Yes, this was originally published a few days ago. A lot has transpired since then, and it’s my belief that this work takes on an entirely new meaning as a result. Edited slightly — it’s not too long — please take it in. --T-n-T
It'll be a week tomorrow It’s been just over a week, and things are decidedly not going well. The pressure cooker's about to blow blown its lid. We all feared the worst, and it's worse than we thought. The countries of the world are not happy, Congress is not happy, and most of all, the American people are decidedly not happy - even the ones who voted for the Great Orange Satan. So what to do? - assign blame of course. A tactic that's taken right out of the Republican playbook.
Trump's been McConnell's boy all along. He's been all in since early May of 2016, and he reaffirmed his position right before the election in November. Now McConnell had his big brotherly criticisms along the way - suggesting politely that it might not be a good idea to grab women by their private parts, for instance - but he's essentially been on the Trump train for months.
Not to be outdone, Ryan officially endorsed the goober, and at no point in the election process ever made noises which sounded like Trump wasn't his guy. Both then and now, Paul Ryan eats Trump Wheaties for breakfast every morning.
One could almost say that McConnell and Ryan all but created the Trump pResidency, and to this day, they've got Trump's back. Everything Trump says is a lie? McConnell and Ryan will tell you that they aren't Trump's grammar police. Highly likely that Trump is Putin's puppet? We don't need no stinkin' investigation. Trump flaunts the solemn law of that land, and that’s met by silence from the Republican leadership.
Ok, so McConnell and Ryan own this broken White Hose, but pretty much they’re sitting on their hands. Let’s make Trump their problem. We the people demand to know what they’re going to do about the great orange runaway train, and be quick about it. I envision a nationwide megamarch - seems like this is the season for that sort of thing. Demand that Ryan and McConnell fix their horrific mess. Half the signs would say 'McConnell' and the other half would say 'Ryan'. Many might say both. I've had it with Republican corruption and intellectual dishonesty, and I'm not the only one.
Will this tactic foment a horrendous quandary between our two GOP heroes, McConnell and Ryan? Entirely possible. Will their Senate and House GOP followers be utterly and vocally divided against their respective leaders? Yes. Will this sense of betrayal, division and open hostility extend to their precious, coddled base? Beyond a doubt. Will the Republican Civil War escalate to high heaven? Yes. Could this be the best screenplay we've ever watched? Yes. Have Republicans more than earned every pang of angst they're going to feel from such a move? Of course.
And the best part is that it's all from Sun Tzu's the Republican's own play book.
故用兵之法,十則圍之,五則攻之,倍則分之, 敵則能戰之,少則能守之,不若則能避之。
It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them. -- Sun Tzu, Art of War