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Republicans Are Beginning to Drive the Narrative
We’ve been waiting a very long time. We have watched Republicans wringing their hands, trying to be polite, and deferring to their “honorable colleagues.” Finally, I think we’re seeing a couple of Republicans who are indicating they’ve had enough. I don’t know how long it will last, but I’m cautiously encouraged.
The first Republican I want to give a shout out to is Devin Nunes. Since the first major controversy arose in the House Intelligence Committee over the Russian dossier, which Nunes chairs, he has had to fight for his voice to be heard and for his reputation. We are now seeing the results of his efforts.
In spite of Adam Schiff’s pitiful behavior in trying to stop, discount and rage about the Republican memo, Nunes has been a stalwart representative for truth and justice. He has refused to bow to defend himself against the onslaught of insults from Adam Schiff. He has waited to see the Democrat rebuttal—and he, in his responsible and undramatic way has torn it apart, point by point. He now is collecting information about the missteps and possible corruption of the Department of State. I’d say he’s on a roll.
The other person who has actually surprised me is Paul Ryan in his determination to drive the conversation about gun control legislatively:
Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that House Republicans would focus on law enforcement failures, not tighter gun control, in the wake of the latest mass shooting, which left 17 children and educators dead at a Florida school on Feb. 14.
“There was a colossal breakdown in the system,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. Ryan cited inaction by a deputy stationed outside the school and tips called in to federal and local law enforcement officials about the alleged shooter, Nikolas Cruz, which raised concerns that the 19-year-old was planning such a rampage.
He was also prepared to clarify the conversation that should be had:
Ryan dismissed calls from Democrats and some survivors of the school shooting for stronger gun laws, including a ban on assault rifles and legislation to close loopholes in the background check system.
“We shouldn’t be banning guns for law-abiding citizens,” the GOP leader said. “We should be focusing on making sure that citizens who should not get guns in the first place don’t get those guns.”
I appreciated that he wasn’t ruling out anything, but he was stating clear Republican principles. It was so refreshing.
So I hope that Nunes and Ryan are both stepping up determinedly in ways that the Republican party needs to see and follow. I wonder about a few things:
Do you think that Donald Trump has set an example of fearlessness (in spite of any attributes of his you might not like)?
Do you see any other lawmakers who could join with Nunes and Ryan to move the Republican conversation forward?
What about those Senators?
Published in Politics
Actually he did give a reason at the time that made perfect sense to me. And in fact, whether that was the “legally correct” choice is still in dispute. I agree that he should have discussed it with Trump, but he felt convinced that he was justified in recusing himself, and you know darn well that Trump would have tried to talk him out of it, even though he had no idea if it was legally correct or not. (I’m not arguing, just pointing out a different perspective–at least I don’t think I’m arguing!) And we’ll never know if staying involved would have given better results, although I would hope he would have skipped a Special Counsel. That was a terrible decision. Can’t someone make this all go away??!!
The recusal was a rookie mistake. Sessions is out of his depth and he’s too old to claim that it’s just because he’s new to this. Serious mistake and he could have discussed it with Trump and his advisers and obtained a different perspective or at least chosen a time to do it and to narrow down the scope of the recusal. No, Sessions was running scared and he should have refused to serve rather than recuse. The recusal was and is unforgivable.
If you think it’s because of his vaunted morals then the right thing to do morally was to resign or refuse to serve rather than stab a new president in the back. And that’s exactly what Trump thought it was.