Until one man decided to shitpost on Twitter. Donald Trump put up two tweets, posted below criticizing the move. Though he said that the committee probably does need some reform, it was a pretty terrible move to get rid of the committee when there are so many other things the GOP house could be doing.
With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
A funny thing happened after these two tweets. GOP leaders in the house dropped the plan to get rid of the OCE and instead will open it up to bipartisan debate. Though the GOP still has problems with the OCE, they have agreed to let it stand for now and not simply bash the legislation through.........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
So what does this tell us?
1. Donald Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party. They did something he didn't agree with and he said something about it and then they bent the knee. Though others complained true, including many Democrats, it was Trump that was likely responsible for the change in tactics here. In the past there was a lot more disunity between Trump and Ryan and other congressional leaders. Time will tell if that stays consistent.
2. Trump seems to be serious about his "Drain the Swamp" rhetoric. That's what the hashtag #DTS was for. Obviously, getting rid of a congressional ethics committee reeks of corruption and certainly has the appearance of sleaze. It seems that Trump doesn't want to be associated with that so he spoke out. Keep in mind that Trump isn't even president yet.
3. Donald Trump's Twitter account is extremely powerful. A simple and short post was enough to completely change the course of a major political party. Ignoring how crazy that is, it just goes to show that Trump understands social media.
4. This is the first time I saw the MSM say anything nice about Donald Trump. A brief check of the headlines shows some otherwise anti-Trump outlets giving him some credit. Even the Washington Post article I linked to above was fair to Trump. Could the honeymoon be beginning?
As for me, I wasn't too interested in the committee in the first place. Having congresspeople in charge of ethics is like having criminals in charge of the police. It's just not a good idea either way. That being said, I thought it was interesting how fast this was dropped.
No comments:
Post a Comment