The Case for Trusting Normie Republicans. Seriously.
An argument from optimism.
Our thing at The Bulwark is that we always tell you what we really think, but today I’m going to make an argument that I don’t believe. Let me explain why.
One of the ways to hedge against blind spots is to force yourself (from time to time) to argue against your interests. Doing so shifts your worldview and makes you consider the best arguments from the opposing side.1
So that’s what I’m doing today. One of my ongoing theses has been that (a) We are in the midst of an ongoing authoritarian attempt; (b) This attempt is fueled by despotic longings among some nontrivial portion of Republican voters; (c) Because a meaningful portion of Republican voters are not interested in democratic governance, existing Republican politicians—even Good Republicans—cannot be trusted with power.
The shorthand for this logic chain is: Politicians can only be as good as their voters let them.
But what if that’s wrong? More precisely: What if (a) and (b) are correct, but (c) is incorrect?
And as a shorthand for this possibility, let’s call this question: What if National Review is right?
I don’t think they are right. But today I’m going to do my best to argue that side.
1. Mike Johnson
I’m sure that tomorrow Mike Johnson will put a puppy into a woodchipper or come out against Caitlin Clark, but I don’t think you can overstate how important his actions were over the last week.
The Republican speaker bucked the majority of his caucus on the most important issue facing America. In working with Democrats to get funding to Ukraine, he violated Donald Trump’s wishes. And he did so with the clear understanding that he may ultimately (though not immediately) lose his job as a consequence.
Mike Johnson became the mythical Good Republican—that is, a MAGA adherent who, when the chips were down, took the side of America against Donald Trump.
Except that “Good Republicans” haven’t been completely mythical . . .