Hump Day open thread: Is the worm turning?

Over the weekend, we were treated to, in quick succession, rather strong pushes against Donald Trump's Big Lie by both former vice president Mike Pence and onetime Trump servant Chris Christie. Pence stated that he had no authority to overturn the election. Christie, from his ABC perch, said that the insurrection was egged on by his one-time Saruman.

That's all fine and well. And it got many of us wondering if the Republican Establishment was coalescing to move away from Trump. Then the Republican National Committee came out with a statement supporting the insurrection in no uncertain terms, calling it "legitimate political discourse", while also censuring Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only Republicans serving on the committee investigating the coup attempt.

While those of us of a non-insane bent were horrified by this, aside from Mitt Romney most Republicans ran away when questioned if they agreed. 

Then this happened yesterday: 

WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, pushed back hard on Tuesday on the Republican Party’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and its characterization of Jan. 6 as “legitimate political discourse,” saying the riot was a “violent insurrection.”

It goes on:

The remarks from Mr. McConnell, the normally taciturn Kentucky Republican, added to a small but forceful chorus of G.O.P. lawmakers who have decried the action that the Republican National Committee took on Friday, when it officially rebuked Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger for participating in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, accusing them of “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

Mr. McConnell repudiated that description, saying, “We saw it happen. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

As to the censure of Cheney and Kinzinger:

“Traditionally, the view of the national party committees is that we support all members of our party, regardless of their positions on some issues,” he told reporters in a choreographed statement after Senate Republicans’ closed-door weekly lunch. He added, “The issue is whether or not the R.N.C. should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views of the majority. That’s not the job of the R.N.C.”

Now, let's be frank: the majority of the GOP is either in thrall to Trump or in fear of him. This is something of a cry in the wilderness. But for figures of the "stature" [sic] of Romney, Pence, and now McConnell to be coming out so forcefully does make one wonder if something is afoot. Not that the anti-Trump faction of the GOP will have enough strength to wrench the party back. No, no, that horse has bolted. The GOP will become more and more fascist, as that's where the base is, and the base elects you in primaries. But, as this tweet says:

First Pence: “He was wrong!”

Now McConnell: “It was a violent insurrection!”

They know something is going down. Soon.

— Jay Arnold (@jadedcreative) February 8, 2022

The worm is turning because those who have not been blinded by Trump, and who have some political acumen left, may be seeing that this will all fall apart, and rather quickly. We can only hope. But by how aggressive the committee is being in basically building a criminal case against Trump, and by the legal path the Department of Justice is taking, the idea that nothing will happen is the purview of those who excoriate Democrats as weaklings for a living.

We're five weeks into the new year, and things are picking up speed. It will get only more hairy from here on out.