Trump âs lapdogs now accept the labeling of opponents as âtreasonousâ
President Trump on Feb. 5 said Democrats' refusal to cheer during his State of the Union address amounted to 'un-American' behavior. (The Washington Post)
Lucy and her football have nothing on  President Trump . Just as surely as she pulls the ball away from Charlie Brown  sending him skyward and crashing flat on his back   Trump  repeatedly lures  his  apologists into cooing about  his  new âpresidentialâ voice and rationalizing  his  absurdities. And each and every time   he  leaves them humiliated  flat on their backs.
A week ago at the State of  the Union Trump  declared  âTonight  I call upon on all of us to set aside our differences  to seek out common ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve. â¦ All of us  together  as one team  one people  and one American family  can do anything. We all share the same home  the same heart  the same destiny  and the same great American flag.â Reaching across the aisle! Offering an open hand! Monday  as the stock market was tumbling   Trump  sneered at Democrats who did not swoon over  his  State of the Union address. âThey were like death. And un-American. Un-American. Somebody said  âtreasonous.â I mean  yeah  I guess  why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean  they certainly didnât seem to love our country very much.â Splat! There goes another gang of  Trump  apologists. (Now  after media outlets and Democratic office-holders have blasted his language  the White House claims it was all a âjoke â the administrationâs most overused and ineffective tactic when defending the indefensible.)
Some Republicans will ignore the remarks; others will scream at the media for covering them. Others will rationalize it. As of this writing  there has been little pushback from the GOP. Republicansâ refusal to call out the most base language  the language of dictators  confirms their capitulation â political and moral â to  Trump . (These are the same people who insist Republicans cannot be tarred with a broad brush in 2018 because they donât share Trumpâs racist  xenophobic and anti-democratic views.)
 Trumpâs  defenders have scoffed at critics who cite  Trumpâs  attack on the free press  the courts and even the notion of objective reality. Theyâve decried an investigation into the presidentâs cooperation with Russians  of which there is substantial evidence he was willing to receive help from a hostile power. (âHe at least tacitly collaborated with a foreign-intelligence operation against his country â sometimes in full public view â write Ben Wittes and Jonathan Rauch. âThis started during the campaign  when he called upon the Russians to steal and release his opponentâs emails  and has continued during his presidency  as he equivocates on whether foreign intervention occurred and smears intelligence professionals who stand by the facts.â) And now  Trumpâs  devoted followers are content to allow  him  to call Democrats treasonous for not applauding  their  Great Leader.
During the campaign   Trump  fans ridiculed concerns that he was undemocratic and prone to demonstrate an unhealthy affection for authoritarianism and autocratic leaders  most especially Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Now as he confirms the worst of those fears  Republicans wave off evidence of  Trumpâs  undemocratic and  yes  anti-American rhetoric.
If you believe in the rule of law  democratic norms and institutions and decent public debate  Republicans must pay a heavy  heavy price for indulging  Trump . I am compelled to agree with Wittes and Rauch: âThe goal is to make the Republican Party answerable at every level  exacting a political price so stinging as to force the party back into the democratic fold.â (Thatâs small âdâ democratic.) Whether you think the GOP is salvageable or not  to reelect this crew in the midterms is to complete the capitulation to  Trumpâs  anti-democratic brand of politics. All Americans are compelled to stop this.
[TGT]  on Feb. 5 said Democrats' refusal to cheer during  [TGT]  State of the Union address amounted to 'un-American' behavior. (The Washington Post)
Lucy and her football have nothing on  [TGT]  . Just as surely as she pulls the ball away from Charlie Brown  sending him skyward and crashing flat on his back    [TGT]   repeatedly lures  his  apologists into cooing about  his  new âpresidentialâ voice and rationalizing  his  absurdities. And each and every time   he  leaves them humiliated  flat on their backs.
A week ago at the State of   [TGT] declared  âTonight  I call upon on all of us to set aside our differences  to seek out common ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve. â¦ All of us  together  as one team  one people  and one American family  can do anything. We all share the same home  the same heart  the same destiny  and the same great American flag.â Reaching across the aisle! Offering an open hand! Monday  as the stock market was tumbling   Trump  sneered at Democrats who did not swoon over  his  State of the Union address. âThey were like death. And un-American. Un-American. Somebody said  âtreasonous.â I mean  yeah  I guess  why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean  they certainly didnât seem to love our country very much.â Splat! There goes another gang of  Trump  apologists. (Now  after media outlets and Democratic office-holders have blasted his language  the White House claims it was all a âjoke â the administrationâs most overused and ineffective tactic when defending the indefensible.)
Some Republicans will ignore the remarks; others will scream at the media for covering them. Others will rationalize it. As of this writing  there has been little pushback from the GOP. Republicansâ refusal to call out the most base language  the language of dictators  confirms their capitulation â political and moral â to  Trump . (These are the same people who insist Republicans cannot be tarred with a broad brush in 2018 because they donât share Trumpâs racist  xenophobic and anti-democratic views.)
 Trumpâs  defenders have scoffed at critics who cite   [TGT] attack on the free press  the courts and even the notion of objective reality. Theyâve decried an investigation into the presidentâs cooperation with Russians  of which there is substantial evidence he was willing to receive help from a hostile power. (âHe at least tacitly collaborated with a foreign-intelligence operation against his country â sometimes in full public view â write Ben Wittes and Jonathan Rauch. âThis started during the campaign  when he called upon the Russians to steal and release his opponentâs emails  and has continued during his presidency  as he equivocates on whether foreign intervention occurred and smears intelligence professionals who stand by the facts.â) And now   [TGT] devoted followers are content to allow  him  to call Democrats treasonous for not applauding  their  Great Leader.
During the campaign   Trump  fans ridiculed concerns that he was undemocratic and prone to demonstrate an unhealthy affection for authoritarianism and autocratic leaders  most especially Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Now as he confirms the worst of those fears  Republicans wave off evidence of  Trumpâs  undemocratic and  yes  anti-American rhetoric.
If you believe in the rule of law  democratic norms and institutions and decent public debate  Republicans must pay a heavy  heavy price for indulging  Trump . I am compelled to agree with Wittes and Rauch: âThe goal is to make the Republican Party answerable at every level  exacting a political price so stinging as to force the party back into the democratic fold.â (Thatâs small âdâ democratic.) Whether you think the GOP is salvageable or not  to reelect this crew in the midterms is to complete the capitulation to  Trumpâs  anti-democratic brand of politics. All Americans are compelled to stop this.