It’s time to say ‘enough’
The voices are growing louder. Not just indictments of President Donald Trump’s chaotic foreign policy and ill-advised domestic initiatives, but of his performance as leader of the United States. Some critics — like former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — did not single out Trump by name. Others, such as GOP Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, are calling out Trump personally. It is too little, too late, perhaps. The country needed the GOP to speak up during the presidential election.
Instead, we have in the Oval Office a president who lies routinely, tweets threats of nuclear war with no thought of consequences, and whose policies are almost uniformly cruel and unkind, not to mention a disaster for the U.S. deficit. His base clings to Trump, though, while the rest of the nation and the world look on in horror and disgust. Yet, it’s almost impossible to look away. The spectacle is too powerful.
Does it matter that GOP senators — especially ones who are not running for re-election — are saying out loud that the president is unfit, something many Republicans have said in private? We think it does.
The opposition to Trump from within his own party sends a clear signal to all that, no, the president’s demeanor is not normal. This includes his lack of seriousness, his personal attacks on critics, his constant need for adulation and his refusal to take responsibility for his actions. None of this is normal. Lying is not normal. Threatening the news media is not normal. Taking to Twitter to undermine members of his own party is not normal. Justifying bigots and racists is not normal. Trump is not normal. But he is president. And only with principled opposition can the United States emerge from the disgrace of this presidency without permanent damage. The GOP must speak up against this president, and Corker, Flake and McCain are leading the way. This is not to lionize these senators. They should have spoken up louder and sooner. Senators who remain involved — McCain is one, as are GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ben Sasse of Nebraska — must call out Trump on his antics.
Trump was a disaster in the making from the beginning. As loyal Americans, top-level Republicans needed to work to stop him from becoming president. They did not, preferring a win over the safety of the country. Perhaps they believed Trump could be controlled. Perhaps all they care about are tax cuts (which could be coming, at a terrible price, considering the trillion-dollar impact to the deficit and lack of attention to the middle class). Perhaps all that mattered was beating Hillary Clinton.
Politicians don’t see consequences, it seems. They see victories, only victories, when this country needs statesmen — and those remain in short supply.
Despite the late-to-the-party critics, we will take their input and ask for more. We have gone from #NeverTrump to #AlwaysTrump. The country must seek to limit his damage, with the senators and other politicians who enabled him leading the way.
This is not about policy — after his speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, Flake voted to limit the ability of citizens to sue big banks. On policy, Flake is a conservative Republican. Restraining Trump is about restoring order to our public life, bringing back civility and the ability to disagree without becoming disagreeable, as the saying goes. We cannot leave to our children as a legacy the idea that it is OK to lie constantly or to attack the widows of war heroes or to profit from political office just because you are president and you can.
As Flake said so eloquently from the floor of the Senate: “Nine months of this administration is enough for us to stop pretending that this is somehow normal and that we are on the verge of some sort of pivot to governing, to stability. Nine months is more than enough for us to say, loudly and clearly: Enough.
“The outcome of this is in our hands. We can no longer remain silent, merely observing this train wreck, passively, as if waiting for someone else to do something. The longer we wait, the greater the damage, the harsher the judgment of history.”
With one bold speech, Flake is leaving behind politics for conscience. As a more civil voice, he already was under fire by the Trumpists in Arizona and faced a fierce re-election fight. In fact, many political commentators scored Flake’s decision not to run for re-election as a win for Trump. That could happen: Arizona is a conservative state likely poised to send another Republican to the Senate in 2018, with that new member a right-winger. Or, the base could outsmart itself, nominating someone so far to the right that a Democrat takes the seat. A year is an eternity in our political landscape.
But that year gives Flake — and other principled politicians — time to push back against the rot in our politics. As Flake made clear: “It’s time we all say: Enough.”