The Road To Serfdom

Republicans in the United States have no clothes. They stand naked with no pretenses left. Eugene Robinson writes: 

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.

I have never felt much kinship with Republicans. But now what you see is what you get:

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.

Much is made of the fact that 19 Republicans in the Senate and 13 in the House voted for the landmark $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law Monday. But Trump lambasted the “RINOs [Republicans In Name Only] in the House and Senate [who] gave Biden and Democrats a victory,” singling out McConnell by name. And even McConnell wasn’t brave enough to attend the bill’s signing ceremony, citing unspecified (and probably nonexistent) “other things I’ve got to do.”

In other words, Emperor Trump’s position is that Republicans must obstruct initiatives that clearly would benefit their constituents but would also give “wins” to Biden and the Democrats. Not being able to claim credit for job-creating projects in their communities might not hurt GOP candidates next fall. But it sure won’t help them.

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.

One of the party's guiding lights was Friedrich Hayek, who wrote The Road To Serfdom. The party now believes the road to freedom is synonymous with the road to serfdom.

Image: Kobo.com