The headline might have seemed absurd in another era, even just four years ago but in this era of Trump Cultism, Orwellian Doublethinking is a norm in the GOP.

It probably isn’t surprising to most Americans that the GOP has become nothing more than a propaganda tool for a criminal enterprise. They no longer serve any functional purpose as a legislative entity. In fact, their legislative leader, Mitch McConnell has bragged about fulfilling his position as Senate Majority leader by being “The Grim Reaper”, killing nearly all legislation from ever being passed. That is not what Americans vote for and expect their representatives to do, they want Congress to work for them but Republicans use tribalism to justify their opposition to a functional democracy.

They are now devoid of principles. Republicans have crossed off of their list almost all of their “issues”. Patriotism and standing up to Russia? Opposing increasing deficits? The separation of powers and Congress’ checks and balances over the Presidency?

The Republican Party has been hollowed out like a Jack O’Lantern and the leering face carved into it is that of Donald J. Trump.

Today’s farce and lawbreaking by 30 or so Republican House members, led by noted drunk driver Matt Gaetz and including infamous, raving racist Steve King, to storm into the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) in which House committees were conducting their impeachment inquiry, was a continuation of Trump’s assault on America’s system of justice.

Following in the shoes of their criminal Republican reader who this week proclaimed that the Constitutional law of emoluments is “phony”, this all-white Republican posse crashed into lawful impeachment hearings to do what they could to burn it down. Though reflecting their hollowness, instead of burning a cross as white mobs who take the law into their own hands have done in the past, they brought pizza so these tough little men wouldn’t go hungry if they had to spend hours breaking the law to stop House members from investigating lawbreaking by their leader.

The Republicans engaged in this stunt broke multiple laws in the process. They brought their cell phones into a SCIF, destroying its security, which is a crime. And they disrupted the lawful duties of a committee which is also a criminal offense, though not as serious as compromising security.

Remember how Republicans dealt with disruption in a hearing where a woman merely laughed at a testimony of lies about Jeff Sessions?

A Jury Just Convicted a Woman for Laughing at Jeff Sessions

On Wednesday, a jury convicted a 61-year-old female activist who had laughed during Sessions’s January confirmation hearing in the Senate. Desiree Fairooz, a longtime protester affiliated with the anti-war group Code Pink, had been escorted out of the room for laughing in response to Senator Richard Shelby’s assertion that Sessions had a “clear and well-documented” history of “treating all Americans equally under the law.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/jeff-sessions-protester-charged-laughing

This was in a public hearing, open to the public. There was no criminal violation as with Republicans today, regarding security. It didn’t shut down the hearing or delay it more than a moment. And yet, Republicans came down as hard on Ms. Fairooz as if she was a violent criminal.

It has become matter-of-fact that Republicans are complete and utter hypocrites. That is their brand now. They are howling now about the rules they used for private hearings against Hillary Clinton in their countless Benghazi lunacy because Democrats are using them. The hypocrisy now has devolved to, “No fair! Only Republicans get to use those rules!”

And it is not lost on many that in the face of overwhelming evidence of Trump committing crimes and impeachable offenses against his own country’s laws and his oath of office, the only Republican protest is that they’re not being allowed to cover up his crimes.

This is what the GOP is today. They see themselves as above-the-law. Just a rogue political private security force under the rule of their Great Leader, serving only him and no longer the rule of law, their oath of office or the people they represent. They prove again today, the GOP has become a wholly corrupt and decayed shell of a political party.

Their only approach to being corrupt now is to take whatever steps they can to deceive the public about their corruption as opposed to cleaning it up. They break laws without concern, they lie with abandon, they merely operate in tribal terms without any conscience or principle guiding them.

They are, as a group, nihilists and sociopaths, unhesitating in unleashing greater destruction of our democracy and society in the pursuit of one thing, power.

These Republicans should be charged with violating the laws that they have broken, far more serious than Ms. Fairooz acted while she was criminally prosecuted and convicted. The members of the Trump Administration who have violated the law by refusing to obey subpoenas should also be financially sanctioned and jailed by Congress, as Susan McDougal was imprisoned for 18 months for refusing to testify after being subpoenaed in the Whitewater investigation of Bill Clinton.

