From Michael Winship at The Moderate Voice:
The GOP is the party of overlook; Democrats must be the party of oversight.
Over the course of my dusty television career, I have from time to time run into situations where a certain Hollywood celebrity type will make a threat—not to do interviews or make public appearances on behalf of a show, for example—unless some egregious demand of his or hers is met.
It’s a trap. Even if you meet their demand, my experience has been that they still won’t do what you request, nor did they ever intend to, no matter how much kowtowing you do. The mean ones get a noxious thrill from their ability to manipulate and diminish others.
So Congress, have you met Donald Trump? By now, you of all legislative bodies should know that nothing you do or say makes much difference to him, that whatever he will or won’t do is based not on policy or philosophy or your stated preferences but on whim, ego and a feral sense of self-preservation.
Thus we have our own celebrity brat-in-chief, a thuggish tot whose response to every attempt to uphold the Constitution and to maintain the balance of power among the three equal branches of government is a childish but deeply dangerous, “I don’t wanna.”
Sent subpoenas for documents and witnesses, Trump replies, ”We’re fighting all the subpoenas” (I don’t wanna). Ordered by law to release his tax returns, the president claims he’s still under audit and by the way, no (I don’t wanna). Letters requesting the congressional testimony of such administration officials as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and immigration troll Stephen Miller, forget about it (I don’t wanna).
That there should be checks and balances in government chafes Trump. He’s a control freak who brooks no criticism and wants total dictatorial power.