"The GOP: Tell Me My Betrayal Is Justified"

In a stunning display of spinelessness, Republicans prepare to vote yes on Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill"; despite knowing it will devastate millions of their own voters.

I’ve spent enough time in the belly of the beast to know the stench of political cowardice when it wafts through the halls of power. But what’s happening now, with Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” goes beyond the usual swamp rot; it’s moral decay wearing a red, white, and blue lapel pin.

Seventeen million Americans are about to get kneecapped by this bill’s brutal cuts to Medicaid. Let me say that again for those in the cheap seats: seventeen million people, many of them poor, elderly, disabled, or just working two jobs and trying to keep their kids healthy, are about to be told, “Sorry, you're on your own.” And the response from the Republican Party? A shrug. A pivot. A smile. Followed by a robotic, pre-programmed “Yea” vote.

Why?

Because Trump said so.

Now look, I’m not here to rag on Trump. He is accomplishing what he said he would. And, as I’ve said before, the man is a master manipulator, a showman, and a salesman who could convince a drowning man to buy goggles. But the real story here isn’t Trump. It’s the weak-kneed, principle-free army of Republican lawmakers who are standing in line like schoolchildren at recess, waiting for their turn to nod, salute, and sign off on something they know is catastrophic for their own constituents.

As recently as yesterday; yesterday!, over two dozen Republicans were swearing up and down that they’d never vote for a bill that guts Medicaid. “My constituents need these benefits,” they said. “We have to protect rural hospitals,” they said. “This is too far,” they said.

Cut to today; and suddenly, all they need is the right talking point whispered in their ear, and poof! Their spine evaporates.

Tell me what you need to hear so you can vote yes.

Tell me the cuts won’t affect your district.

Tell me the market will fix it.

Tell me you didn’t read the full bill, but you trust the Speaker.

Tell me it’s just a bargaining chip and the Senate will water it down.

Tell me it’s for the greater good because fiscal responsibility suddenly matters again; just not when we added $5 trillion to the debt over the next eighteen months with tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.

What’s really happening here is a kind of collective gaslighting ritual. These Republicans know they’re hurting their voters. They know it’s wrong. But instead of saying no, they’re demanding a political fairy tale they can tell themselves to sleep at night. It's no longer about right or wrong; it's about staying in power, avoiding a primary challenge, or keeping Mar-a-Lago in their speed dial favorites.

And you know what? Credit where it’s due; MAGA Mike Johnson pulled off what no one thought was possible: he got this thing to the floor. He wrangled, wheedled, and horse-traded like an old-school machine boss, and somehow, the votes are now likely there. The same guy who was written off six months ago as too green, too ideological, too beholden to the far right, just delivered a legislative death blow to the social safety net. So yes; give the man his flowers. But let’s not pretend the bouquet doesn’t reek of desperation and betrayal.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the modern Republican Party is not a party of ideas; it's a loyalty cult. And nothing proves that more than the way they’re contorting themselves to pass this bill. Some of these guys built their careers railing against Washington’s indifference to working families. Others got elected on promises to defend healthcare access in rural America. Now they’re gleefully signing away the only lifeline some of their voters have, because the price of defiance is too high in a party ruled by fear.

You want to know what governing by coercion looks like? This is it.

You want to see the price of cowardice in real time? Pull up C-SPAN.

And while Trump watches it all unfold like a Godfather sequel; pleased that his underlings are kissing the ring and doing his bidding, it’s the American people who will be left picking up the pieces. It won’t be Trump who has to explain to a diabetic mother in Ohio why her insulin isn’t covered anymore. It won’t be Johnson who walks into a shuttered clinic in Arkansas. It will be the very voters who thought these people were fighting for them, only to learn they were sold out for a press release and a golf invitation.

So I ask you, Republicans: What do you need to hear?
Do you want someone to tell you the bill won’t really hurt people, even though the numbers are right there in black and white?
Do you want someone to assure you this isn’t the hill you’ll die on; because maybe you’ll find your courage next time?

Or do you just want someone to tell you you’re still a good person, even while you vote to harm millions?

Because that’s what this vote is. It’s not policy. It’s not governance. It’s a test of conscience. And one by one, you’re failing.

So, shame on you.

But go ahead. Tell me what you need to hear!

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But this isn’t about a book.
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