WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Do you remember the song, “The Thrill is Gone” by B.B. King? It was about a relationship gone sideways. The admiration and respect once bright had grown dull.

Well, I believe this tune applies to the Republican Party. The satisfaction of being a member of the GOP is now an embarrassment.

There are many Republicans afraid to admit their party ties. They stay quiet and behind the scenes. Their voices are muted, and their attitudes have become sullied. They don’t say a mumbling word. Their conscience is bothering them. They are baffled by the events unfolding before them.

They know right from wrong and what is happening these days is past the threshold of wrong.

Some have taken a deep dive into the canal of contempt and the reservoir of insurrection.

I am not a Republican, but I am old enough to remember when there was a viable two-party system. What we have now is the Democratic Party and the party of Trump and his chorus.

Months before she was let go from Republican leadership, Representative Liz Cheney was a harsh critic of the former president. She saw what we saw. He was trying to dismantle American democracy and make something else unfamiliar to the people of this country. 

Congresswoman Cheney has been a constant crick in the neck of Mr. T.

The Jan. 6^th insurrection was clearly Trump-led. She called him out on it.

The Republican Party did nothing to acknowledge the fact that Trump was the chief evil-doer in this tragedy. Matter of fact, they just did not have the guts to do so. The party of Lincoln and of Reagan has lost its will. They are being held political hostages by one man. He is Donald Trump.

His power took another dark and twisted turn last week.

Representative Cheney was removed from her office as the Republican Conference Chair. According to ABC News, she regrets voting for Mr. T in the 2020 election. Further, it is unclear as to whether she will remain a Republican if the former president is the nominee. Can you imagine if Mr. T is the choice they make?

If that be the case, my assessment is that the Republican Party will have gone mad. Take them to the political emergency room. Give them an IV of sense.

The Republican choice and new Trump minion, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, was the choice to replace Congresswoman Cheney, who responded, “What does it say about the party choosing somebody to replace you, who was effectively chosen by Donald Trump and saying what he has been saying?”

What he has been saying is that the election was stolen. Months later, he still cannot accept the fact he lost. He can count those votes a million times. He still lost.

The Republican Party is in a funk that they can’t figure out.

Do they trust one crazed sore loser, or do they keep to their founding principles? Does integrity mean anything to them? Those are the questions before the inquiry desk.

The buffoonery that is occurring within the GOP, in my opinion, is only going to get worse and more toxic. This tug of war is only just beginning.

Maybe these lyrics of an old song will bring them comfort.

“Isn’t it bliss? Don’t you approve? One who keeps tearing around, one who can’t move. Where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns.”

There are clowns and we know who they are and where they are.

Sadly, but factually, the Republican Party is now officially part of a circus. Their theatrics are on display for the world to see.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.