Trump's latest Gallup poll numbers are remarkable -- 94% approval rating among Republicans, 49% job approval overall (highest of his term so far) and a 63% approval on his handling of the economy. Trump can thank his rock-solid support among Republicans and conservative-minded independents for floating his balloon even as Democrats have tried for three years to pop it.
I've heard Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say often that he views politics as a team sport. As frustrated Democrats ask over and over when Republicans are going to break with their President, it appears that Trump and McConnell have operationalized that "go team" philosophy to keep their base together, both in votes on Capitol Hill and at ballot boxes across the country.
In short, Democrats whine, while Republicans govern -- just the way Trump and McConnell want it.
Some decry the "shirts and skins" nature of modern politics, but it has paid off in spades for Trump and McConnell. Without it, there would be no tax cut, no Justice Brett Kavanaugh and no impeachment acquittal. And although many of Trump's detractors bemoan the party unity (and applaud the rare Republican, like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who found Trump guilty of abuse of power on Wednesday) as a lack of "moral courage," how can you fault Republicans for wanting to enact a policy agenda on which they had waited for so long?
For 10 years (the last two of former President George W. Bush's term and all eight of former President Barack Obama's administration), conservatives waited for a chance to again govern the country in full. The pent-up demand to rebalance the federal judiciary, cut taxes, reign in government regulation and generally steer the country back to the right cannot be underestimated and remains a powerful driver of GOP unity in the Trump era.
That doesn't mean all Republicans love everything Trump does (just look at some of the statements Republican senators like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski made even as they acquitted him). But they aren't interested in playing the Democrats' game of trying to stymie Trump's progress by using the media's daily outrage machine. They can tolerate quite a lot of outrage, in fact, if it means getting what they want. And it has the ancillary benefit of putting our nation on the right track, as conservatives see it.
Party unity is to be applauded, not scorned. Democrats largely stick together in the House, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is lauded as a master strategist. When Republicans do it under McConnell's direction, critics deride them unmercifully as too fearful to break with the President.
They are afraid -- that's true. But not of Trump. Rather, they are afraid of the next 10-year period when nothing on the conservative policy agenda is accomplished. And that's why they stick together now. It is the best way to win today's policy fights and November's election -- and to make long last changes to the judiciary.
"Winners make policy and losers go home" is another famous McConnell-ism. Sticking together under Trump is the best way to make that happen, and no amount of moaning from the opposition (or from Romney, for that matter) is going to shake that belief.
"Opinion" - Google News
February 07, 2020 at 08:36AM
https://ift.tt/372guOv
Democrats whine while Republicans govern - CNN
"Opinion" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2FkSo6m
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment