Listening to the talking heads of cable news, you might think that the Democrats are a divided party. This comes from their back and forth on what to include in the Build Back Better Bill. But that's just the normal process of legislating and governing. Democrats are a big-tent party, with conservatives, moderates, and progressives -- but they usually come together after everyone is heard.
The real party in trouble is the Republican Party. In their fealty to Trump, they have abandoned their principles, and seem far more interested in fighting each other than in trying to legislate or govern. With Trump's blessing, they have been taken over by right-wing extremists -- and they are in the process of driving moderates out of the party.
Here's part of Eugene Robinson's take on the situation in The Washington Post:
We are bombarded daily with heavy-lies-the-crown tales of woe about President Biden, Vice President Harris and the razor-thin Democratic majorities in Congress. Meanwhile, the Republican Party somehow evades similar scrutiny and skepticism. The truth is that if you want to see a portrait of factionalism and aimlessness, look closely at the dysfunctional collection of politicians that once could legitimately call itself the Grand Old Party.
Today’s Republicans agree wholeheartedly on one thing: ambition for power. That’s because, at least in Washington, they have so little of it: Under President Donald Trump, the GOP lost the White House and control of both the House and Senate, a rare trifecta not achieved since Herbert Hoover
Thanks to Trump, the party also lost anything resembling a coherent philosophy. Republicans used to believe in tight fiscal policy but cheered while Trump spent wildly. They used to worry about the national debt but acquiesced while Trump racked up massive deficits. They used to believe in a muscular foreign policy but cheered while Trump swooned into bromances with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
And Republicans used to make a big deal of supporting law enforcement. Now, though, they collectively pretend that the Capitol insurrection — during which scores of police officers were attacked and bludgeoned by a violent mob — was nothing more than “one day in January,” as former vice president Mike Pence put it in October.
Republicans are also forced to pretend that last year’s election was somehow “stolen” by Biden and the Democrats, knowing this is not true. Party stalwarts who consider themselves mainstream see indulging this paranoid fantasy of widespread voter fraud as nothing more than a tactical necessity. But fast-forward to next year’s midterm election season: What do they think true-believer, Trump-endorsed, loony-bin candidates will claim when they lose close primary races against mainstream incumbents? How can it possibly be a good idea for elected officials to encourage their party’s base to distrust all elections? . . .
The party had the chance to dump Trump after Jan. 6 but decided not to risk it. Now the GOP is stuck with him — and beholden to his moods, whims, obsessions and machinations. . . .
The party is saddled not just with Trump but also with his most unhinged acolytes — people such as Reps. Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Madison Cawthorn (N.C.). . . .
Republicans who actually want to fulfill their oath to the Constitution and participate in governing — such as Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), who serves on the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection; or Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.), who voted for the infrastructure bill — receive death threats from Trumpist fanatics. The party claims to believe in “freedom,” especially from mandates for coronavirus vaccines and masks. But it no longer demonstrably believes in democracy.
Are Biden and the Democrats struggling to enact their ambitious agenda? Of course; governing is hard. Could they do a better job of communicating their successes? Don’t get me started.
But seeing the GOP as some kind of unstoppable juggernaut is wrong. It’s more like a group of hostages and hostage-takers, united only in a quest for power, not knowing or caring why.
