REPUBLICANS AND THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION

By Jeffrey Frank @ Daily Comment @ NewYorker.com, May 31

The unpopular New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (now at seventy-six-per-cent disapproval), who last year bowed and scraped his way into candidate Donald J. Trump’s inner circle, has begun to emit hesitant signals that he wishes he’d bet on another horse [....]

Perhaps this is making too much of one man’s views, but, because it’s Christie, such an early, enthusiastic supporter, it means something—perhaps an inclination toward personal redemption that has little to do with ideology and everything to do with the risk to the nation posed by a dangerous man [....] It will be instructive to watch others with ties to the Administration—those who know better—if and when they begin to act in ways that honor their convictions and sense of patriotic duty.

One such person is Rod J. Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General [....]

Even among congressional Republicans, one can see some glimpses of slouching toward redemption. While the House Speaker, Paul Ryan, has squirmed away from principled stands, Senator Richard Burr, of North Carolina, who chairs the Intelligence Committee, appears to be doing his job, which requires recognition of reality; so, as the Times reported, do some other Republicans on his committee [....]