The latest episode of The Banter Podcast is now out! In this episode, Mike and Ben talk about what's on everyone's mind: Ronna McDaniel's reelection as RNC chair! No, that's not it. Donald Trump becomes the first president ever to be impeached twice, this time for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol. The guys argue about whether the senate will convict the president. Joe Biden proposes a very robust Covid relief package that many Republicans say they'll oppose because they're pretending to care about deficits... again. Also, way too many cops and soldiers were part of the insurrection. Plus, Glenn Greenwald is back on his bullshit. Listen by clicking the play button above!
Image: Evan Vucci/AP Images
Read an excerpt from this week’s Banter Members article:
Republicans Are Fleeing Trump Because He Threatens The System That Protects Them
Trumpism was fun and games during Russiagate, but not now Republicans are being targeted by Trump’s rabid mob.
Yuri Gripas/Reuters
by Ben Cohen
After Donald Trump won the GOP primary in 2016, Republicans across the spectrum spent the next few months figuring out how to justify their support for him. It was a tortuous affair that saw “family values” conservative Christians get behind a man accused of sexual assault and rape by 19 women, cheated on his wife with pornstar, and openly flouted every value they claimed to stand for.
Many of these Republicans privately despised Trump but they also knew he was rapidly consuming their base. The choice was simple: become irrelevant, or get on the Trump train and try to control him from the inside.
Chris Christie articulated this predicament to the New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner last week after being pressed on why he supported Trump knowing he was a virulent White Nationalist with autocratic tendencies.
“My endorsement was based on two things,” said Christie. “I was absolutely convinced that there was no one left on that stage in the Republican primary who was going to beat Donald Trump. He was going to be our nominee. And, secondly, I was absolutely committed to Hillary Clinton not being President of the United States. So, given my relationship with Donald Trump over all those years, I felt like if I got in early and helped him I could have influence in making him a better candidate and, ultimately, a better President.”
Christie of course believes he did have a positive influence.
“I think I did both those things,” the former governor told Chotiner. “But, in the end, the person who holds the job is the person who makes the decisions. So, no, I have no second thoughts in doing what I did in supporting him. American democracy is ultimately not about voting for who you want to vote for. It’s about voting for who is left.”
In Christie’s mind, this means he is not in any way culpable for what transpired last week in Washington DC. Yes, he voted for, advised, and gave political cover for a racist wannabe tyrant who incited a mob to violently storm the Capitol, but Hillary Clinton was really bad.
Christie’s culpability avoiding playbook is doing the rounds in DC as almost every prominent Republican desperately tries to sever themselves from the drowning Trump. We never knew he would do this! We only voted for him because of the alternative!
Having given the fox free rein in the hen house it is quite something to watch Republicans pretending to be shocked that all the hens are dead. But thus is the nature of politics in a party dedicated to wrecking the institutions of government, enriching its donor base, and disenfranchising minorities…
This is an excerpt from today’s Members Only article. Get a 50% discount on a Banter Membership and read the full article here.
The Loser Gets Impeached. Again.