real risk that exists for Republicans to get involved in distinctly anti-Trump endeavors.
Yeah. Doing the right thing, standing up for the rule of law, showing a modicum of human decency, working to prevent a fascist takeover of our country are all risky endeavors for Rethugliklans.
āā¦some of the networkās efforts have affected real change, including amicus briefs its members filed to block the AT&T/Time Warner merger and the bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, for which members had lobbied.ā
If thatās the extent of the evidence for the success and influence of this supposedly promising, bipartisan effort, then thatās pretty thin.
Cute story. The āConcernedā must be made up of all the brave patriots who remain unnamed while supplying us with stories of Trumpās behind the scenes rage and paranoia. Way to stand up and fight for your country.
Secret bipartisan groups? Secret? God help us.
Does it say anywhere what country this story is about? Because it sure as shit isnāt this one.
It is easy to feel there are no truly decent Republicans, but I know there are. The story here is they have to act on real and very serious concerns in secret otherwise their party excommunicates them.
That is a big tell about the GOP and its place in history at this moment.
Iām sure there are some decent people who happen to vote Republicanāt. But Republicanāt politicians? The only difference Iāve seen in the last 20 years is that one will stab you in the front with a scowl on his or her face while the other will stab you in the back with a smile on his or her faceā¦
Groucho Marx famously said that heād never join a club that would have him as a member.
I have to question the principles of anyone who fears excommunication from the Republican party. There are decent Republicans and I suspect that there may even be decent Republicans in the US Congress. But it does no good for them to wring their hands and make addresses at the Yale Law School commencement about how awful our current executive branch is. (Yes, Iām looking at you Senator Jeff Flake.)
If they really believe things are that bad, then they need to act now. Small fires are relatively easy to extinguish. Big fires are not.
How did this piece get written without any mention of this?
This is an actual caucus in the House. Not particularly effective given the Houseās make up, but it does exist.
āThere is a troubling dynamic happening where anytime a conservative expresses concerns, they get branded a Never Trumper and are excommunicated from the American right."
The capitulation of the Republican party ā and even worse, the dwindling number of relatively rational conservative voters ā came depressingly fast. Slightly more than two years ago, only a small percentage of Republicans openly and eagerly supported Trump. Now, to show anything other than unbridled support and adulation for this blatant phony is heretical.
Politics is an arena with a lot of conflict. If you ask me about policy, all I can say ugh. And, I do bear in mind that the present GOP is the party these same politicians helped build.
That said, sometimes people donāt know where they are going till they get there. Sometimes sad, sometimes great, but fact it happens way too much, and if anyone tells you it never happened to them, they are liars many times over. And, I would note that conservatives seem particularly prone to the issue of not realizing that something matters until if affects them directly.
So I will take a Republican that has realized theirs screwed up to one that keeps going more over the edge.
More to the overarching point though:
It is the nature of conservatives to Heil! salute and fall in line behind der Fueher! their leader.
Itās just part of their psychological make up. Authoritarian longing is a key component of conservatism; has always been. They only sneak fall away when there is no other choice.
It sounded like a fluff piece to me. No names, no specifics. In my opinion there are very few Republicans who would be brave enough to turn on the monstrosity they have created. This is a ālong weekend, we need fillerā piece if I ever saw one.
This ācaucusā is nothing more than a resume builder. When election time comes around the members can crow about how devoted they are to bipartisanship and problem solving even though there is no evidence they have accomplished anything of the sort.
So, so true. I stumbled across a German movie from 2015 on Netflix the other day that explores this psychology. Itās called Look Whoās Back, and the premise is that Hitler wakes up in a small park in modern Berlin and eventually becomes a celebrity because 1) some people are amused at his outrageous comments and think itās a comedy act, while 2) others totally buy into the Nazi message. Hitlerās speech at the end could have been delivered by Trump.
I pointed out their lack of effectiveness.
But what part of this article can anyone hang their hat on as proof of bipartisan cooperation? Amicus briefs on a proposed merger? Thatās just as likely to be uncoordinated parties making a case for their own specific and unrelated reasons. Bill passed out of Judiciary Committee that promptly died in McConnellās hands? Prepared protests should Mueller be fired? Sorry, thatās largely been coordinated by various groups on the left, with a few republicans getting on that bandwagonā¦or at least saying they will.
Take this line, for example:
āNevertheless, as these groupsā ranks swell and discussion ranges from the ideals of democracy to funding a centrist challenger to Trump in 2020, a new brand of bipartisanship flourishes just under the surface of a historically fractured and contentious political climate.ā
What groups are seeing their ranks swellā¦specifically? Because not a one is listed in the article, nor is any proof of this swelling cited. A centrist challenger to Trump in 2020? Considering the vast majority of potential Democrats are tracking to the left right now, that seems to be a comment placed by some republican NeverTrump potential candidate. And finally, and redundantly, what new brand of bipartisanship? The GOP has completely capitulated their Constitution duty to conduct oversight on the Executive Branch., they are actively seeking to undermine and leak information on ongoing criminal investigations, and right as we speak, are refusing to bring a DACA bill to the floor of the House that would probably pass. That all is pretty much the exact opposite of bipartisanship.
As many here have noted, this article is remarkably fluffy, too much to be taken seriously. That said, Trump has been so extreme, unprincipled, and incompetent that it is surprising that there hasnāt been a great deal more pushback from republicans. It is as if the laws of political gravity have been revoked, and the pendulum is stuck at the top of its arc.
Hereās a thought. Instead of āreadying national protestsā in case Trump fires Muellerā¦how about protecting Mueller from being fired. So we wont have national protestsā¦and/or a Constitutional crisis. You know the old saying, an ounce of prevention, etc.
I am not sure that all of the pessimism that has been expressed here is entirely warranted. After all, we have had two discharge petitions, one in the house and were in the Senate, this session. I canāt remember a session with two discharge petitions before. Thereās also been an increase in awareness among the millennials. Without this, we donāt have a chance.
Nothing succeeds like success. If we win the midterms the center-right Republicans will abandon Trump for the middle. Of course, if we lose theyāll take the graft and stay where they are. Most of these guys are pragmatist. They want the graft and the easy life. If they canāt get it from the ultra right theyāll work with us. Be a realist, not a pessimist. Work for success in the midterms. The rest will follow.
Agreed.
Iām keeping an open mind here - itās possible this is true. Weāve heard plenty about GOP private opinions of Trump. So Iām not counting on anything but Iām also not counting anything out.
Anti-Trump Sentiment Prompts Unusual Bipartisan Cooperation
Yeah, I donāt think this is a real thing.