Ever since the election, we have seen the process of people who once were joined at the hip to Trump start the process of creating space between them as they try to remove the stain of the association. It is a process that Trump will find very familiar because it is his signature move, invariably saying of people who have become a liability to him that he hardly knew them, even though strong evidence exists of a close relationship. This process has now extended to those Republicans in Congress who, sensing that Trump’s star is on the wane, have also begun the process of distancing themselves from the man they once slavishly followed.
Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell, ever sensitive to which way the wind is blowing, is one of them.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Capitol insurrectionists were "provoked by the president and other powerful people." pic.twitter.com/6kqSlAJHky
— The Recount (@therecount) January 19, 2021
There are many possible reasons for McConnell turning on Trump. One may be that he thinks that Trump has become a net loser for the Republican party and will be an albatross around its neck and that convicting him in a senate trial and instituting a punishment that prevents him from running again may be good for the party. Since he himself just won another six-year term that is likely to be his last, he is unlikely to face electoral repercussions from the Trump cult other than hostile comments. Another reason may be his anger that it was Trump that caused the loss of the two Republican senate seats in Georgia that deprived him of his most cherished position as senate majority leader. Another is that the Trump-inspired mob that stormed the Capitol ransacked the Senate chamber, a place that he clearly views with great veneration. And finally, there is the realization that the insurrectionists were seriously seeking to physically harm those members of congress who were not objecting to the certification of the Electoral College votes. If the mob could chant “Hang Pence”, he was clearly not safe either.
Even that most loyal of lapdogs Mike Pence is distancing himself from Trump, not attending Trump’s farewell but going to Biden’s inauguration, and not mentioning Trump or including him in the montage of photos in the farewell Tweet he sent out.
But if they think the stain of being so loyal to Trump will wash away easily, they had better think again.
There is not enough club soda in the world to remove the blood stains from the republicans. Nor vinegar, nor bleach, etc.
They were not joined at the hip. Their lips were joined firmly to his asshole.
Off-topic: Kamalam: India state Gujarat renames dragon fruit ‘lotus’
If the Senate vote on impeachment was a secret ballot, I wonder how many R’s would vote to convict simply because they want a shot at the nomination themselves, and they would love to see Trump off the stage. They want his followers but they really really don’t want him.
And they will deny him three times. Or maybe not three times, but three times thirty times. Or maybe three to the thirtieth times.
The national distancing and the party distancing are worth separating. He’s going to have a lot of characteristics worth shaming and scape-goating is an instinct. We’re going to have to hold one another accountable and support outside criticism.
“Impeach 3 times so the curse sticks” is my favorite. It still doesn’t reflect anything back at us though.
In all honesty, there were Presidents, including Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Carter, with FAR more blood on their hands. Trump was too incompetent to really start as many wars as his illustrious predecessors. And Given the horror show in North Africa, Hillary was probably more guilty than Trump.
Just saying,. Celebrate this horrible, horrible man’s departure. But don’t be so partisan that we lose sight of the reality of American policy and actions.