Scoundrels, Toadies, and Spineless Miscreants

Welcome to Donald Trump’s Republican Party

by Thea Halo

Top of the list of Scoundrels, Toadies, and Spineless Miscreants is Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader who delayed the trial of Donald Trump—or DT¹ as he’ll henceforth be referred to here—until DT left office, so McConnell could acquit DT based on the trial being held after DT left office. Can anything be more cynical than this blatant ploy by McConnell in order to justify his dereliction of duty?

Not only was there overwhelming evidence that DT instigated the attack on the Capital, McConnell was unequivocal about DT’s responsibility. “There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” he said, and added that DT watched the events unfold on television. McConnell said, “A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him.”²

McConnell called DT’s behavior ‘a dereliction of duty’. However, history will remember McConnell for his own dereliction of duty in voting to acquit. His children and grandchildren will most likely remember him for both his duplicity and his cowardice in refusing to follow his conscience and his oath of office.

To thank McConnell for his vote—or perhaps for his subsequent unequivocal indictment— DT, or ‘the other guy,’ as Biden now calls him, called the Senate minority leader “third rate” and “one of the most unpopular politicians in the United States.” He also called McConnell: “a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.” Surely McConnell must have expected such a generous thank you from his master.

This is not the first time McConnell deliberately and publicly violated his oath of office in order to toady up to DT and his supporters. The Atlantic reported that during DT’s first impeachment trial McConnell said: “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can. …”³

Next in line for the top list of Scoundrels, Toadies, and Spineless Miscreants is Senator Lindsey Graham who made a similar confession during the first impeachment of DT: “This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly. …I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.”⁴

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that DT was not the only person to ask Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to throw out ballots to help Trump win the election. “Raffensperger accused Graham of asking him to throw out valid ballots in the Peach State during a recent phone call.”⁵

For the latest impeachment trial, Graham walked the same crooked path as the last. He acknowledged DT could have done more to stop the riot. Yet Graham told Fox News his advice to the Republican Party is: “if you want to win and stop the socialist agenda, we need to work with President Trump. …We can’t do it without him. … I’m into winning.”⁶ In other words, Graham is fine with lying, cheating, riots, death and anything else DT is guilty of, because Graham is guilty of some of the same crimes. His sole purpose is to win.

According to lawmakers who were later briefed on the expletive-laced phone call with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who begged DT to call off the attack on the US Capitol to no avail, DT said to McCarthy: ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.’”⁷ Yet even McCarthy voted to acquit.

During the impeachment trial, Rep. Herrera Beutler recounted Rep. McCarthy’s call to DT.⁸ About DT’s refusal to stop the assault, she said: “That line right there demonstrates to me that either he didn’t care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was OK with it, which makes me so angry.” Herrera Beutler added, “I’m trying really hard not to say the F-word.”⁹

Only seven principled Republicans honored their oaths of office: Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.).¹⁰  They will go down in history as examples of how principled members of our congress should perform their duties to the American people, even knowing there would be backlash from loyal DT supporters.

In fact, “The Louisiana Republican Party’s executive committee voted unanimously to censure Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) for casting a ‘guilty’ vote…”¹¹ Even more dramatic, “Eleven members of Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s family sent him a vitriolic letter accusing him of being a member of the ‘devil’s army in light of his criticism” of DT. They wrote: “Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God. We were once so proud of your accomplishments. Instead you go against your Christian principals and join the Devil’s army… you have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name.”¹²

What more proof do we need that the phenomenon of DT is a cult—and perhaps a kind of mass hysteria—when a family is willing to reject and denigrate a distinguished member of the family for being loyal to his oath of office and for performing his constitutional duty?

It is doubtful that the 43 Republican members of Congress who voted to acquit, truly believed that DT was innocent of the charges brought against him. They are the ones who have actually stained their legacy and joined the Devil’s Army. And they and their families will have to live with that. Unfortunately, so will we.

According to news sources: “Feeling emboldened by the trial’s outcome, he [DT] is expected to reemerge from a self-imposed hibernation at his club in Palm Beach, Florida, and is eyeing ways to reassert his power.”¹³ Good Grief! What’s next?

What does this say about out government? It’s rather terrifying to know that we are being led by this array of miscreants who place their own interests ahead of those of the American people and the Constitution, to which they swore an oath.

