The GOP Has One Chance to Redeem Itself. They’re Not Taking It.

“A Republican Party that wishes to re-establish itself as defenders of democracy, of truth, and of the rule of law will quickly join with Democrats to make the removal of Trump from office a bipartisan and universal principle. It should surprise no one to learn that they are already preparing to fail the test.” – Yours Truly, two weeks ago 

If this week’s Senate vote on the validity of trying Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection is any indication, the Republican Party will indeed fail that test – and do so spectacularly.

A mere five Republican Senators (Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, and Toomey) were even prepared to have a trial. The remaining 45 chose to hide behind the calendar or various word salads rather than admit to their own voters that, (1) Joe Biden really did win the election; (2) Donald Trump was lying when he said otherwise for two months; and (3) Trump unleashed a mob prepared to destroy American democracy to advance his falsehoods.

This comes on the heels of the impeachment vote in the House, where over 90 percent of Republican Representatives refused to support impeaching Trump.

There is no other way to say this: a political party that is so unwilling to inflict any consequences on a would-be tyrant from its ranks is simply irredeemable.

Mona Charen speaks for America in her blistering response:

Such is the cultishness of the Republican party base and the obedience of its supposed leaders that we’ve plumbed the depths of sycophancy. We’ve run the experiment and gotten our answer. There really is nothing Trump could do that would forfeit the support of the GOP. He didn’t literally shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, but he sabotaged Americans’ faith in elections, attempted to intimidate the Secretary of State of Georgia into altering the election count, and set a violent mob against the Congress (killing one officer and four others). He has blood on his hands. But in the words of his #1 toady, Lindsey Graham: “He’s going to be the most important voice in the Republican Party for a long time to come.”

This is not a party interested in winning free and fair elections. This is not a party interested in having free and fair elections. This is a party of power and nothing else.

This isn’t just a “national” problem either. As Norm Leahy noted on this very site, all four Republican members of Congress voted to endorse Trump’s lies about a stolen election, then refused to support impeachment. The rot runs throughout the Republican Party – and Virginia is not immune.

The trial of Donald Trump will start in roughly a week and a half. The GOP still has time to reverse course, convict the former president, and bar him from holding federal office ever again. The opportunity is still there. Don’t hold your breath that they’ll take it.

It is far more likely that they will remain on their present course. The overwhelming majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill are content with being the Party of Trump, forever. If that holds, the party should never be given power again. Moreover, they themselves should be removed by the voters wherever they do have power.