His sycophants come out for blood

Mark Anderson of the Daily Kos community offers an explanation of why the nasty guy will probably not be removed from office. He answers the question: Why are Republicans defending him?

One reason congressional Republicans are defending Trump is that he is their useful idiot. Now, this worked better when they held both the House and the Senate. But the fact of the matter is that they just need him to push their agenda without question. Trump is not smart enough to know what he is signing, and he is easily manipulated. He is the perfect patsy to sign anything they put in front of him, and will push any agenda he is given: All it takes is to praise him and stroke his ego. Feed his narcissistic fire, and he will do whatever you wish.

They fear him. Look at how quickly Trump turns on anyone who speaks out against him; and when Trump turns on someone, his sycophants also come out for blood. Congressional Republicans fear this, as it could put them in the position of being primaried for their seats, or losing their seats to a Democrat in a general election. Looking at Trump’s polling numbers, I do question why they continue to fear him: He is increasingly unpopular across the country, and his lack of popularity is hurting Republicans more than it helps them.

Another example of why the GOP fears him – consider Rep. Justin Amash, when he called for impeachment, how quickly he was pushed out of the GOP. He’s now running as an independent with lots of GOP candidates running against him.

And another. Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida was troubled by the Mueller Report and even more troubled by the Ukraine scandal. Rooney talked about his feelings to colleagues. That prompted House GOP leaders to deputize fellow lawmakers to monitor Rooney, meaning they started spying on him. They also started a whispering campaign that made Florida GOP officials mad at him. That’s even though Rooney hasn’t said anything official about impeachment yet.

More from Anderson:

Mitch McConnell and other congressional Republicans are compromised by foreign actors just as badly as Trump is.

Anderson follows that with the news that Devin Nunes is compromised. Olga Lautman wonders why the mainstream media is surprised by the news that Nunes is dirty. Lautman concludes her Twitter thread with:

Bigger question is why Graham, McConnell, and others involved in protecting Trump/Putin have not been exposed. Peeling away Trumps loyalist layers would have left him vulnerable and defenseless to destroy America and democracy.

Sara Kendzior, responding to Devin Nunes being caught in the Ukraine scandal, tweeted:

They don't mind being caught, they mind being punished. Learn the difference. Trump and his backers have been committing crimes with impunity for decades. They get off on it.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat responded:

Exactly. Breaking the law openly is part of the thrill of holding power. It is a different mindset- the authoritarian ruler’s mindset.

Through it all what is the vice nasty guy doing? Hunter of Daily Kos has a colorful way of putting it. The VNG is “the master bootlicker” for the reelection campaign. He’s to be the opposite of the hate being spewed at nasty guy rallies. Hunter wrote:

Relax, Mike Pence is there to say. I am as holy as Jeebus Himself, and if I can put up with all Trump's criminal acts, grotesque public behavior, and lifetime of treating anyone and everyone with open, seething contempt, then you can swallow the jagged shards of your folksy pride, put on your best brown shirt, and vote for Team Asshole. He's rude, but he's racist. What more do you people want?

There’s another reason why the VNG be kept at a distance – in case the nasty guy really is removed, he is Plan B.

He's been there the whole time, but didn't see a thing and didn't know about any of the, you know, unpleasantness. He's spent the entire administration polishing himself as Plan B, should Plan B ever become needed.

Getting him out of Washington strengthens his bogus claim that he didn’t see a thing.