MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow says that it’s become increasingly clear in recent weeks that the Republican Party is broken and incapable of even pretending to be a governing partner.
While Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress work to address the multiple crises that are wreaking havoc across the country, Republicans are fighting amongst themselves over whether they still believe in democracy.
“On the Republican side, it is some scary and kind of unnerving stuff about whether or not they are a party that endorses violence and whether they are a party that still believes that democracy and elections are the way that we decide things as a country,” the MSNBC host said.
“How can that be your governing partner?” Maddow asked.
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Rachel Maddow calls the Republican Party a “dumpster fire” that is incapable of helping govern the country. #maddow pic.twitter.com/pYbIyHGqL8
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 27, 2021
Maddow said:
Big picture though, we are at this place right now where we are supposedly a two-party, two major party democracy. That’s been the source of stability and continuity in our democracy for centuries now. And we are now quite suddenly and clearly at this place where the two parties have totally different tasks at hand. And on the Republican side, it is some scary and kind of unnerving stuff about whether or not they are a party that endorses violence and whether they are a party that still believes that democracy and elections are the way that we decide things as a country. On the Democratic side, they’re just trying to govern. They’re trying to figure out how to get something done without having to deal with that dumpster fire on the other side. Because how can that be your governing partner? … The Republican Party is having a very different crisis right now. The Democratic Party is trying to figure out how to deliver. And that makes the task of the Democratic Party totally different than what’s happening on the other side. It makes it sort of earnest and civic right now. But also incredibly important as to whether or not we’re going to have a Republican Party in the future. Because on the Republican Party, that’s not the way they are approaching the nation’s problems right now. The Democrats have to prove they can do this or they’re going to have to contend with the dumpster fire over there again in terms of what the people of the United States have to choose from between the two options available to them. Just an incredible situation that we are in.
The Republican Party is broken beyond repair
Joe Biden came into office sincerely hoping that Donald Trump’s absence would shake the Republican Party out of its four-year fever, but it doesn’t look like that’s about to happen.
Instead, the GOP has doubled down on Trumpism, with 45 senators on Tuesday essentially siding with violent insurrectionists by voting to block a Senate impeachment trial.
While the GOP move to block the trial failed, it showed just how broken and irredeemable the Republican Party is.
It is becoming increasingly clear that if Democrats are going to accomplish anything over the next two years, they must play hardball and do it on their own.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.