The paradigm of the brave and strong political maverick is mostly cover for rebellion and faithless behavior. We have far too many examples of it on the right side of the aisle, and the tiny number of examples on the left is telling. John Fetterman is the only one I can think of, and his rebellion doesn’t extend to his votes. But even then, he is a big target and might not survive his next election.
In our lifetimes the worst example is John McCain, the supposed hero (I doubt it) and naval aviator (lousy at it) who made a name for himself by screwing his party, his state, and his country.
John Thune is rapidly rising in that pantheon of sh*t, and he is not the only one in the current Republican Party. There is some perverse pride among the politicians who confound the reasonable expectation that they support their party and their President. It reminds one of a rebellious toddler who has just learned the word and concept of “No,” and uses it at every opportunity, even though the outcome is demonstrably worse than the other option.
His sabotage of the SAVE Act is well known, and an indelible stain on him as a senator and a human being. But he also kept the Senate in pro forma sessions to prevent the President from making recess appointments, which was damaging to the will of the people and to President Trump’s platform. These things should disqualify him from any position of authority in the Senate, and make it difficult to win reelection in 2028.
Perhaps worse than his resistance to any meaningful legislation and work in the Senate was his arrogant pomposity in the face of overwhelming support for the SAVE Act. His pretend high-mindedness was galling, even as he pretended to be some sort of expert on the inner workings of the Senate. It was obvious that he was merely an obstructionist.
7 GOP Senators Move To Delay Thune’s Coronation After Midterm Massacre
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is driving the effort and has collected the five signatures needed to request a meeting of the full conference, The Hill reported. Republicans Ted Budd of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and John Kennedy of Louisiana signed his letter, according to Axios.
Two other Republicans, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Jim Banks of Indiana, endorsed the delay in their own statements without signing, Bloomberg reported.
Johnson called Tuesday’s outcome a “stunning defeat” in the letter, The Hill reported, and has argued that rushing the vote would be “political malpractice,” according to the Federalist. Johnson wants the conference to examine what went wrong before it installs a leadership team.
“If you hold the election, I’ll leave the room,” Johnson told a Washington Examiner reporter Monday. “An election defeat of this magnitude demands change,” he added on X.
That bolded part is vital. The Republican Party failed in many ways, and while the blame does not rest solely with the feckless Senate leadership, John Thune’s failure should be the catalyst for an examination of how the Republicans in the Senate support the administration’s goals and how they respond to the American people’s support for popular legislation.
Managing the decline is no longer an option! Although if an election cycle as a minority party will purge the Senate of its pathetic Corporate GOP placeholders, perhaps that would be worth it. Regardless, the idea of the maverick has damaged the prospects of the Republican Party, and the purge should be swift and violent and all-encompassing.
The left operates in lockstep, and savagely punishes the outliers who disturb the carefully crafted image of a unified party. That is why the emergence of the DSA is so disturbing…their party hierarchy cannot control them! And that is a good thing for the Republican Party and the conservative movement. But…the left never loses sight of its goals, and they will eventually integrate the DSA and its far-left analogues into the Party, or perhaps it will be the other way around. But either way, the path is always toward unity.
That is a lesson that has evaded the Republican leadership. JD Vance came from the Senate, and as vice-president he could have been a vital bridge between the administration and the Senate, but that would have required loyalty to the President and the goals of the American people, and he would have had to sublimate his own political goals…something he has clearly not done.
President Trump could have been more collaborative with the Senate, and perhaps that would have changed the trajectory of the SAVE Act defeat. But that is asking him to change his spots, and is simply not a reasonable expectation. And, after all, the President is the de facto head of the Party, and has every right to expect loyalty to his strategic vision, especially when it is supported by the vast majority of the American people!
But that requires a sea change in the way Republican lawmakers see themselves, and the voters must speak loudly and forcefully for that to occur!