Now that Donald Trump has openly showed his neo-Nazi and white supremacist sympathies, this has put the Republican leadership in a bind. They know that they should repudiate his comments but they also fear Trump and his rabid supporters. So now we see the familiar game of some leaders staying publicly silent and privately leaking to reporters that they are furious.
Mitch McConnell is an old hand at this kind of double dealing and he is doing it again.
There was a reason why it took Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell an entire night to respond to President Trump’s chaotic news conference equating counter protesters with the Nazis they came to resist.
He was livid.
Two sources close to the senator, speaking under condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said the pro-civil rights Republican who lived through the 1960s in Kentucky closely deliberated on the best way forward.
…In the end, McConnell sent out a statement challenging Trump’s position that not everyone who came to the white nationalist rally had hateful beliefs – saying there “are no good neo-Nazis” – without mentioning the president by name.
‘Secret fury’ is an euphemism for saying “I am too scared to publicly speak out’. McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao is also a member of Trump’s cabinet and stood right next to him during Trump’s press conference when he made his most incendiary remarks. Since she continues to serve in his cabinet, she must feel that Trump’s remarks are not a bridge too far and that she still supportsy him. The desire to protect her job undoubtedly adds to his desire to have it both ways.
McConnell, as the senate majority leader, is supposed to have a leadership role that is not subservient to Trump. But he is a craven coward, hiding behind leaks. What Trump is doing is stripping away all the camouflage that these politicians used to hide their real views and exposing their true nature for all the world to see.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have also mastered this tactic except that in their case they leak that they are ‘disappointed’ rather than angry with whatever Trump said or did.
What a bunch of liars and hyporcites.
I even don’t buy McConnell being furious. That would imply him caring about other human beings.
Among McConnell’s other anti-social policies, MitchCare would have resulted in millions more Americans not being able to afford health insurance, and thousands more avoidable deaths.
So as a smart sociopath, he probably just feigned a bit of outrage because it is politically expedient.
Aren’t all these folk bought, sold and delivered to the background oligarchy characterised as the 1%? If this is so it is futile to expect them to obey any principles but those of their owners.
“Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” -- Yoda
Somewhere John Boener is laughing.
Ah ha ha ha ha ha! That’s hilarious.
Sure, I’ll believe you when you support reinstating Voting Rights Act. When you stop confirming racists and birthers Trump nominates. When you admit you were wrong in saying the day of President Obama’s inauguration in 2009 that your top priority was to block everything he wanted to do so he’d be a one term President.
I don’t give a crap about anyone’s thoughts. Let’s see some deeds.
@Jorg, 1: I totally buy McConnell being furious. Of course he does care about other human beings: Republican politicians and the people who fund them. And Trump is making it harder for the latter to openly support the former, which is bad for him (McConnell) and his friends. I’d be furious if I was him. What the hell is Trump thinking, telling people what he actually thinks? Doesn’t he know that now, with political correctness, as a right wing party you’re supposed to cloak your inherent racism behind more creative language?[1] You’re supposed to use a dog-whistle, and Trump’s just using a fucking whistle. It’s infuriating.
I’ve said elsewhere I wonder how long the GOP are going to let him continue getting away with this stuff. Hopefully before he nukes North Korea. Or Syria. Or Iran.
[1] Stewart Lee, 2008, first three minutes of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99s19HBs-6A
Lifted from some comment on ed braytons blog
How do McConnell and Ryan et al stand after their spine removal?
Answer : Viagra