Republicans will not be helping
by digby
David Frum issues a challenge to the GOP establishment:
The president Russia helped to install will not punish Russia for helping to install him.
The question now turns to the rest of the American political system. Senate Majority Leader McConnell warned Obama against taking action against Russia during the election. Whatever is said of Obama’s decisions, one of Obama’s motives for inaction was the knowledge that congressional Republicans would take Trump’s and Russia’s side if he tried to act. Congressional investigations into Russian meddling have been stalled (in the Senate) and outright sabotaged (in the House). Even as Trump in Hamburg absolved Putin of consequences for election interference, House Speaker Paul Ryan, at the behest of Trump, is stalling in the House the measures the Senate approved 97-2 to prevent Trump from lifting existing sanctions on Russia. It’s fine for Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio to tweet sarcastic comments about Trump’s plans for cyber cooperation with Russia. Congress can do more than tweet—if it chooses.
I do not feel that I'm being unduly pessimistic when I say, "not a snowball's chance in hell" will that happen. They're fine with it. And that's because their voters are fine with it: according to the latest Marist Poll, 73% of Republicans believe he did nothing wrong, 82% of Trump voters believe he did nothing wrong. Why would GOP leaders go out on a limb and go against their own voters' wishes? They don't do that. I don't think they want to do that.
And to quote a Republicans evangelical gun owner who loves the Russians from Richard Engel's program on Friday night:
"We're very similar people. In fact, you can take many Russians, put 'em in a room with people that are from Nashville, Tennessee. Everybody kind of looks the same."
If you know what I mean.
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