Conservative columnist Matt Lewis on Tuesday published a scathing column at the Daily Beast in which he railed against Republicans who have calculated that they're better off trying to influence President Donald Trump rather than blocking his massive executive overreach.
Lewis found himself particularly aghast at Republicans who are sitting meekly by as Trump uses a national emergency declaration to bypass Congressional approval for his border wall, as well as the president's latest "ego-stroking sit-down with North Korea’s madman dictator, Kim Jong Un."
The columnist reserves particular scorn for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a former Trump critic who has morphed into one of the president's top sycophants in the name of retaining influence over his administration's policy decisions.
"Graham’s premise is that Trump is already president, and the best you can do is to try to influence him as much as possible," he writes. "The other option is to go on the record and speak out against Trump’s policies. And do you know who doesn’t have much influence these days? Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. So this is the sad state of conservatism in the Trump era: You can either have your dignity but no influence or relevance, or you can keep your dignity and hit the pavement."
While Lewis understands where Graham and his colleagues are coming from, he nonetheless hammers them for destroying whatever they have left of their pride in the name of flattering the president.
"They say you never stand so tall as when you stoop to kiss someone’s ass," he concludes. "If this is true, then Trump is surrounded by giants."