The criminality and casual lawbreaking of the Trump GOP needs to be stopped and punishment is the only way. Sometimes Democrats can be too intellectual, to prone to reasoning away proper action, primarily out of unfounded fear of the consequences (remember when one of Democratic leadership’s big arguments against impeachment was that the public would turn on them and support Trump as happened with Bill Clinton when he was impeached? That the public needed to support impeachment first or it would damage Democrats?).

The argument against holding Trump’s cronies in inherent contempt, which gives the right to financially sanction and jail those who show contempt of Congress to The House itself (not needing the corrupt DoJ to enforce or prosecute), is another overboard worry by Dems who make lawbreaking worse by allowing it.

They should see that since they began a real impeachment inquiry, a majority of the public has supported them AND it has prevented at least some further lawbreaking. Trump would never have reversed himself on awarding himself a multi-million dollar contract to host the G7 at his Doral resort, a clear violation of the emoluments clause in The Constitution, if he wasn’t worried by it adding to the impeachment process underway.

This criminal operation known as The GOP needs to be “arrested”, they need to be stopped from continuing their lawbreaking. Democrats are doing what seems to be a brilliant job in confronting Trump’s criminality through their impeachment inquiry, they need to enforce the law as well to discourage further lawbreaking by Republicans in Congress as well.

And of course, they need to be defeated and stripped of their power in 2020 if America is to return to being a just nation where no one is above the law.

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TOCB
Member

And of course, they need to be defeated and stripped of their power in 2020 if America is to return to being a just nation where no one is above the law.

HALF of Americans STILL don’t believe Trump should be impeached. It begs the question, does a UNITED States of America actually exist? Are there principles that are more important than our own self interest, greed and prejudices? HOW can ANYONE defend the President of The United States using the power of the office of the presidency to strongarm an ally or even to conspire with an adversary to interfere in the American democratic process? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

The Mueller investigation is old news now. Over 90% of Republicans thought it was a witch hunt. Why? Because Trump told them it was a witch hunt. Now, we have heard Trump and some in his close circle ADMIT to a shakedown of Ukraine for Trump’s personal interest. YET, congressional Republicans and even some senate Democrats are hedging on the question when the press ask them if it is ok for Trump to shakedown Ukraine. The Honorable Elijah Cummings thought we are better than this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k3Bdry8cgs

The framers of the Constitution thought that “factions”, i.e., political parties COULD destroy our union.

https://www.history.com/news/founding-fathers-political-parties-opinion

Steppenwolf
Member

Excellent piece. It occurred to me that you are using language, and tone, in several places that hardly would have been printable even just a year ago; as when you point out that the doj is corrupt.

I applaud you. I think that we may be starting a new “Dialogue.” There once was a “Great Dialogue” in which all “Western” men participated. You might call that a “withered vine.” Maybe we can graft a new growth on the old. We have strong roots.

There’s one thing that I might add to your conclusion: We can’t just get rid of the old, bad blood; we have to at least begin to make things right; not “again,” but “finally.” We Democrats have to deliver – this time. Or pack up and go home. And just turn the world over to the tribalist hate mongers and their slavish followers. We have to make long-range plans, and set goals. Together, somehow. We have to do the things that we always knew were needed; like accessible healthcare, qualify education, sunlight in government; and we have to put an end to this corruption that is epidemic and rampant.

If we can kill the cancer – Trump – then we have to start thinking about what it means to be well.

glenn
Member

Great post, Ad. Best line ever: “The Republican party has been hollowed out like a Jack O’Lantern and the leering face carved into it is that of Donald J. Trump.”

Dems need to make sure that this political stunt today does not go unpunished. I cannot believe how low repubs are willing to go to protect a treasonous, lying bully! The people in Congress are supposed to be the leaders of our country, yet these cretinous cowards have no leadership, no morality, no shame, no understanding, nor any loyalty to our Constitution.

We must never forget, nor let the Republican party and its followers forget, how willing they are and were to not just overlook, but actually defend treason, corruption, and criminality.