We hear the phrase “actions have consequences,” often used to justify cancel culture or other moves by the Left to red line those seeking restoration of constitutional government. Well, that’s fine and dandy, as long as it applies to all.
The problem is, the Republican establishment has been trying to duck the consequences of action – or more accurately, inaction – for a long time. Let’s take, for instance, the scandal surrounding the targeting of the Tea Party by the Internal Revenue Service. Those in 2013 who had held themselves up as leaders of the Republican Party by virtue of gaining the nomination for the Presidency in their lifetimes were George H. W. Bush, Robert Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.
Now how much do you recall them speaking out about that targeting? McCain was mum. Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. didn’t bother to blast out anything. Dole was apparently struck dumb. Romney’s reticence was quite remarkable, given one estimate that the IRS’s actions arguably could have cost him the election. We’ve now found out via a book tour that John Boehner, the speaker of the House when the scandal came to light, held the Tea Party in great disdain. The Senate leadership didn’t do much, either.
This inaction, combined with failures on policy (see the Iran nuclear deal) and in-fighting back against other abuses, (Operation Choke Point and Spygate), had consequences. One of them was the rise of Donald Trump. Despite a colorful personal life that included womanizing, despite a number of Tweets and statements that reminded people of “a disposable feminine cleansing product one might use on a summer’s eve,” to quote the Big Bang Theory’s Rajesh Koothrappali, many Republicans and conservative voters turned to Trump precisely because he was willing to fight back.
Richard Baris has noted this trend, recently pointing out on Twitter, “Elected Republicans do not defend their voters.” See, for instance, Liz Cheney palling it up with Joe Biden after his address and then defending her actions. Never mind the vicious attacks her dad received from Democrats over the years, attacks many Republican voters defended him against. Her persistence has even worn down the patience of Kevin McCarthy, according to some reports.
Liz Cheney and some others (Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney, and Lisa Murkowski among them) aside, many Republican officeholders and pundits have accepted the consequences and have modified their behavior to some degree. See Lindsey Graham as one of the more prominent cases. Remember how Trump gave him the meeting at Mar-a-Lago prior to CPAC? Graham earned it with some very fierce fights against the Left.
However, a more recent and public example is Senator Tim Scott, whose response to Biden was a tactical masterstroke, with the potential to be a strategic disaster for the Left if Trump and the RNC follow up properly. During his speech, Scott noted how the Left launched racist attacks at him in the past. Then, after his response, the Left proved him right by launching precisely the types of attacks he predicted. Scott, policy differences aside, has learned from 2020. This was an excellent anticipation of the likely attacks, a necessary skill that many Republicans and Conservatives have failed to utilize, much less master.
read more here: https://uncoverdc.com/2021/05/05/failing-to-accept-consequences-will-be-the-downfall-for-the-establishment/
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