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Sure, GOP Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker made some good points Tuesday about how Donald Trump is "debasing" our political discourse and the entire country in the process, but they're retiring from the Senate. Ask any Republican who plans on indefinitely clinging to his or her Senate seat, and they'll tell you Flake and Corker are totally off track because giving tax cuts to America's wealthiest is just too important to get sidetracked by the legal, ethical, moral, and existential questions surrounding Trump's presidency. Take Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, for one.
”I’m focused on getting stuff done,” Portman said in response to a question about the Flake/Corker rally cry. “This week it’s about opioids, tomorrow it’s opioids. Today it’s tax reform. That’s my job.”
How about protecting the American people from a maniac—is that in your job description?
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, fighting for his political future, was even harsher than Portman, suggesting that Flake had no one but himself to thank for his weakened political position and that he couldn’t imagine what Corker thinks he’s accomplishing.
“We need to tackle tax reform and then get back to repealing and replacing Obamacare,” Wicker told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Tuesday just after Flake had delivered his stirring indictment of Trump and his GOP enablers. What about that, Todd wondered, along with Corker’s criticisms?
“Jeff wrote a book, he didn't even tell his staff he was doing it. It was quite provocative,” Wicker said with a bit of chuckle, blaming Flake for his own predicament. “He obviously knew that this was going to be a bombshell.” And Corker?
“I do not see how this chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee thinks this exchange is helpful to American foreign policy,” Wicker responded.
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Oh, I don’t know, how about maybe trying to save the U.S. from World War III—that seems “helpful.” But even the GOP’s supposed foreign policy experts like Sen. Lindsey Graham don’t want to take Corker’s and Flake’s concerns seriously.
Bottom line, no Republicans who plan on staying in the Senate have any interest in looking past tax reform and healthcare repeal to see that lining the pockets of America’s wealthiest actually doesn’t matter a lick if Trump tears down the foundations of our country in the process. Who cares, they say. Apparently, it’s kind of funny if you think about it.
These disputes have become so ordinary that some Republicans just laugh them off, the way Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) did. Tillis purchased a bag of popcorn before the lunch with Trump and posted the picture on social media, treating the event like going to the movies.
Good one, Tillis. Let the record reflect that while Jeff Flake was worried about the “morally treasonable” complicity of Republicans, Tillis was popping popcorn in his clown shoes.