IN MY MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS
There’s an old saying that if you put a frog in a pot of water and lower the temperature very gradually, the frog will stay put until it’s too late. He’s frozen in a block of ice. Or something like that.
Today’s Republican Party is that frog, and Donald Trump is the block of ice. I think most of Republicans are happy to be chillin’ with the villain. But I have to wonder whether, if congressional Republicans had known eighteen months ago what they know now, at least a few of them would have been shocked enough to say oh my god, we can’t let this happen.
But now they know. And they’re starting to worry about the consequences. On Sunday, Axios reported (link below) that Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have written a confession of malfeasance and dereliction of duty. Of course, they didn’t frame it quite that way. They’re circulating a list of investigations they expect a new Democratic House majority will launch in 2019 if the expected blue wave materializes and Democrats take back the House in November.
Nothing on the list is surprising. They’re all matters that, in bygone days, congressional majorities in either party would have handled as a matter of course. But contemporary Republicans use it to frighten each other, like kids telling ghost stories.
The good news is that it’s almost September, and the mid-term elections that once seemed an eternity away will be here in eleven weeks. Arizona’s primary elections, which also seemed an eternity away, are taking place today. I voted by mail weeks ago, so I’m just sitting back and watching
I’m especially interested in AZ’s Senate race, where Martha McSally, a bland right-wing Republican, is running against two unabashed white nationalists. Send your thoughts and prayers to racist Republicans who are forced to choose between an experienced bigot, in the person of convicted criminal Joe Arpaio, and loony newcomer Kelli Ward, who might be even worse. Well, it would be (almost) impossible to be worse than Joe Arpaio, but Ward is giving him a run for his money.
It probably doesn’t matter much, since it’s likely that Ward and Arpaio will split the MAGA vote and hand the win to McSally. The best thing about this race is that McSally’s Senate candidacy means she can’t run for re-election in House CD2. That gives the Democratic congressional nominee a great shot at taking back the seat that rightfully belongs to Gabby Giffords.
There’s so much at stake in the 2018 mid-term elections that I can only think about them with a mixture of anticipation and dread. But it’s a very encouraging sign that Republicans themselves seem to be expecting the worst.