Steve Benen is not only a Rachel Maddow Show producer, he's also a former contributor to Crooks and Liars.
In his new book, "The Impostors," Benen illustrates how Donald Trump is a symptom of a Republican Party that has "abandoned the rigors of governing and the principles of policymaking."
He doesn't say it exactly, but the Republican Party is now entirely about "owning the libs."
I was struck by this part of his Monday night interview with Rachel Maddow:
Then I went to Donald Trump's to look for a comparable page and it did not exist. There is no "issues page" there. and I'm thinking, well, maybe we can replace that with the Republican platform, except that doesn't exist either. They are simply just taking the 2016 platform and slapping a sticker on it that says "2020." And so with that in mind, it seems to me we are stuck in this same feedback loop, insofar as Republicans don't seem to have an interest in governing. But that said, Republicans are losing. And with that in mind, I think it's likely we will say voters say they expect more and that this is an opportunity for them to remind Republicans that the current post-policy path isn't good enough.
And I can think of another huge example: when Republicans said, "repeal and replace Obamacare but we have ZERO ideas for the 'replace' part." That was a huge FAIL for voters in the 2018 midterms.
Congratulations on the book Steve Benen!
