The reality that is splitting Republicans apart
After the tumultuous events of last week, including Donald Trump‘s Mafia phone call to Georgia‘s Secretary of State to try to overturn their 2020 presidential election results, the shocking Democratic U.S. Senate runoff election sweeps in Georgia, the certification in the Congress of the Electoral College victory by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and the deadly right wing terrorist invasion of the U.S. Capitol that temporarily halted such certification, many Republican politicians quickly had to make a choice: is their future political career or legacy safer siding with or against Trump? In other words, do these Republicans follow Donald Trump down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, rejecting and trying to overturn state-certified elections, and even inciting terrorism and sedition against the United States? Or do Republican politicians retain a basic belief in reality, government institutions, the 2020 election results, and democracy itself? Here’s where some of these Republicans have lined up in recent days:
Anti-Trump
Mike Pence — after being Trump’s faithful lapdog for four years, Pence had the most visible choice of anyone: whether to do his constitutional duty to read the state Electoral Vote results on the Senate floor and declare Biden and Harris the winners on Wednesday, or to follow Trump’s pleadings and object to the process and the results. Pence released a letter to Congress on Wednesday indicating he was choosing the Constitution:
It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.
On Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Pence followed through on his constitutional commitment, and declared Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the winners of the 2020 election, naming himself and Donald Trump as the losers.
Willard Mitt Romney — a leading Republican critic against Donald Trump, Romney is the lone Republican U.S. Senator to have voted in favor of Trump’s removal after Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2019. Romney gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor before the Electoral College certification vote last Wednesday, stating:
We gather today due to a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States. Those who choose to continue to support his dangerous gambit by objecting to the results of a legitimate, democratic election will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy. They will be remembered for their role in this shameful episode in American history.
Lisa Murkowski — the U.S. Senator from Alaska is the first Republican Senator to call for Donald Trump’s resignation, doing so bluntly during a recent interview:
I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage…. He hasn’t been focused on what is going on with COVID. He’s either been golfing or he’s been inside the Oval Office fuming and throwing every single person who has been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with the vice president…. I don’t think he’s capable of doing a good thing.
Jeb Bush — although Bush may not have further political ambitions, he served as Governor of Florida, and comes from a Republican family dynasty of presidents, Congressmen and Senators. Thus, his public statements are relevant in the Republican Party. And Bush’s statement against Trump on Wednesday was unequivocal:
The President has provoked the disgusting events at the Capitol today. He has gone from creating chaos to inciting insurrection. Mr. President, accept your defeat, go home to Florida and let our elected officials do their jobs and rebuild confidence in our democracy.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 7, 2021
Pro-Trump
Josh Hawley — one of only six Republican U.S. Senators (and the first) to vote with Trump against certification of the 2020 Electoral Vote results, Hawley hardly distinguished himself last week. One of the most popular photographs from Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the Capitol is of Hawley raising his fist to the terrorists in support, moments before they attacked. Then on Wednesday night, Hawley continued his Senate arguments against certifying the Electoral College votes even after the attack had taken place. Hawley also spoke directly into the cameras, as if cutting a presidential campaign commercial, rather than addressing his colleagues directly. It seemed especially crass.
Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz — widely despised on both sides of the aisle well before last week, Senator Cruz found himself in the same boat as Hawley by week’s end. One of the six Republican U.S. Senators who objected to the Electoral College vote certification, Cruz stands accused of inciting the terrorists in the first place. Now, however, Cruz says that the terrorists should be fully prosecuted, and that Trump should peacefully transfer power to Biden. Nobody is buying it. As is the case with Hawley, there are widespread calls for Cruz to resign.
Kevin McCarthy — the U.S. House Minority Leader is sticking with Donald Trump even after the events of the past week. On Wednesday, McCarthy led a majority of House Republicans to vote against certifying the Electoral College results. Again, there are calls for McCarthy to resign from the Congress, as well as descriptions of McCarthy’s actions as “craven.”
Make no mistake: the Republican Party is having a Civil War, which will heat up over the next two years as we head into the 2022 midterm elections, as well as the following two years as candidates announce and run their 2024 presidential election campaigns. In our view, the anti-Trump side will fare much better going forward. One clue leading to this prediction is the slew of last-minute anti-Trump flips in favor of certifying the Electoral College results (for example, by Senators James Lankford and Kelly Loeffler) and last-minute resignations by Trump Cabinet members such as Transportation Secretary (and wife of Republican Senate Majority Leader McConnell) Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, to avoid a possible 25th Amendment vote to remove Trump. Another clue is the backpedaling by Sen. Cruz and others on their Trump praise after the Capitol terrorist attack. Perhaps these politicians know that Donald Trump, for all his bluster, is likely to fade away to concentrate on making money and playing golf. His party, and unfortunately, our country, will be left with the wreckage.
Photo by Mike Licht, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/TvLMic
