1. It’s been said the Republicans were so bent on ramming through tax cuts for the rich—in secret, without hearings, testimony, or a shred of deliberation associated with the democratic process—because they needed something, anything,
2. to take back home in the run up to this year’s congressional elections. But I think we should consider another reason: They know.
3. GOP leaders know more than we do about President Donald Trump’s overseas financial ties and the possibility of campaign operatives conspiring with Russian agents to move public opinion against Hillary Clinton.
4. Slowly but surely Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reaching into Trump’s inner circle, even raising the prospect of interviewing the president himself. It stands to reason the Republicans knew in December none of this can endure for long.
5. If they were going to deliver tax cuts to their mega-donors, it had to be a rush-job, even if that meant vaporizing norms and traditions, and losing control of the House.
6. Their understanding didn't end there. The Republicans knew the president's mental facilities were in decline, but were able to deny it until Michael Wolff spoiled things with the publication of “Fire and Fury.”
7. Making matters worse was Trump's insistence on holding televised discussions Wednesday with Congressional Democrats in order to prove he's a "very stable genius."
8. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy kept him on course by practically screeching to remind him a clean bill on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is not in the GOP's interest.
9. Steven Bannon, too, might have been signaling awareness of end times ahead when he told Wolff that Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian agents was "unpatriotic" What do you do when the president's fugue state threatens to bring it all down? Accuse his eldest son of treason.
10. Bannon’s in good company. According to Axios, “more than half a dozen of the more skilled White House staff are contemplating imminent departures. Many leaving are quite fearful about the next chapter of the Trump presidency.”
11. As the next chapter looms large, the president is increasingly isolated himself—literally. He holes up daily for hours in his private residence at the White House, calling people (who in turn leak to the press), watching Fox, and tweeting.
12. Not only do the Republicans know what’s going to happen, they have decided to play a very short game. The more Americans know about this president, the less they find him fit for the presidency.
13. CNN’s @RonBrownstein argued the Republicans “have already placed the bets most likely to determine their fate in November's midterm election.” cnn.com/2018/01/09/pol…
14. Washington Monthly’s Marty Longman put a finer pint on it: “The Republicans are looking to achieve as much as they can while they have their majorities rather than trimming their sails in the effort to maintain their majorities.” washingtonmonthly.com/2018/01/09/the…
15. They are going to do that with the clear understanding nothing will get better but can get worse, as it did when the president, during negotiations over refugees, called Haiti, El Salvador and other African nations "shithole countries." cnn.com/2018/01/11/pol…
16. A New York Times headlines suggests a turning point in America’s understanding of Trump—“Just Say It: Trump Is a Racist.” nytimes.com/2018/01/12/opi…
17. The debate over the 2016 election will continue to rage for years to come, but one thing we can now say for sure: those who defended, deflected, rationalized or overlooked Trump’s completely obvious can’t-not-be-seen racism were wrong,
18. and in being wrong, they are going to overcompensate for the present moment, doubling down on the monstrosity that is calling non-white countries “shitholes,” which is going to weigh on the GOP long after Donald Trump is gone.
19. The end is coming. The question isn’t if. It's when. The Trump White House is entering a kind of political hospice care in which the president's attorneys lie to him constantly to prevent him from firing Mueller, and thus hastening their client's demise,
20. while Congressional Republicans, like adult children, keep the presidency alive long enough to maximize the value of their inheritance.
21. I’m betting the Republicans believe they can ask for forgiveness later, and there’s something to that. The party has an enormous media infrastructure at its disposal that can rehab negative public images of the Republican Party. But this confidence depends on two things:
22. Trump and the Democrats willingness to impeach him. It is January, and we have—right now—a year’s worth of reasons to impeach, and another year to go before the midterms. It stands to reason we are going to see many more turning points a la “shithole countries.”
23. Again, it's a very short game, and very high risks. Perhaps the Republicans believe they can ask for forgiveness later. But this confidence depends on two things: Trump and the Democrats’ willingness to impeach him.
24. It is January, and we have—as of right now—a year’s worth of reasons to impeach, and another year to go before the midterms. It stands to reason we are going to see many more turning points a la “shithole countries.”
25. It looks like 2018 is lost for the Republicans. If 2019 is the year of impeachment in the House, that's means 2020 will be lost too. 2024 is a long time from now, but that might be the price the Republicans pay for choosing to smash and grab.
26. Many thanks for reading. Please share. The future is ours. newsweek.com/what-republica…
