Dana Milbank on the "dark path" taken by Republican "Ultra-MAGA" Rep. Elise Stefanik (MAGA-NY):
It’s a story told a thousand times: Ambitious Republican official abandons principle to advance in Trump’s GOP. But perhaps nobody’s fall from promise, and integrity, has been as spectacular as the 37-year-old Stefanik’s. “I was just so shocked she would go down such a dark path,” said her former champion, [former mentor John] Bridgeland. “No power, no position is worth the complete loss of your integrity. It was just completely alarming to me to watch this transformation. I got a lot of notes saying, ‘What happened to her?’ ”
The answer is simple: “Quest for power,” Bridgeland said. “But power without principle is a pretty dark place to go. She wanted to climb the Republican ranks and she has, but … she’s climbed the ladder on the back of lies about the election that are undermining trust in elections, putting people’s lives at risk."
As Milbank notes, Stefanik is just one example of the transformation of what were once garden-variety Republican sociopaths into full- blown enemies of American democracy. But, in her thirst for power regardless of any consequences, she is the epitome of the ethos of her party/ cult. As the cliche goes, history will not be kind.
