My dearest Republicans, I know that somewhere, way back deep in the recesses of your memories, when you ran for elected office—maybe not all, but at least some of you—had some sense that you might actually do something good for the country. That you had something—it may not have been much, but something, at least—to contribute to make this country just a little bit better.
If you’d only been in it for yourselves, there were far easier paths than the exhaustive glad-handing and fundraising for months on end, kissing ass, and pretending to care about the unwashed masses in your district.
Maybe you had some deep-seated religious convictions or (gasp!) conservative principles—like guns, flag, and country!—that you wanted to pursue. Maybe it was just the everyday feeling of having people respect and look up to you that you craved. Maybe it was the admiration of the opposite sex, or maybe it was just those awesome cocktail parties, filled with hors d'oeuvres and piles and piles of peel-and-eat shrimp.
But did you really, in all seriousness, want to find yourselves stuck in a perpetual, endless feedback loop of sucking up and prostrating yourselves to someone holding you hostage like this?
As spelled out by Cristina Cabrera, writing for Talking Points Memo:
In a statement issued by his “Save America” political action committee that was written almost exactly like a tweet, ex-President Donald Trump urged his supporters to stop donating to “RINOS” (Republicans In Name Only) and redirect the cash to him instead.
“No more money for RINOS. They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base—they will never lead us to Greatness,” the former president declared. “Send your donation to Save America PAC at DonaldJTrump.com.”
Most everyone in this country is born, at least at the outset, with more than an ounce of self-respect. Babies exhibit this capacity right away; even they know when they’re being unfairly jerked around (and they let you know it, too!). In fact, for many the entire growth process from adolescence through adulthood is an exercise in avoiding people who take advantage of you, who disrespect you, and who abuse and bully you. It’s hard sometimes to avoid such people, but there are a few out there who just exude a big, flashing red warning sign.
I’m honestly curious—have you paid attention to the way Donald Trump treats people around him who try to curry his favor? I get the fact that maybe, in 2016, you felt like you had to get on the bus if you wanted to keep your day jobs. But did you happen to notice what Paul Ryan, your House speaker did after he’d shepherded through that massive tax cut for his donors, which was all he ever cared about? He left the building, jumped off the bus as quick as he could. Because he saw what was coming down the pike.
Did you notice how the Trump administration became a revolving door for people like Jim Mattis? John Kelly? Rex Tillerson? These people certainly weren’t my faves, but they at least, in the final analysis, had something you seem to be sorely lacking: a simple degree of self-respect.
Did you see what’s happened to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp? Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy? They both sucked up to Trump, only to be stabbed in the back. Where are they now? Prostrating themselves again slavishly before his feet, and looking like contorted, silly marionettes while Trump gleefully pulls on their strings. Their careers are now essentially at his whim. Is that you want? To be always looking over your shoulder, waiting for the next shoe to drop by this unbalanced sociopath?
And now, adding insult to injury, you get this:
Trump’s call comes several days after his attorneys sent cease-and-desist notices to the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) demanding they stop using his name and image in their fundraising efforts.
His “name and image?” This is the guy you all marched in line to protect, when his criminal nature became too obvious and blatant to ignore. This is the guy who fed you a line of B.S. about the election being stolen. And you never believed it for a second. You know how I know that? Because not a single one of you claimed your own elections (or reelections) were due to any “fraud.” You were right there on the same ballot form with him, so if there was really any “fraud,” well, that sure would have been some magic trick. And yet, there you were in the halls of Congress, minutes after being hunted down by his deluded supporters, swearing up and down that the election that just put you back into office was “fraudulent.”
Let me ask you—is this really what you signed up for? To be a perpetual lapdog and puppet to a sociopath who you know is going to give you the shiv if you cross him? Do you really want to live the rest of your career being Lindsey Graham? Ewww.
Forget about “honesty,” “decency,” “ love of country,” and all those other imagined qualities you long ago might have aspired to. Please, please—just tell us—what the hell happened to your self-respect?