At the beginning of all of this (2015-16), there was a fairly large #NeverTrump constituency, generally made up of two kinds of Republicans and conservatives.

The first group believed Trump was a liberal in conservative clothes. They preferred Ted Cruz or another candidate… 1/ …whose politics they knew and trusted. They may have found Trump to be a cad and probably disliked his lack of discipline. But they mainly took issue with him on policy.

The second group may have had policy questions too, but those were far superseded by character concerns. 2/

I think what’s been happening behind the scenes this past week has been happening all along at a lower level. We just haven’t heard about it all yet. As bad as we think Trump is, he’s much worse. As spineless as we think the GOP is, they’re beyond that—they’re scared shitless. Anyone who tried to frame Trump’s support as limited to a relatively small group of uneducated crazies was way off. It never would have gotten this far if it were. Again, much of what happened on 1/6 was *allowed* to happen. There is a reason. Eventually we’ll find out. Hopefully

When the President of the United States essentially says it’s every man for himself, and vigilantes who fight for “his side” are to be saluted for breaking the law, something is seriously broken. He calls himself the nation’s “top law enforcement officer” (he’s not), but... 1/ what has he actually done to quell the unrest in this country? Tear-gas his way to a church for a photo sesh with a Bible, send in unmarked federal troops geared up like they’re fighting ISIS, tweet photos of “wanted” Black people and videos of chaos. He is the president. 2/

For your friends who say #itsjusttheflu:

1. For many who get the coronavirus, yes, it will feel similar to the flu.

2. For many others, it will be MUCH worse, and they’ll need medical care.

3. Group 1 can easily spread it to Group 2.

1/ 4. It’s a new virus, so unlike seasonal flu, there’s no existing immunity or vaccine yet to mitigate its rapid spread.

5. A huge spike in cases at once can overwhelm the healthcare system.

6. During an outbreak, the system still must tend to regular medical needs as well.

2/

I watched every minute of the impeachment—the inquiry, the House debates, and the Senate trial. Before Trump, I was a Republican for 23 years. I’m not naive, and I know politics can be dirty. But here’s how I know the Democrats were on the right side in this fight. 1/ 1. The Dems argued the facts of the case. Clearly. Professionally. Persuasively. The defense argued that the process was unfair and, unbelievably, that POTUS can do whatever he wants to get re-elected as long as he perceives that it’s in the public’s best interest. Omg🤦🏻‍♀️ 2/

I believe that the President of the United States—an individual who leads more than 300 million people, in all of their diversity—should be moderate in their style and political views, no matter which party they represent. 1/ Views outside the mainstream are fine in Congress, where they’re balanced out by hundreds of others. They’re even welcomed there, as they give voice to those without influence and open the Overton window on issues that languish in congressional stasis. 2/

Some of my favorite #HumanScum:

@RadioFreeTom @BillKristol @SykesCharlie @NicolleDWallace @DavidJollyFL @TaraSetmayer @ananavarro @EvanMcMullin @mindyfinn @JRubinBlogger @Peter_Wehner @TheRickWilson @HeathMayo @DavidAFrench @justinamash @Popehat @JonahDispatch @gtconway3d 1/ Some of my favorite #HumanScum:

@monacharenEPPC @GeorgeWill @SenMcCollister @MaxBoot @RWPUSA @SteveSchmidtSES @jwgop

Dearly departed: @SenJohnMcCain @GeorgeHWBush @barbarabushlib @krauthammer 2/

Some of my followers will hate me for this, but damn, I hate guns. I really do. As someone who was a conservative for many years, I always supported the right to bear arms. But this is nuts. And the fact that there are people out there who literally worship guns makes me sick. 1/ When mass shootings first became a problem, the first thing the gun rights supporters should have done to protect the 2A is come to the table and aggressively address the issue. Maybe some did. But the majority started spreading fear that Obama would confiscate their guns. 2/

Gotta rant...

It’s tough being in the middle. You understand (or make an effort to understand) where various people are coming from, and you respect most views, even if you don’t fully agree w/them. You want unity, you want comity. Or at least more unity and comity than not. 1/ But then you have these two sides. One that’s nativist, often racist and every other kind of -ist, crude, and that somehow believes concurrently that America does no wrong but needs to go back to some “great” time that mostly lives in their imagination. 2/