In today’s Republican Party, standing up to Donald Trump has become a hazardous exercise. Anyone who does so risks facing the full wrath of Breitbart News and its chairman, Steve Bannon. As part of his “#War” on anyone who dares stand in the way of Trump’s drive to “Make America Great Again,” Bannon has vowed to find and fund primary challengers to every Republican Senator running for reelection in 2018 except Ted Cruz.
As Bannon sees it, Republicans who oppose Trump are engaging in nothing short of treason. But one of Trump’s biggest and loudest Republican gadflies sees it differently. He believes that if anyone is engaging in treason, it’s those who are willing to work with Bannon.
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics counsel for the first two years of George W. Bush’s second term, is best known among political junkies as one of the lawyers leading the effort to turn the hot lights on Trump’s disregard for the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. That provision bars the president and other government officials from receiving gifts from foreign officials.
As early as two weeks after the election, Painter contended that Trump’s myriad foreign deals potentially disqualified him from serving as president. He believes that Trump’s decision to turn over control of his real estate empire to a trust administered by his sons wouldn’t fix things, because the proceeds from those foreign deals will still flow into his pocket.
As late as the day before the inauguration, Painter begged Trump to take steps to unwind any potential foreign conflicts. When that advice went unheeded, Painter gave Trump a stark warning–comply with the Constitution or face removal. He is currently one of the lead attorneys in a lawsuit against Trump for failing to place his business interests in a true blind trust.
But Trump’s business conflicts aren’t Painter’s only concern. Like a number of the members of a seemingly shrinking club–Republicans with scruples–he has been scathingly critical of Bannon. He even went as far as to blame Bannon for August’s ugliness in Charlottesville.
So it should come as no surprise that Painter delivered a warning to any Republicans who are even thinking about accepting Bannon’s support.
US House Members and Senators who get anywhere close to white nationalist Steven Bannon must be voted out to save the GOP and USA. D's are better than R's who betray our country.
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) October 24, 2017
Those are pretty harsh words. But in light of what we know about Bannon, they’re justified. Remember, we now know that on Bannon’s watch, Breitbart actively collaborated with racists, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis in order to normalize and sanitize hate and bigotry.
By any reasonable standard, any Republican who accepts help from Bannon has a lot of explaining to do. Like Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, for instance. He writes a column for Breitbart, and continues to do so while serving as operating head of Trump’s effort to troll for “voter fraud.” Even in the face of this, Kobach is running for governor of Kansas next year. Is Kobach prepared to explain to the people of Kansas why he continues to lend any credibility to a man who–at the very least–is willing to coddle Nazis?
Or Roy Moore, who is currently running in a special election for Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat in Alabama. Moore has not only wrapped himself in the cross, but in scads of Bannon’s money and support. Moore talks so much about bringing America back to God. But is his desire to go to the Senate so great that he is willing to accept Bannon’s backing, especially given Alabama’s fraught racial history?
Painter is spot on. Anyone who finds it acceptable to work with a man who even thinks about collaborating with people whose values run counter to our nation’s basic ideals is unfit for office. He’s doing what anyone who truly believes in what this country is about ought to do–putting country above party.
(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
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