Really, GOP? All This Over Joe Biden?
The lengths that Republican lawmakers are willing to go to delegitimize the President-Elect would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous.
It’s been over a week since a mob of pro-Trump rioters rushed the capitol building, vandalizing the Senate floor and Congressional offices, engaged in hours long standoffs with armed officers, and were left with five people dead by the end of the day. Considering the way things have been evolving and unfolding since the election was called for President-Elect Joe Biden, it seemed almost inevitable that some sort of violence would take place after Donald Trump did everything he could to ensure that would be the case right up to the day the certification of the electoral college votes.
And yet, none of that stopped a significant number of Republican lawmakers from continuing their efforts to delegitimize Joe Biden’s victory in the eyes of their base, and object to results of the election being certified. As it turns out, even the monster they helped to create turning against them was not enough for some of Trump’s fiercest loyalists among congressional ranks to break away, and realize what they’re doing.
As time goes on and we take a moment to step back, think about what happened, and reflect upon the implications, it’s beginning to sink in just how bizarre it is to see this type of response from the Republican party over the victory of Joe Biden of all people.
If we were living in sane, rational times, Biden would be considered a moderate Republican. Frankly, that’s putting it mildly if one remembers what he has been responsible over the course of his long career in politics, whether it be the 1994 crime bill, his vehement support of a bankruptcy bill that prevents people from discharging student debt when filing for bankruptcy, or the fact that on more than one occasion, he has repeatedly taken credit for writing the infamous 2001 Patriot act. The President-Elect also happens to be against Medicare for All and promised to veto the legislation if it ever came to his desk. Throughout the entirety of his campaign, Biden’s message ultimately boiled down to nothing more than platitudes, talk of unity, “bipartisanship”, healing, and promises that he can work with Republicans to get things done. Promises that any Republican lawmaker is smart enough to know means that he will be more than willing to let them have their way.
And yet, a significant number of lawmakers within the Grand Old Party appear to have come to the conclusion that Biden is an existential threat to their power and Republican goals.
All this, over a man who promised his Wall Street donors that nothing would fundamentally change.
Honestly, if it was someone like Rashida Tlaib or Bernie Sanders sweeping into office, a part of me would understand the sense of panic. I would at least be able to understand why they might feel as though the power structure that has bent in their favor throughout the decades is in jeopardy. But anyone working within the halls of power here in the United States — whether they would admit it to their base or not — knows that Joe Biden will do absolutely nothing to undermine the Republican party, no matter what lengths they go to undermine him.
That said, it’s also worth noting Republicans have every reason to be confident that in 2022 they have an excellent chance of taking back the house and potentially the senate as well. All is certainly not lost for them, so why has it come to this? Why do they continue to light match after match, threatening to burn what’s left of this nations already fragile “democracy” over a man who would rather alienate the entire left than those who continue to question the legitimacy of his right to govern?
The only explanation I can think of is that Republicans are afraid Biden’s victory is an indication of the beginning of the end for their success on the federal level. Personally, following the Biden era during which nothing will fundamentally change as the anger and frustration only continues to grow, it seems to me that Republicans should instead be confident in their chances of regaining their power. What’s unnerving is the thought of what they’ll do with that power in order to keep it, considering how they seem to feel it’s closer slipping away for good with each passing election.
