Last night I watched the excellent documentary “All the President’s Men Revisited” on MSNBC. It was narrated and directed by Robert Redford, who both starred in and directed in the original movie based on the book. The documentary originally aired in 2013, and was rerun last night on the anniversary of the break in at the DNC that kicked off the scandal.
These days, the comparisons between Watergate and Trump-Russia are myriad, and well deserved, but there is one place where opinion diverges. People are quick to remind you that that was then, and this is now. Republicans back then, just like Democrats were of a different breed, and willing to work across the aisle, and had a sense of honor and dignity, both personal and professional. That is glaringly missing in today’s polarized environment, and ruling Republicans won’t lift a finger to exorcise their own “cancer on the Presidency”. But is it true?
I am not 100% sure who the speaker at the time was, although I am almost positive that it was Jill Wine Banks, a Watergate assistant prosecutor at the time who made the point. She stated quite forcefully that it was not the high moral and ethical standards that got the Republicans on board with the idea of impeachment. Actually, it was the massive and frequent protests that broke out nationwide after the “Saturday night massacre” and only intensified with the now infamous “18 minute gap” in the White House tape, courtesy of Presidential secretary Rosemary Woods. That started Republicans thinking about their own reelection prospects, and if they backed Nixon, they looked bleak.
Let’s be clear, when it comes to politicians, their overriding loyalty is to their personal office, and being reelected to it for as long as possible. Right now the country is stable, they believe that the Mueller investigation is on the up-and-up, and they are following developments avidly. But, as has already been proven, there are a whole lot of people out there that are just itching for a chance to take to the streets and protest this President. Right now the latest poll shows that 61% of Americans think that The Tiny Thumbs Diktator is trying to interfere with the investigation, and that includes a healthy dollop of Republicans. If in fact, despite the desperate pleas and warnings of his staff Trump has Rosenstein, or somebody else fire Mueller to stop the investigation, that could be the spark that once again ignites the tinderbox of massive street demonstrations. And if healthcare stalls or fails in the Senate, the Trump-Russia investigation could skyrocket to #1 on the town hall topic list.
We all know that any politicians highest loyalty is to himself and his personal office. The Cheeto Prophet has done little to engender loyalty in the caucus, including being caught telling the GOP Senate that the House healthcare bill that they all walked the plank for him to pass was “cold hearted” and “mean”, and that he wanted more humanity from the Senate. If that tinderbox blows, especially in the next six months, self preservation is going to kick in. And I know, it takes 67 Senators to impeach, but there are going to be 20+ of them running for reelection in 2020, and they have their own skins to worry about if this gets any worse.
Will the GOP caucus actually roll over on Trump if things get worse? That is a story still to be told, but it is helpful to remember one thing. How many of them actually came out in public and supported him before he was elected, and what major GOP goals has he helped them to accomplish since he got into office to help their stature at home? Self preservation is a powerful thing.