Ramesh Ponnuru, Columnist

Liberals Want Republicans to Stop Being Republicans

The left's criticism of GOP lawmakers for not breaking with Trump is hollow and self-serving.

July 21, 2017 at 11:30 AM UTC

Ramesh Ponnuru is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the editor of National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

The four on the left are, yes, Republicans.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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President Donald Trump's critics view Republican congressmen as his enablers. James Fallows describes their behavior as the most discouraging weakness our governing system has shown since Trump took office. He singles out Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska for scorn, because "he leads all senators in his thoughtful, scholarly 'concern' about the norms Donald Trump is breaking -- and then lines up and votes with Trump 95 percent of the time."

Another journalist, Ron Brownstein, has written similarly. When various Republican senators objected to Trump's attacks on MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski's appearance, Brownstein asked what they intended to do about it. Other Trump foes echoed this critique: The Republicans' stern words were empty.