There is something utterly fascinating about the current state of the Republican Party. Not fascinating in the way you can marvel at the beauty of an Aurora Borealis , but they way you'd stare at an 18-clown-car pile-up.
The GOP is currently separated into two distinct camps: Donald Trump's loyal "we shall rise again" sycophants and the traditional Republicans who refuse to admit they lost their party when they decided "crazy but electable" was better than "principled yet obsolete." A perfect example of this is Maine's Republican Senator, Susan Collins.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Collins explained why President Biden's infrastructure bill should be smaller (it's as expensive as World War II!), then tried to attack Biden for his lack of bipartisanship, assuming he tries to pass the bill through reconciliation and without the help ofobstructionistsRepublicans. Host Jake Tapper was quick with the hypocrisy check.
Jake Tapper: "Reconciliation used to pass the Trump tax cuts, though, right?" Susan Collins: "I'm sorry?" Tapper:… https://t.co/AkUBtXA1sC
— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1619962134.0
Guess Collins wasn't so concerned about bipartisanship or the deficit when it was time to shovel money to the rich.
Tapper asked Collins about the rift between the factions in her party and she tried some whataboutism, saying it's the Democrats who have gone extreme. Then she was too cowardly to say who she voted for in the presidential race.
Collins says that when she hoped Trump learned a lesson from impeachment, she was just speaking about his dealings… https: //t.co/iJILjUMIA9
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1619965700.0
Tapper then asked Collins about DC statehood, and she made the asinine suggestion that DC should just have itself absorbed into Maryland if it wants representation with its taxation, even though Maryland has opposed this before .
Historians noted that by her logic, Collins wouldn't be a senator.
Maine was part of Massachusetts for nearly two centuries — should we put it back there too? https: //t.co/NAFIUMuTlb
— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1619995996.0
Collins said DC would get a House representative if it became part of Maryland, but also suggested it would "gain" representation in the Senate by merely having Maryland's two senators. Of course, for much of the country, having "representation" in the Senate is really ... not having representation. (Do the many Democrats in Texas have Senate representation from Ted Cruz? Really ?)
She also suggested there were some grave constitutional hurdles to DC becoming a state, but as the Washington Post explains, there really aren't. All it really says is that the federal capital shall not be larger than "10 miles square." Nonvoting DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced legislation to fix it by reducing the federal district down to a two-square-mile enclave, which would include the White House, Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court and other federal buildings. The rest of DC would become the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth (to honor Frederick Douglass).
But if we are gonna merge states, why stop there? Let's reunite the Carolinas, Dakotas and Virginias! That would solve some of our Kristi Noem, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Joe Manchin, Shelley Moore Capito, Richard Burr, Tom Tillis and Tim Scott problems. all in one swoop! I mean if we are gonna be strict constitutionalists, then it's our only choice. Of course, Collins wouldn't want that because it would hurt Republicans.
As for other Republicans on Sunday shows, here are some quick hits.
There's the aforementioned South Carolina GOP Senator Tim Scott, saying on "Face The Nation" that he's been "stopped eighteen times driving while black," and then immediately praising police for donating toys during Christmas.
There's GOP Senator John Barrasso on ABC's "This Week," perpetuating the Republican lie about the infrastructure bill only being "six percent" for infrastructure, and immediately being called on it by host Martha Raddatz.
Martha Raddatz fact-checks Sen. John Barrasso in real time as he lies about Biden's infrastructure proposal https: //t.co/tKQOUrxDAA
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1619966279.0
Would Barrasso like more of what he considers infrastructure in the bill? He didn't seem too clear on that.
Louisiana GOP Senator Bill Cassidy got tripped up on "Fox News Sunday," trying to come up with things he'd cut from Biden's infrastructure bill.
Wallace presents Cassidy with receipts showing that the Trump tax cuts he supported disproportionately benefitted t… https: //t.co/9d40YClMNe
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1619964941.0
It's Sundays like these when you realize why the Republican Party allowed itself to be taken over by the craziest extremes and why there is no going back for them. They are a party of an ever-shrinking constituency, stale ideas, and whose only "governing" theory is that government shouldn't help the people it was meant to help.
They just don't know what to do with the Biden administration actually, you know, governing.
Have a week.
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If there were Constitutional hurdles to new states being added, then our flag would be missing 37 stars, right?
Where were all these 'Constitutionalists' in 1959 and 1960 when Alaska and Hawaii were added? And, might I add, they're not even contiguous to the mainland portion of the US.
The Republican party is effectively a conspiracy to loot the treasury. Any semblance of a governing philosophy outside of that is incoherent at best.