In the musical "Hamilton," George Washington advises Alexander Hamilton as he about to fight in the Siege of Yorktown during Revolutionary War that he has to just do what he thinks is right and best for the country, not because he seeks to be a hero to his contemporaries:
Let me tell you what I wish I'd known
When I was young and dreamed of glory
You have no control
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story
It's rare that one recognizes that we are in a historic period at the very moment. But we inarguably are now. And while it may seem "safer" for the Republicans to circle the wagons and protect Donald Trump, Jake Tapper wants the Republicans to think about how well that's worked in the past.
You know this. I know this. And I would bet that most Republicans on Capitol Hill know this. They would do well to remember the lessons of Senators Smith and Taft, because history will one day come looking for them, too. She will want to know what they said and did during this time. She will likely not be in a forgiving mood.
The reflexive tribalism is so automatic, so deeply ingrained in the Republican psyche that they don't even appear to realize that all of their alibis and defenses are actually going to hurt them in the long run. First--and this should be a rule for everyone at every level of life--there is no actual way to benefit from defending a narcissistic sociopath, as you and your reputation are entirely expendable to them.
Narcissistic sociopaths don't have loyalty. They don't have empathy that extends beyond themselves and a narrowly-defined family. Even if you're taking care of them, keeping them out of jail (literally) they won't take care of you, even by paying their legal bills. Seriously. [..]
Narcissistic sociopaths are unable to straighten up and fly right, even when it's in their self-interest. And they hang in there long after the rest of us would throw in the towel (from self interest or otherwise.) See, the rules don't apply to them. Never have. [..]
That's why they do so well--for a while--narcissistic sociopaths, among the rest of us: We assume we're dealing with rational people who think like us--they couldn't possibly expect to get away with...
Sorry. They do. But you won't. They won't take care of you. No pardon. [..]So if you're in the WH, State Department, etc., and you've been pulled into this fiasco, you might be going to jail. Sorry. That's what happens when you facilitate crimes.
Donald Trump will have no compunction about putting anyone and everyone else in the pathway of whatever bullet is aimed at him, with the exception of maybe Ivanka. We've already seen it with him pulling Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo and now even Rick Perry into his conspiracies.
And secondly, we have to remember how and why Donald Trump is in office in the first place: because Vladimir Putin wanted to create chaos and drag the US down on the world's stage from being the top superpower.
The rest of the world is watching. Disparaging our own intelligence services over fantastical Russian-originated conspiracy theories is incredibly harmful to our international relations and our national security. Insulting our allies and normalizing the cozying up to brutal dictators is harmful to our national security. And it's being exploited for the entire world to see.
The time has come and the choice is clear for the Republican Party: do you stand with Trump and take orders from Putin, or do you stand with America. They will not write the history of this era, so they must decide how they want to be seen now.
