As dear leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is fond of saying, “winners make policy, losers go home.” And yet unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate refuse to take the phrase to heart. Which is a real shame.
We are just under 280 days into the Trump presidency, yet beyond nominations, Congress has made almost no progress passing the agenda America elected them to enact. The Republican Party is in the strongest position it’s seen in nearly a century, yet “leaders” on the Hill and prominent Sens. like Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn) complain like they’re stuck in the minority.
{mosads}They have promised us for years that they’d repeal ObamaCare, lower taxes, decrease burdensome regulation, but they finally have the chance with a president willing and eager to sign legislation and they simply can’t get their act together.
They just don’t get it.
Donald Trump’s victory last November was not just a repudiation of the Democrat Party and Hillary Clinton. No, 2016 was a revolt against the entire Washington establishment, both on the left and the right. Don’t forget, Trump blew away everyone in the Republican primary too, from accomplished governors to Jeb Bush (R) from Tea Party darlings to washed up Senators. Trump wiped the floor with them.
And the message from this trouncing is clear: the American people are tired of the status quo, of business as usual.
So while these Republicans in D.C. are still lost in the mindset that voters will still support them because “they’re not the other guys,” that’s not entirely true: promises were made, tens of millions of dollars were raised off said promises. Time to man up, Republicans, and fulfill those promises or else people might call you for what you’re acting like right now: liars.
However, some, seemingly because they lack the courage to do what they said they were going to do, are retiring. I call them the Binky Brigade. As in whining and crying about how that mean big, bad man in the White House is saying hurtful things about them. Memo to the Binky Brigade: this is politics. It’s a full contact sport, a blood sport.
It’s the battleground of ideas. And why are you worried about Trump saying “mean” things about you on Twitter when you should be damn well concerned about your constituents who are going to either vote for you, or not.
The retirements, both voluntary and forced with Luther Strange (R), are the beginnings of the Bannon Doctrine: there will be consequences for inaction, and for every establishment action against the America First agenda and its advocates, there will be an even greater reaction.
Elected Republicans had better prepare for primary challengers from the right, just like the Tea Party candidates in 2010. The same forces that sent conservatives to Congress in waves are ready and waiting to remove the members of Congress that refuse to do what they promised.
As Sen. Flake saw in the polls, throw in with the Democrats against the president at your own risk. And by the way, if some had spent the last ten months passing meaningful legislation instead of hand-wringing on Morning Joe and selling your anti-Trump retirement book, or taking an unwarranted August recess, maybe there would be fewer tweets to complain about.
Unfortunately, too many Republicans in Congress are spending more time preparing to respond to tweets than they are to passing legislation. These 17 minute speeches, like Flake’s on Tuesday, don’t come out of nowhere. Flake has been planning his grandstanding on the Senate floor more than he’s been planning to pass legislation the president can pass to address ObamaCare, tax reform, infrastructure, or the myriad of other problems facing our country.
While Flake’s audience ate up every moment of this speech, who really cares? His approval rating is at 18 percent, as in most of the Phoenix phone book has a higher approval rating than he does. Sadly, Flake was preaching to the liberal choir in the Acela corridor, not his voters out in Arizona. So to other members of Congress, feel free to literally knock yourselves out and play to the D.C. and New York City elites. I mean, they’re not voting for you, but I bet they’ll buy your book.
So give me a break, Jeff Flake. Put a cork in it, Bob. Do the work you were elected to do, or get out. Remember, winners make policy and losers go home. I’d love for you to go out as winners, but since some of your loser colors have shown through, maybe it is just best you go home.
Ned Ryun is a former presidential writer for George W. Bush and the founder and CEO of American Majority. You can find him on Twitter @nedryun.