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I have heard it said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If that is true, the RV that I saw driving down a Pennsylvania highway proved the point. It was covered with "Stop the steal" and other noted quotes from the former 45th president. "They are coming for your guns." Every Trump supporter knows that President Biden can repeal the 2nd Amendment, just as they knew that Hillary Clinton could in 2016.
"Drain the swamp" read another sign that I passed by. The founder of Trump University, and The Trump Foundation, is apparently the most trustworthy person in the country. The president who diverted federal dollars that were allocated by Congress for military base infrastructure, so it could be used for building the border wall that Mexico was going to pay for, was far more believable than the "fake news" who reported on the story. They also know that China and Mexico pay for U.S. tariffs.
The RV reminded me of the uniform that a banana republic military dictator might typically wear, with what must be five pounds of medals covering every square inch of it. The arrogant denial of failure is not a sign of courage. The absoluteness of believing yourself to be right about everything is not proof of wisdom. Repeating fabricated claims devoid of any evidence, and ignoring evidence to the contrary, is not intellectualism.
Bragging about imaginary heroic deeds, instead of facing the difficult reality of a deadly pandemic that required galvanizing the country behind mask wearing and social distancing—because those were the only tools that were available to us prior to mass vaccinations—was not leadership. Following the rest of the sheep down the path to divisiveness, behind the debunked former conspiracy theorist-in-chief, is not a portrait in courage. All of the above are proof that imitation really is the most sincere form of flattery for the bulk of today's Republican Party. —Bill M., Pennsylvania
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The GOP playbook has become, in a word, played. Ahead of an expected loss or the potential for accountability, Republicans begin laying the groundwork for mitigating it. That would be normal and acceptable if the groundwork were the typical preemptive spin we've seen in Washington ad infinitum. Instead, it's conspiracies and partisan lies designed to undermine the facts. This playbook was used with the Mueller report two years ago and with the presidential election last year. Now, it's happening again with the Jan. 6 committee. Republicans had an opportunity to work with Democrats to build an independent commission to investigate the Capitol riot. But that would have reduced their ability to dismiss the findings, which may not reflect so well on them, as partisan theater. They're using this strategy again because, unfortunately, it has worked. We know that significant numbers of Republicans believe the Mueller report exonerated the former president, and that the 2020 election was "stolen." Once again, you can expect congressional Republicans to use every tool at their disposal to delegitimize the select committee's important work. Indeed, they've already begun. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor
