Some Dems and the media continue to vouch for Republicans on the Wall and Steve King
I keep hearing a few Dems and the media saying things like, "Many Republicans tell me privately they think the wall is a bad idea and are against the shutdown." Or, we'll see a handful of Republicans coming down on Steve King, and that's all we hear about in the news. The media applauds them.
Sorry, but a few Republicans murmuring tsk-tsk about Trump and a few Republicans tsk-tsking Steve King don't get the Republican party's nose clean. They are tsk-tsking something that is their fault.
As long as Republicans in general don't receive their rightful, full share of the blame for Trump's nutso wall and Steve King's race-baiting, they'll sit quietly by and tacitly empower guys like that. Republicans are the jerk neighbor who trains their dog to growl and bark at people who pass by. "Bad boy! Bad boy!" Then they quietly hand the dog a dog biscuit.
Instead of saying that some Republicans don't support the wall, we should simply say that Republicans are the reason there's a wall problem in the first place. Instead of congratulating the one Senator (Scott) who criticized Steve King (and then went back to Republican business as usual), we should be pointing out McConnell or Trump who didn't do a thing. We're letting the Republican Party hide from the blame they deserve.