Republicans are committing political 'murder-suicide' by backing Trump's efforts to take down democracy: columnist

On Thursday, writing for The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein broke down how the GOP is jeopardizing its own political future by letting outgoing President Donald Trump wage war against the results of the election.

"Congressional Republicans may be engaged in the political equivalent of a murder-suicide by abetting Donald Trump’s claims that the election was stolen from him," wrote Brownstein. "[B]y supporting Trump’s claims — either overtly or through their silence — Republicans are ... cementing his position as the dominant figure in the GOP, snuffing out their chances of reconsidering the course he has set for their party."

The behavior of Republicans in the wake of Trump's loss, from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) allegedly leaning on the Georgia secretary of state to throw out mail-in ballots to Wayne County GOP canvassers trying to block certification of votes in Detroit, have set the tone, wrote Brownstein. Meanwhile, "The grassroots change is that fewer voters from the losing party in the presidential race are willing to give the winner any honeymoon."

All of this points to a divided government that will see more Republican obstruction than ever before, wrote Brownstein — "Yet as much as the GOP’s continuing deference to Trump constrains Biden’s options, it also limits the ability of congressional Republicans and potential 2024 candidates to question, or even just recalibrate, the outgoing president’s polarizing direction for the party." And the fact that Trump is floating a 2024 run himself makes it less likely rivals will even enter the field.

"And so Republicans are in an uncertain position," wrote Brownstein. "Many remain dubious that Trump’s belligerent racial nationalism is a long-term winning hand in a country growing inexorably more urbanized and diverse. But everything that’s happened since Election Day has steadily reduced the odds that the party will emerge from his shadow at any point in the near future."

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