The rethuglicans were floating on a wave of frenzied victory, assured in their ability to bend Trump to their will. They could finally institute all the terror, hatred and bigotry they wanted, and maybe finally get that theocracy, too. As well as the unfettered ability to be as corrupt as they wished. Unfortunately for them, the taste of fear is on their tongues.

Rather than the hoped-for collaborative new relationship between the White House and Congress, GOP officials complain that Trump is brushing aside their advice, failing to fully engage on drafting tough legislative packages on tax reform and Obamacare, and bypassing Congress by relying on executive actions, something they frequently complained about under President Barack Obama.

At the same time, Trump’s unilateral moves continue to blindside Republicans and direct the national focus toward topics many in the party would rather avoid, whether that’s how to pay for building the border wall with Mexico, warming ties with Russia, investigating false claims about voter fraud or, most recently, implementing sweeping new policies on refugees and visas.

Just about anyone could have told you that it’s not possible to control a narcissistic maniac with delusions of grandeur. It’s not as though any of that were some kind of secret, you all knew this well before hand, but you just couldn’t resist the chance to eat the country whole.

In the name of party unity, many Republicans so far have refrained from publicly attacking the new president. But for some, the new refugee policy crossed the line, signaling the first major rift in their already fraught partnership.

“It’s unacceptable,” said Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, one of the few GOP lawmakers critical of Trump’s actions.

“We need to be careful as we do this,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. “We don’t have religious tests in this country.”

Oh, McConnell, one of the very worst of fascists to be found anywhere, and a religious fanatic to boot. No, you don’t want religious tests, do you? :spits: I wouldn’t mind putting this asshole to a test or three. I can guarantee he wouldn’t pass ’em.

The Big Bully Boy’s response was too fucking precious, in the form of a tweet, of course:

“The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong — they are sadly weak on immigration. The two … Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.”

I keep feeling like I got tossed unceremoniously down the rabbit hole today. This shit ain’t helping.

Republican lawmakers appear to have little forewarning of what Trump is doing from one day to the next — or even hour to hour — learning about their party leader’s latest moves the way everyone else does — from his tweets.

Oh, I’d laugh if it weren’t for the tears running down my face. It’s a Twitter government, run by a Twit!

Republicans who had hoped to huddle privately to craft a policy agenda were forced to veer repeatedly off message as they fumbled to respond to Trump’s string of actions and statements.

[…]

But few Republicans expected Trump would win the White House, so they didn’t prepare a cohesive legislative agenda. They have been playing catch-up ever since with a president who has no government experience, is unfamiliar with the lexicon of legislating and so far has had no qualms about leaving Congress in the dust.

Much time has been spent behind the scenes trying to bring the president up to speed on how to transform his popular campaign slogans — build the wall, bring back American jobs, destroy Islamic State — into actionable policy. But it remains a work in progress.

Perhaps that whole ‘no government experience’ should have been thought through a bit more. Maybe that sort of thing should be a requirement to govern.

Via Raw Story.

In related news, the Koch Brothers are busy getting their deep pockets involved:

“[Americans] are looking for answers to economic insecurity and this feeling that things are still not fair,” sad Brian Hooks, co-chairman of the Koch’s network. He claimed that their message will not a partisan one.

“The message is very, very clear: The American people are hurting and they need for things to get better,” he continued. “And if things don’t get better, then we should expect history to repeat itself. Not only will millions of Americans dreams be dashed, but we should expect that the political pendulum will swing with even more force in the other direction next time — even further to the left than Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren.”

Those attending worked to understand the mindset of the Trump voters who “wanted something different” in a president. With 10 Democratic senators up for reelection, the Koch funders see it as an opportunity to achieve a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

“We can use the current situation to really turn up the heat on Democratic senators,” Texas donor Chart Wescott told BuzzFeed.

Via Buzzfeed.