Recent events do not bode well for republic

Even after a mob trashed the Capitol, 147 out of 211 Republicans in the House proceeded with their plan of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. A large majority of the Republican caucus voted to object, on an occasion that is normally ceremonial. The media seems to prefer the Senate, somehow, but it was in the House that disenfranchising America was the winning ticket among Republicans.

This truly does not bode well for the republic. I can think of at least two reasons for this alarming and disheartening result. One is familiar to students of our politics.

Every one of these people needs to get reelected every two years. If you got elected as a Trumper, there will always be someone further to the right than you, or claiming to be more pro-Trump than you, to challenge you in a primary. In these districts, there may not be any such thing as too far to the right, too conspiratorial, too anti-government and pro-gun.

Standing up against Trump even once — even if it merely means standing up for our system of government — may be, or appear to be, too big a risk to take for your basic amoral careerist.

There’s another factor at play, one that is way outside the box of normal American political analysis, and that is fear of physical violence.

People who buck Trump get death threats. Their spouses get death threats. They get “We know where your kids go to school” messages. No, they don’t get them from people whose last name is Trump, but they get them. The home addresses of congresspersons are not state secrets.

The people who feel this pressure are not inclined to talk about it. At my most empathetic, I feel a little sorry for them.

Eric Kuhn, Middletown