With or without Trump, Republicans seem determined to destroy American democracy. The GOP's House Leader Kevin McCarthy is currently following the example of the Great Orange One in his attempt to openly obstruct justice. On his official Twitter account, McCarthy made the following statement about the decision of the House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol building to review the communications of Republicans connected to those events: "Adam Schiff, Bennie Thompson, and Nancy Pelosi's attempts to strong-arm private companies to turn over individuals' private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democrat politicians. If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States. If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law."
In other words, just as Trump told his associates not to cooperate with investigators and openly threatened those who did, Kevin McCarthy has decided that his own personal interests and those of his party are clearly superior to those of protecting the rule of law or American democracy. Of course, these blatant attempts to undermine justice are always cloaked in the language of protecting everyone's rights. To be clear, it isn't just inappropriate to interfere in a lawfully constituted investigation, it's ILLEGAL. It isn't just inappropriate for someone to suppress evidence or try to influence others to do so, it's ILLEGAL. Is McCarthy ever likely to face any repercussions for these crimes? No, because like Trump before him, he has committed them in broad daylight and has wrapped himself in the blanket of protecting political discourse.
Add to all of this, the purposeful obstruction of the current president's agenda by Republicans both in and out of government, their open interference in foreign policy decisions which are normally the prerogative of the current occupant of the Oval Office, and their continued support for Trump's false narrative about the 2020 election, and it is clear that Republicans have given up on the notion of democracy. After all, in a representative democracy, the folks whom the citizens have chosen to represent them are the ones who are supposed to set priorities and policies. Yes, the opposition is expected to continue to try to influence and shape those policies, but they are not expected to usurp those powers. In a democracy, the people decide who takes the helm at any given time, and the only legitimate way to change or modify that is by another election. In other words, Republicans have given up on waiting their turn - acceding to the will of the people. In their view, the end clearly justifies any means (including undermining or overturning long established laws, traditions and norms). And, for the record, these trends do not bode well for the survival of this republic!
