Faced with questions about the Flynn scandal and the Comey firing, Ryan waved them away: “I don’t worry about things that are outside my control.”
This might sound like a reasonable philosophy — unless you realize
that Ryan is speaker of the House of Representatives, a legislative body with the power to issue subpoenas, compel testimony and, yes, impeach the president.
On Wednesday, Paul Ryan held a press conference just after the revelation
that Donald Trump had pushed James Comey to kill the investigation into Michael Flynn — you know, the guy Trump appointed as national security adviser even though his team knew that Flynn’s highly suspicious foreign ties were under investigation.
It has become painfully clear, however, that Republicans have no intention of exercising any real oversight over a president who is obviously emotionally unstable, seems to have cognitive issues
and is doing a very good imitation of being an agent of a hostile foreign power.
Republicans, however, went all in behind Trump, knowing full well
that he was totally unqualified, strongly suspecting that he was corrupt and even speculating that he might be in Russian pay, simply because there was an “R” after his name on the ballot.
If you’re waiting to find the modern version of Howard Baker, the Republican senator who
asked “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” you’re wasting your time.
They may make a few gestures toward accountability in the face of bad poll numbers, but there is not a hint
that any important figures in the party care enough about the Constitution or the national interest to take a stand.
The Democratic Party is a coalition of interest groups, with some shared views
but also a lot of conflicts, and politicians get ahead through their success in striking compromises and finding acceptable solutions.