Comeys Firing Is the Moment of Truth for the GOP

[applegrove]

By Yascha Mounk at Slate

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_good_fight/2017/05/james_comey_s_firing_is_the_moment_of_truth_for_the_republican_party.html

"SNIP..............

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that Comey was terrible at his job and deserved to get fired. And let us assume, for just a moment, that there is absolutely nothing to the ongoing FBI investigation into Trump’s links to the Kremlin. Even if both of those assumptions were true, Comey’s firing would still send a chilling message to every federal employee: If you cross Trump’s interests by doing your job, you may well get fired.

And that’s the best-case scenario. What seems just as likely, especially given the uproar the White House must have expected as a consequence of its action, is that Trump is deliberately obstructing the course of justice, because he has good reason to be afraid of the ongoing FBI investigation. In that case, the firing of Comey is but the first maneuver in a much wider assault on the ability of independent state institutions to carry out their job.

Whether Trump succeeds in this endeavor now depends in good part on whether he can replace Comey with a loyalist who is willing to do his bidding. And whether he is able to place a partisan crony at the helm of the FBI—effectively destroying one of the country’s most important institutions—now depends on that small crew of Republican senators who have consistently criticized Trump’s authoritarian tendencies—only to vote in favor of his nominees every step of the way.

For people like John McCain and Ben Sasse the moment of truth is nigh. If they find the courage of their convictions, they can ensure that Comey will be succeeded by the consummate professional he never was, and rescue the independence of the FBI. If, by contrast, they once again fail to live up to their principles, and allow a partisan hack to neuter the FBI, then the American republic will be in grave danger.


................SNIP"

[tazkcmo]

1. Pffft

The GOPee could give two twits about truth unless it's spelled m-o-n-e-y.

[NCTraveler]

2. The argument starts with the base assumption that Comey was doing his job.

We know so little at this point that I don't think we can make that assumption. I have been reading all of these articles and none of them have convinced me that Comey isn't just as shady as the rest of them.

"For people like John McCain and Ben Sasse the moment of truth is nigh. If they find the courage of their convictions, they can ensure that Comey will be succeeded by the consummate professional he never was, and rescue the independence of the FBI. If, by contrast, they once again fail to live up to their principles, and allow a partisan hack to neuter the FBI, then the American republic will be in grave danger."

Look at their voting record. Convictions? They are not on our side.

[Jarqui]

3. Moment of Truth for the GOP?

I don't think the terms "Truth" and "GOP" can realistically coexist in the same phrase.