Liberals Want Republicans to Stop Being Republicans – Bloomberg
The four on the left are, yes, Republicans.
President Donald Trump's critics view Republican congressmen as his enablers. James Fallows describes their behavior as the most discouraging weakness our governing system has shown since Trump took office. He singles out Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska for scorn, because "he leads all senators in his thoughtful, scholarly 'concern' about the norms Donald Trump is breaking -- and then lines up and votes with Trump 95 percent of the time."
Another journalist, Ron Brownstein, has written similarly. When various Republican senators objected to Trump's attacks on MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski's appearance, Brownstein asked what they intended to do about it. Other Trump foesechoed this critique: The Republicans' stern words were empty.
Most of this criticism is unreasonable.
It fails, for one thing, to account for what the Republicans have done. That includes "mere" criticism, since words matter in politics. Some of those words -- such as "we need to look to an independent commission or special prosecutor," or "our intelligence committee needs to interview" Donald Trump Jr. -- can have a fairly direct effect on what happens in Washington.
But it's not just words. The Republican Congress held hearings about President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey. Most Republicans have supported sanctions on Russia the president opposes.
For the Republicans' critics, these steps were the least they could do. But they weren't. The Republicans could have, for example, not held hearings.
It's unusual for senators to hold hearings into possible misconduct by 1) a president of their party 2) who is still fairly new in office and 3) supported by the vast majority of their voters. Perhaps the Republicans should have taken even more extraordinary action. But they're falling pitifully short only if the baseline expectation is that they do whatever liberal journalists think it's their duty to do.
And some things liberal journalists think it's the Republicans' duty to do make no sense. Take that 95 percent figure mentioned by Fallows. Was Senator Lindsey Graham really supposed to vote to keep regulations he considered unwise on the books because he opposes Vladimir Putin? Was Senator John McCain really supposed to vote against confirming Alex Acosta as labor secretary because the president tweets like a maladjusted 12-year-old?
When you complain about how often the senators vote with the president, that's what you're saying. Perhaps this is why the complaint is usually made by liberals, who would not want senators to be voting with President Marco Rubio or President John Kasich either.
Besides voting left, what would the Republicans' critics have them do? Impeach the president? Not even Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, supports that.
Clear thinking from leading voices in business, economics, politics, foreign affairs, culture, and more.
Share the View
"As evidence piles up pointing to the possibility that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, Republican lawmakers have largely ignored Democrats' calls for urgent action and continued about their day jobs,"writes McKay Coppins. The urgent actions he mentions: holding more press conferences about investigations into Trump; voting with Democrats on some anti-Trump resolutions they devised last week; and "issuing subpoenas more aggressively."
Maybe Republicans should subpoena some people they have not, although some specificity on who should get these subpoenas would be reassuring. I suspect that if the Republicans did issue more of them, the goalposts would just shift. The subpoenas, like the Comey hearings, would turn out not to count as "urgent action."
None of this means that Republicans are doing all they can and should do to address the concerns that Trump's presidency raises. Congressmen should, for example, be looking for ways to compel presidents to disclose their tax records, such disclosure being a useful norm that Trump has flouted.
But making a focused and reasonable demand and then building support for it is different from expecting congressional Republicans to sound like the opposition party.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story: Ramesh Ponnuru at rponnuru@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katy Roberts at kroberts29@bloomberg.net
The rest is here:
Liberals Want Republicans to Stop Being Republicans - Bloomberg
- The Courts Liberals Are Trying to Tell Americans Something - The Atlantic - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- The Liberals Were Right: Neo-Nazi Turns on Trump Over Epstein - The New Republic - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Letters: White liberals with Trump anxiety, welcome to the world outside your bubble - San Francisco Chronicle - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Fox News Co-Host Says Liberals Should Treat 'Nazi' Like the N-Word - bet.com - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Bank of Canada, Crown corporations to trim budgets to align with Liberals cost-cutting plans - The Globe and Mail - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Opinion | Why Left-Liberals Are Downplaying Violence In Spain - News18 - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Globe editorial: The Liberals need to show their cost-cutting ambition - The Globe and Mail - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Superman Shows How Far Liberals in Hollywood and Politics Have Veered From Ideal of the American Way - The New York Sun - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Canada's minister of health is an unknown to most, but Liberals call her the 'godmother' - Yahoo - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- VIDEO: Will party infighting harm the Victorian Liberals chance to govern? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- LIBERALS FAIL ON BAIL: Canadians need to be safe from violent offenders - Toronto Sun - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- In Trump Era, Gender Gap Widens in Tandem With Apparent Mental Health Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives - The New York Sun - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Bluesky liberals celebrate JD Vance being booed with his kids at Disneyland - FOX 8 TV - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- On NPR and at elite universities, liberals should openly admit their biases - The Hill - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Liberals fawn as emotional Tucker Carlson rips Trump for 'ignoring America's biggest problem' - Daily Mail - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Neon Liberalism #34: Are Liberals Losing the Culture War? - Liberal Currents - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Liberals need to test US-style primaries to engage with voters - The Australian - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Conrad Black: Liberals must retreat from their climate obsessions - National Post - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Larry David/Obamas Pairing Shows Why Liberals Win - Hollywood in Toto - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Liberals and conservatives live differently but people think the divide is even bigger than it is - PsyPost - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Liberals Laud Fake Story that ICE Agents Are Resigning In Droves - newsguardrealitycheck.com - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Letters: Campus life harmed by liberals who believe they're always right - NOLA.com - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jesse Kline: Liberals get a crash course in the importance of natural resources - Yahoo - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Liberals pick Chantale Marchand to run in Arthabaska byelection - Montreal Gazette - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Justin Ling: Mark Carney is the reincarnation of the Chrtien Liberals. Thats not a bad thing - Toronto Star - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jesse Kline: Liberals get a crash course in the importance of natural resources - MSN - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Where are the Liberals When Iran Mass-Deports Millions of Afghans? - The European Conservative - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- The Supreme Courts Liberals Have an Impossible Task. One of Them Is Charting the Way. - Slate Magazine - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion: The Liberals launch another expenditure review: This time, we mean it - The Globe and Mail - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Liberals could find out soon whether their rushed projects bill will spark another Idle No More - National Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Wealthy White Liberals Reportedly Urge Democrats To Be Willing To Get Shot Opposing Trump - dailycaller.