How hard should it be for even an elected Republican to declare unequivocally that any aspiring fascist who vows to terminate the U.S. Constitution deserves to be banished, politically speaking, to the depths of hell?
Seriously, could the prospective criminal defendant make it any easier for the GOP to cobble together words of condemnation? Over the weekend he actually thumbed this on his social media site: “A massive fraud of this type and magnitude (his batshit belief that he was robbed of a win in 2020) allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution” in order to name him “the RIGHTFUL WINNER” of that race. He later said: “UNPRECEDENTED FRAUD REQUIRES UNPRECEDENTED CURE!”
Could House Republicans politicians – all of whom have taken an oath to protect democracy – be teed up any easier? As Dennis Aftergut, a former assistant U.S. attorney, remarked in The Bulwark (a non-MAGA Republican outlet), “Trump writing that we should cancel the Constitution ranks…as among the most shameful acts of a former president in our nation’s history. Trump was not just saying the quiet part of his entire political career out loud. He was screaming it straight into our eardrums.”
But no. Not even Trump’s most un-American utterance – coming on the heels, no less, of his dinner with two raging antisemites – has inspired Republicans en masse to sign up for spinal implants. They are, indubitably, a particularly onerous species of jellyfish.
Did you know that jellyfish are 99 percent water and have no brains? Let’s meet one of them now.
On ABC News yesterday, we were perversely entertained by Congressman David Joyce, who chairs something called the Republican Governance Group, which, in his words “is basically focused on making government work.” In other words, he’s supposedly one of the sane ones. You might think that the first principle of sanity is to state the obvious: that American government can’t work if it’s oppressed by a dictator who wants to cancel the Constitution; and, ergo, that no presidential candidate who aspires to destroy democracy should get a scintilla of support.
Alas, he said nothing of the sort. (He’s not unique, of course; he’s just one of the party’s garden variety cowards.) When he was asked to render an opinion about Trump’s fascist cri de coeur, he served up this diversionary smorgasbord:
“Well, you know, when President Trump was in office, I didn’t make a habit of speaking out on his tweet du jour. I don’t know what came out on his – whatever his new social platform is. But, you know, people were not interested in looking backwards. The people who gave us the majority – and, again, we – we – we barely won it. We barely eked it out. So, let’s be straight about where we’re at. They gave us an opportunity, and we need to perform. And we need to care about the issues that they care about, which is, how do they lower the cost at the pump?…The price of everything I buy, eggs, bacon, toast, it all goes up, right? It hasn’t gone down. And, again, people have to live within their budget. What are we doing to make sure that they fall within that budget? What are we doing to make sure that their lives are better? And how do we continue to make sure that they have the jobs and the economy is stable and they have the jobs to be able to live and take care of their families.”
Since his entire off-topic riff was about the midterm elections, host George Stephanopoulos deemed it wise to follow up: “But Donald Trump was your nominee in 2016 and 2020. You voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Now he’s talking about suspending the Constitution. Can you support a candidate in 2024 who’s for suspending the Constitution?”
That was a darn pertinent question, because Joyce has already taken the House oath of office, in which he solemnly swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies , foreign and domestic,” and to “bear truth faith and allegiance to the same.”
But again, he went slip sliding away:
“Well, again, it’s early. I think there’s going to be a lot of people in the primary. I think, at the end of the day, you will – whoever the Republicans end up picking, I’ll fall in behind because that’s – “
OK, let’s pause for a moment. The question was not about the 2024 primary season. But whoa…was Joyce actually volunteering that he will “fall in behind” someone with openly fascist intentions?
Stephanopoulos asked: “Even if it’s Donald Trump and he’s called for suspending the Constitution?”
Joyce tried the same dodge:
“Well, again, I think it’s going to be a big field. I don’t think Donald Trump’s going to clear out the field like he did in ’16.”
Stephanopoulos: “That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking you, if he’s the nominee, will you support him?”
Whereupon Joyce proceeded to soil himself:
“I will support whoever the Republican nominee is. And just don’t think that, at this point, (Trump) will be able to get there because I think there’s a lot of other good quality candidates out there.”
Stephanopoulos: “That’s a remarkable statement. You just – you’d support a candidate who’s come out for suspending the Constitution?”
Joyce has no problem with that:
“Well, you know, he says a lot of things. You have to take him in context. And right now I have to worry about making sure (the) Republican Governance Group and the Republican majority, that we make things work for the American people. And I can’t be really chasing every one of these crazy statements that come out about – from any of these candidates that come out.”
Hang on a sec. Did Joyce actually say that you have to take Trump “in context”? By what logic has his call to terminate the Constitution been taken out of context?
Stephanopoulos followed up: “But that’s an extraordinary statement. You can’t come out against someone who’s for suspending the Constitution?”
Joyce and his House allies still refuse to acknowledge that Trump’s demented words are taken seriously by his most demented and violence-prone followers:
“Well, you know, he says a lot of things…We’re moving forward and we’re going to continue to move forward as a Republican majority and as a Republican conference.”
Riddle me this: Did Joyce and his party comrades learn absolutely nothing from their underwhelming midterm results? Is it possible “to move forward” as a party if the party’s titular leader is willing to shoot the Founding Fathers in the middle of Fifth Avenue – and if the jellyfish are still so willing to swim in his fetid waters?