To add to the theater of the absurd, Texas state Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R) shared on Facebook, “The federal government is out of control and does not represent the values of Texans. That is why I am committing to file legislation this session that will allow a referendum to give Texans a vote for the State of Texas to reassert its status as an independent nation.”¹⁴ Good idea!

Perhaps Democrats should also file a petition to form their own nation. Republicans can do the same. Blue Nation/Red Nation. Purple Nations can be divided down the middle. Then the Republicans—who seem to condone any and all of DT’s acts—or are too frightened to hold him accountable—can revel in their adoration of him in their own nation with no pesky interference from the Democrats, or as Lindsey Graham calls them, ‘Socialists’. And Democrats can finally begin to form the just, compassionate nation they claim to want, based on the principals more closely aligned with that old ‘Socialist,’ Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with no filibusters from the Republicans to stop them. Perhaps that’s the only way each party will finally see whether the world they had so long envisioned for themselves and the American people is the right one.

To take this sad farce to its extreme, perhaps there should be a wall dividing Red nations from Blues to make sure no one cheats by taking advantage of the policies of the other nation. McConnell and Graham can beg their master, DT, to make Mexico pay for it.

Yes, Ms Herrera Beutler. We are all “trying really hard not to say the F-word.”

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1. DT stands for Delirium tremens, a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. However, here DT will stand for Delirium Terrors, a rapid onset of confusion and rage caused by the loss of the presidency to Joe Biden, the man DT claimed was the “worst candidate in the history of presidential politics.” 
2. Grace Segers, Cassidy McDonald, McConnell says Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for riot after voting not guilty, CBS News. February 14, 2021.
3. Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes, The Remedy for Mitch McConnell, The Senate majority leader seems uninterested in fulfilling his constitutional duties. The Atlantic. December 16, 2019.
4. Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes, The Remedy for Mitch McConnell, The Senate majority leader seems uninterested in fulfilling his constitutional duties. The Atlantic. December 16, 2019.
5. Colin Kalmbacher, ‘What We in the Legal World Call a Felony’: Lawyers Condemn Lindsey Graham, Call for DOJ and Senate Investigations. Law & Order. Nov 17th, 2020. Also see: Andrew Prokop, Lindsey Graham’s controversial call with Georgia’s secretary of state, explained. MSN VOX. 11/18/2020.
6. Hayley Miller, Sen. Lindsey Graham Brushes Off Trump’s Election Lies: ‘I’m Into Winning.’ Huffpost. February 14, 2021.
7. Dustin Gardiner, Trump, Kevin McCarthy had expletive-filled call as rioters stormed Capitol. MSN. San Francisco Chronicle. February 19, 2020.
8. Nicholas Fandos, Herrera Beutler Says McCarthy Told Her Trump Sided with Capitol Mob, NY Times, February 13, 2021.
9. Jamie Gangel, Kevin Liptak, Michael Warren and Marshall Cohen, New details about Trump-McCarthy shouting match show Trump refused to call off the rioters, CNN. February 12, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/politics/trump-mccarthy-shouting-match-details/index.html
10. Sara Boboltz and Dominique Mosbergen, 7 Republican Senators Explain Why They Voted To Convict Trump, Huffpost. February 13, 2021.
11. Eric Quintanar, Louisiana GOP Censures Bill Cassidy Over ‘Guilty’ Impeachment Trial Vote. The Clarion. February 13, 2021.
12. Caroline Kelly, New York Times: House Republican shunned by family members over Trump criticism, CNN. February 16, 2021.
13. Jill Colvin, Trump Looks To Reassert Himself After Impeachment Acquittal. ABC News. February 15, 2021.
14. Marina Pitofsky, Texas lawmaker to file bill calling for vote on secession from US. MSN. December 10, 2020.

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Thea Halo is the author of Not Even My Name; a former news correspondent for WBAI in NYC; and a former member of both the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and the International Network of Genocide Scholars (INOGS). Ms Halo’s historical papers are published in a number of Academic books: Genocide in the Ottoman Empire; Sayfo 1915: An Anthology of Essays on the Genocide of Assyrians/Arameans during the first World War; and an upcoming anthology on the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks (during the first World War in Ottoman Turkey). You can view one of her presentations at the Boston State House @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzBfcE4PjTM