Monday Reading

As always, please follow the links to the full articles/ op eds.

Longtime Republican functionary Peter Wehner says the White (Supremacist) House of Very Stable Genius Donald "Rump" Trump is a "black hole":

The Republican Party is learning what should have been obvious from the outset: Mr. Trump’s chaotic personality can’t be contained. Indeed, combining it with the awesome power of the presidency virtually guaranteed he would become more volatile and transgressive. His presidency is infecting the entire party. [snip] 

At the national level the Republican Party has become a destructive and anarchic political force in American life. [snip] 

Yet most Republicans are silent, their moral and civic reflexes seemingly dead.

Though we welcome Wehner's epiphany, he was there during the Reagan and two Bush assministrations, touting conservative moralism as his party careened ever- more rightward. (He once criticized President Obama as having "undermined America's moral self- confidence." How does that look in the rear view mirror?)

E.J. Dionne, Jr., picks up on the same notion of Republican rot:

We didn’t fully realize just how hard it is to be president until we had one with no idea of what it takes to do the job. 

We didn’t appreciate having a government that was relatively honest and free of venality until we had one riddled with corruption. 

And we didn’t know how wildly irresponsible Republican criticisms of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were until the GOP fell silent in the face of abuse after abuse from President Trump. Obama was “not presidential” for wearing a tan suit? Benghazi? Really?  

Let’s start there. When the current administration finally reaches the end of the line, we will need some serious rethinking about how to grapple with the asymmetry in the behavior of our two parties. Republicans — and particularly the party’s dominant right wing in the House of Representatives — have kicked away a lot of credibility in a very short time. 

"Credibility" is just the beginning.  At a minimum, how about country before party?

By now, you've likely heard about this Rump rib- tickler:

President Donald Trump bemoaned a decision not to investigate Hillary Clinton after the 2016 presidential election, decrying a "rigged system" that still doesn't have the "right people" in place to fix it, during a freewheeling speech to Republican donors in Florida on Saturday. 

In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China's President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn't mind making such a maneuver himself. 

"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day." (our emphasis)

Don't assume that comment was made in jest by this banana Republican.  He's shown us his lack of knowledge and respect for the rule of law, as well as his authoritarian, autocratic tendencies. He's not normal and doesn't think like a normal person.

Finally, you're encouraged to check out the link round- up at Infidel's place for a cornucopia of interesting and amusing things.