@JamesFallows This comes down, I think, to a feeling of autonomy. Senators of, say, 35 years ago had it. Senators today — especially Republican Senators — do not. Then, being a Senator meant you were at the top of the political hierarchy in your state, and near the top in the country.
@JamesFallows Being a Senator then came with turf: substantive influence that one could expect would grow, more or less predictably, over time. Committee assignments were very important; committee work absorbed much time.
@JamesFallows The Senate is very different today. Senators, other than the Majority Leader, are nowhere near the top of the political hierarchy. They are less influential than some talk show hosts. Their turf is dependent entirely on the Party leadership; committees do relatively little.
@JamesFallows Senators do not have much of a political identity separate from their party, and especially for Republicans separate from the President. They are more responsive to large donors because their campaigns need more money. Right wing media is always on the lookout for traitors.
@JamesFallows RINO -- Republican in Name Only -- was a term in use during the 1980s; it referred to Republican legislators who voted with Democrats most of the time, or at least most of the time on salient issues. Today, RINO can refer to legislators who vote with Democrats on any issue.
@JamesFallows There is, in short, no independent power base for Senators to build on should they choose to cross their party -- and, again, this applies most strongly to Republican Senators. It's not just fear of losing a job, but of alienating themselves from donors, right wing media,....
@JamesFallows ....and constituents. Many of these will probably look back with embarrassment or even shame ten years from now, at their zeal to support a man like Trump in everything he said or did. But right now the people Senators listen to are more loyal to Trump than to anything else.
@JamesFallows We see that Republican Senators had choices to make this past couple of weeks. They didn't think they had a choice.
@JamesFallows These aren't the Senators of legend, who were said to always look in the mirror and see a President. Senators today look in the mirror and see a backbench Congressman who lucked into a nicer office. They're not the kind of people looking to make history.