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Albertas PCs Might Rise from the Dead. Not the BC Liberals - The Tyee - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Cryo-liberals are still dishing up deranged delusions - The Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Wealthy White Liberals Reportedly Urge Democrats To Be Willing To Get Shot Opposing Trump - AOL.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Liberals, Conservatives, And Independents Form Initiative To Fight For Democracy And Freedom - thedailypoliticususa.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- How the Liberals are eroding workers Charter-protected rights - Canadian Dimension - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Liberals dont want Muslim women to demand rights in the Hindutva era. Theres no right time - ThePrint - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- New polls show the Liberals opening large lead over the Conservatives - iPolitics - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Another Saturday Night - Liberals Are Patriotic! updated with how to help the central Texas flooding - Daily Kos - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Vancouver has a new civic party the Vancouver Liberals - Business in Vancouver - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Liberals Lose Trust on Health After 11 Years - Mirage News - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Newsom warms to building, but will California liberals allow it? - Washington Examiner - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Liberals Are Declaring That The Fourth Of July Is Canceled This Year And Even Threatening To Sue People Who Celebrate For Emotional Damage - Whiskey... - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Peter Menzies: Justin Trudeaus legislative legacy is still haunting the Liberals - The Hub | More Signal. Less Noise. - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Opinion | Memo to liberals: Diversity can be conservative - The Washington Post - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Liberals Are Going to Keep Losing at the Supreme Court - The Atlantic - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Hollywood Liberals Slammed as 'Disgusting' for Bleating They Weren't Invited to Jeff Bezos 'Vulgar' Wedding - RadarOnline - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Forget female quotas, its mediocrity thats killing the Liberals - The Australian - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Fatal flaw of liberals is belief that being right is enough | Opinion - The News-Press - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Liberals want Americans to depend on government - Washington Times - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- If old school white-anting Sussan Ley on gender quotas works, the Liberals may pay a heavy political price - The Guardian - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- HUNTER: Have Liberals had their come-to-Jesus moment on crime? - Toronto Sun - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Random Musing: Why some Indian liberals are celebrating Zohran Mamdani and think he is the new Obama - Times of India - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Liberals In California Are Banning Books Again - The Daily Wire - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- 'Liberals need to reconnect with people's deep feelings of being disrespected,' sociologist says - Perspective - France 24 - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Threat of Trump should drive liberals from the middle ground | Opinion - The Portland Press Herald - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- If the Liberals want to appeal again to aspirational Australians, they could start by taxing wealth | Judith Brett - The Guardian - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- The Weekly Wrap: The Liberals must abandon their internet regulation agenda - The Hub | More Signal. Less Noise. - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Data breach may have exposed 200,000 home-care patients' information, say Ontario Liberals - Yahoo - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- M. imeka criticized the Slovak government after the summit of liberals in Brussels for not diversifying gas supplies - European Newsroom - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- ANALYSIS: David Petersons Liberals are remembering the good times. Ontarians should, too - TVO Today - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Carney Liberals urged to ditch DST as Trump terminates trade talks with Canada - Toronto Sun - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Martin Regg Cohn: History reminds Ontarios languishing Liberals that they need to make their own luck - Toronto Star - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Arab Journalists and Liberals Praise U.S. Strike On Iran: The Iranian Threat Is Over; Trump Saved Humanity; God Bless America - MEMRI | Middle East... - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Conservatives report better mental health than liberals. I think I know why. | Opinion - USA Today - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Federal Liberals reintroduce cybersecurity bill meant to protect critical infrastructure - The Globe and Mail - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Threat of Trump should drive liberals from the middle ground | Opinion - Lewiston Sun Journal - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Opinion: The Tory future may lie with the Liberals - Winnipeg Free Press - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- FIRST READING: All the hidden extras buried in the Liberals fast-tracked omnibus bills - National Post - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Battin wants to reset and to rally Liberals behind taxes, housing and crime - Neos Kosmos - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Chaos over withdrawal of EU law against greenwashing. Last trialogue skips, anger of socialists and liberals - Eunews - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Libman: Quebec Liberals gamble on Rodriguez. Will voters? - Montreal Gazette - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Hunger strikes! Tears! Arrest! Its been a week of ridiculous performances as NYC liberals chase folk-hero status - New York Post - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- The Trump Peace Prize? Matt Gaetz suggests renaming honor they only give to liberals - AL.com - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Victorias Liberals saved John Pesutto from bankruptcy. But can they save themselves from all-out war? - The Guardian - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Q+A | Outgoing Yukon premier highlights renewed energy in Yukon Liberals with new leader - Yahoo - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Trump Complains He Should Have Won FIVE Nobel Prizes By Now But They Only Give Them To Liberals - Mediaite - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Putins biggest threat is not from liberals but the nationalist Right - The Telegraph - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Obama swipes at affluent liberals during rare public remarks, says 'all of us are going to be tested' - Fox News - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Swedens Liberals bet to revive a sinking party - Euractiv - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]