Because of his standoff with Congress, Trump may be in danger of losing Republicans who still think of themselves as constitutional conservatives The White House announced on Tuesday that it will not cooperate with the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, calling it unfair and unconstitutional. By refusing to allow administration officials to testify and, in effect, denying that Congress has any legitimate right to impeach the president, the White House has pushed the country further toward a constitutional crisis. But this escalation from Trump’s efforts to pressure foreign governments to find (or manufacture) compromising information about his political rivals may also cost him critical Republican support Trump’s major appeal as a presidential candidate in 2016 was his promise to obliterate the status quo. Both the Reaganite conservatism peddled by the other Republican contenders and the neoliberalism of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were essentially status quo philosophies. As president, Trump hasn’t implemented any significant populist policies, and his most significant accomplishments — the 2017 tax cut, appointments of right-wing judges, and executive orders revoking business regulations — have been standard conservative fare. But the impeachment crisis has thrown into sharp focus the ways in which Trump has in fact fulfilled his pledge to overthrow the status quo. Continue reading... |