Credit Where Credit Is Due; or Blame, On The Same Basis

.⁦@danbalz⁩ on the “but our voters want it” defense >

“Those doubts exist largely bc he has told the falsehood over and over,others around him have done the same,and many others in the party have not stood up to him, preferring to look the other way https://t.co/wLEw7haseI

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 26, 2021

What I appreciate here is Dan Balz putting the blame where it lies.

Most of the response to this among the punderati has been hand-wringing about "the republic!  the republic!", which is a convenient way to refuse to hold anyone responsible except, maybe, the "supporters of Trump," which is conflated with the entirety of the GOP, and also allows them to talk about abstractions rather than concrete matters.  How many of the punderati know any "supporters of Trump" personally?  I'm guessing damned few.

Balz cuts that whinging off at the knees.  The GOP leadership is responsible for this mess.  They won't stand up to Trump (not even McConnell, who reportedly despises The Donald, and who has a reputation as a "tough guy"), so they look the other way.  And the narrative allows them to, because "OMG, the REPUBLIC!"  Oh, and lots of hand-wringing about how terrible it is, backed by the defensive measure: “IF YOU AIN'T SKEERED, YOU TOO DUMB TO UNDERSTAND HOW BAD IT IS!"

No, I'm not exaggerating:

“We are in the middle of monumental events in this country... Anybody who looks and sees anything other than danger at this moment I believe is naive and it's time to wake up in this country,” @SteveSchmidtSES tells @CapehartJ on the #SundayShow pic.twitter.com/JO5KQiXI0o

— The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@TheSundayShow) September 26, 2021

Dan Balz is not suddenly my hero, but holy shit how hard is this? The problem here is the GOP, from McConnell to the primary voter in Bumfuck, Egypt. Plain and goddamned simple. If the republic is in such serious danger (and I still maintain it is not) the solution is to hold those in power and postitions of responsibility, responsible!  The GOP is, by law in every state in the country, a major political party (the laws clear the way for GOP/Democratic candidates to get on state ballots (and they are ALL state ballots), and much harder for "third-party" candidates to do so.  They aren't literally the legal parties of the country, but in effect: yes, they are.)  As such it has responsibilities to the form of government we operate under.  Then again, the GOP has been abrogating those responsiblities since at least the days of Gingrich on the back bench of the House, and now it includes several time-wasters and space fillers in the Congress including, but not limited to:  MTG; Boebert; Madison Cawthorn; and Ted Cruz.  At least Cruz is on some Senate committees.  MTG wanders the steps of the Capitol looking for reasons to make a viral video, Cawthorn gets attention by accident, and Boebert's major contribution to the state of Colorado has been paying herself from campaign funds. They aren't even McConnell, trying to stop government from functioning effectively.  They're just drawing a paycheck for a job that includes not having a boss to answer to.  And what is Kevin McCarthy doing about it?  Bupkis.

I don't worry about Trump re-taking the White House (pro tip:  he won't).  I worry about McCarthy taking the Speaker's gavel.  Gawdelpusall!

Yesterday morning on MTP the usual suspects (including Meghan McCain?  Huh?) were blathering about the "deadheads" following Trump from state to state, "thousands" who are die-hard supporters.  "Thousands"?  In a school board election that number might matter, but in a Presidential one?  Are you kidding?  There are towns of "thousands" all over America, and most of us can't name two of them.  Are we afraid of them, too?  

Or are we just afraid to say that the politicians the reporters talk to every day are the ones responsible for this state of affairs in the GOP?  Because:  they are.  That's the job they wanted:  the job with authority, clean work and no heavy lifting.  That job also comes with responsibility.  And if there's a failing in the American civic process, look to them to take the blame.  If the people aren't following the leaders, then the leaders need to follow the law and the traditions that got us all this far and tell the people to get on board or get lost.

The latest bogus narrative is that Trump will fill the offices of Secretary of State across our fair land with Trumpistas who will see that he wins in 2024, whether he wins or not.  Have we already forgotten he tried that in 2020, albeit without the hypothetically compliant SOS's?  Even if he had gotten Georgia and Arizona to bend his way, would it have worked?  Or would the Congress have rejected the electors from both states, thus (as the Constitution requires, see Amend. 12) all things equal and Joe Biden still the victor?  Honestly, the people promoting this nonsense either know it's bullshit (just like Trump does, one presumes, but can never be sure) or they are as stupid as Trump (one can be sure of that).  Or they just like the role of Chicken Little, because they are perpetually being struck on the head and respond by screaming that the sky is falling!

It's time to call the liar a liar, and force people to choose.  Lies only succeed because we let them.  They really don't have a life of their own; it's only in constantly retelling them, and never challenging them, that they thrive.  If we can't stop the lies, we can hold people responsible for beliving them.  Shame is actually a very powerful social tool. Time we put it to use.