation is different from, say, the mid-60s under Johnson. He often privately bullied Congressmen and Senators to get them to go along with important legislation. But he knew how to do that effectively, knew what the rules allowed--written and unwritten--and where the levers of power were, and when and when not to pull them. Voters often did not know this. They just knew he was effective. Got the job done.

Seems to me that Trump is a unique problem. The base elected a man who insults womens looks like a 10-year-old and sends out blatant tweet lies, embarrassing the nation, and who does not know where the levers of power are and how to work them. So he constantly shoots himself in foot, then blames others--all while representing what used to be the party of personal responsibility. Trump and his behavior are not somehow separable from the issue of "party before country." Whatever forces produced the Trump win are the same ones that now produce the party-over-country tendency you speak of.

It is possible that some Republican leaders remain silent only because, at the moment, they think they can get some legislation passed before Trump flames out. So they may believe they are still putting country over party, if they genuinely think tax cuts for the rich are best for the country.  If that legislation finally becomes impossible, we may see a few more turn on Trump. Perhaps the resistance of a few will morph into a movement, if they can get Fox on board.

But if Republicans are not speaking out because they put party over country, I don't see any reason to characterize this as a "Washington" problem as opposed to a Republican one, or more specifically a Republican voter problem.  Republican Congressmen who resist Trump are cast as "Rinos" and "establishment," and targeted for primary challenges. And they are the kind of Congressmen who are already the product of state primaries dominated by the Trump base. They got where they are by toeing a party line set by the voters.  In short, if so many of the current crop of Republican leaders put party over country, it is because Republican voters demand they do it, and Congressmen with backbone are not liked by fundamentalist voters.