Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler paved the way for stupid, dishonest Republicans Wednesday when she tried to deflect the question of whether or not she supported Donald Trump’s demands for $2,000 survival checks to Americans. Loeffler seized on the stupid part, the “wasteful spending.” That was where Trump argued that the foreign assistance included in the spending part of the project—the foreign aid that was in the Trump budget, that the Republican Senate Foreign Operations Committee approved, and that congressional Republicans passed this week—was bad. Money that Trump asked for.
Now we’ve got the stupidest Republican in leadership, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (the guy who thinks Putin pays Trump) seizing on this as his excuse to oppose the $2,000 survival checks. “Democrats appear to be suffering from selective hearing,” he tweeted. “They've conveniently ignored @realDonaldTrump's call to reexamine tax dollars wasted overseas while so many Americans are struggling at home.” Again, overseas spending in the omnibus budget bill—which was requested by the Trump administration itself, and approved by the GOP-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee.
Meanwhile, the guy whose water he’s carrying, the guy who effectively poured gasoline on the entire government and then flicked a lit match on it on his way out the door, has gone golfing in Florida. Not only did Trump threaten to shut down the government, to stop coronavirus relief, and throw millions of people off unemployment and hundreds of thousands out of their homes, he also vetoed the defense authorization bill. For the first time in 60 years. Out of pique that it strips the names of Confederate traitors off military bases. All of which means that the last week of 2020 is going to be the worst week of 2020. Because Republicans are going to let Donald Trump get away with whatever the hell he wants to, while he still can. No matter the consequences.