“Right now, it’s basically the Titanic” — Rep. Adam Kinzinger on the sinking of the GOP
You know that the Republican party is in trouble when one of its own members compares the organization to the Titanic in the midst of its slow but inevitable sinking.
That is exactly what GOP Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said to host John Dickerson on CBS’s Face the Nation this morning, claiming that the internal battles over his colleague Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) refusal to support Donald Trump’s big lie of electoral malfeasance in the 2020 presidential election and the party’s efforts to remove her from her leadership position in the House of Representatives demonstrated that Republicans are “in the middle of this slow sink.”
“Right now, it’s basically the Titanic. We’re like, you know, in this in the middle of this slow sink, we have a band playing on the deck telling everybody it’s fine. And meanwhile, as I’ve said, you know, Donald Trump’s running around trying to find women’s clothing and get on the first lifeboat,” Kinzger said.
“And I think there’s a few of us that are just saying ‘guys this is not good,’ not just for the future of the party, but this is not good for the future of this country,” he added.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) likens GOP to “Titanic”: “We’re in the middle of this slow sink. We have a band playing on the deck, telling everybody it’s fine, and meanwhile Donald Trump’s running around, trying to find women’s clothing and get on the first lifeboat.” pic.twitter.com/L7Wjy87ngV
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 9, 2021
Despite Rep. Kinzinger’s metaphor conjuring up disturbing visions of Donald Trump leaning over the prow of a gigantic ocean liner shouting “I’m King of the world!”, his comparison is quite apt.
The Illinois congressman defended Liz Cheney by comparing her statements about Trump’s instigation of the deadly January 6th insurrection with those made by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) while the violent mobs were still storming the Capitol Building.
“Liz Cheney is saying exactly what Kevin McCarthy said the day of the insurrection. She’s just consistently been saying it. And a few weeks later, Kevin McCarthy changed to attacking the other people,” Kinzinger said.
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As one of only ten Republican members of the House to vote to impeach Trump in his second impeachment (along with Congresswoman Cheney), Rep. Kinzinger is one of the few people in the GOP demanding a full investigation of the events that led up to the insurrection.
On Face The Nation this morning, he called for his party to conduct “an internal look and a full accounting as to what led to January 6” and marveled that his colleagues were attempting to bury the consequences of Trump’s misdeeds.
We’re four months after January 6, an insurrection, something that was unthinkable in this country,” Congressman Kinzinger said. “And the message from the people who want to get rid of Liz Cheney is, ‘It’s just time to focus on the future and move on,’ like this was 10 years ago.”
“We’re four months after January 6, an insurrection, something that was unthinkable in this country,” @RepKinzinger says.
“And the message from the people who want to get rid of Liz Cheney is, ‘It’s just time to focus on the future and move on,’ like this was 10 years ago.” pic.twitter.com/yuJobPCAEJ
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 9, 2021
Kinzinger sees the behavior of his fellow GOP members as shortsighted and damaging to the party’s long-term prospects for electoral success.
“Sorry that 74 million people voted for Donald Trump,” he exclaimed. “They weren’t disenfranchised, they were simply outnumbered. And as a party, let’s focus on now: how do we go out and win more people?”
“They’re going to get rid of Liz Cheney because they’d much rather pretend that the conspiracy is either real or not confront it,” @RepKinzinger (R-IL) says of GOP colleagues. pic.twitter.com/mVQVuL3bZA
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 9, 2021
While the Illinois lawmaker would rather see his party regroup and ponder its future without Trump, the majority of his colleagues are still hitching their wagons to the orange train chugging to political disaster.
The question remains whether the Republican Party will fracture and split due to its internal conflicts — separating into a Trumpist party and a more center-right party grounded in the real world of facts and accountability — or find a way to heal its internecine divisions.
Either way, expect a GOP that is smaller and less effective than it was prior to the Trump presidency.
If this proves true, at least one positive thing will have emerged from the tenure of the worst president in American history.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by Mychael Schnell at The Hill.
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