By William Kristol
http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-republican-crackup/article/2009956On October 3, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, spoke to a group of
Republican donors at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington. Unbeknownst to Ayers, his remarks
were recorded, and the audio was subsequently obtained by Politico.
Combining the arrogance of D.C. operatives with the bluster of the Trump White House, the
young staffer urged the donors to punish elected Republican senators and congressmen who
dared call into question parts of Donald Trump’s agenda: “Just imagine the possibilities of
what can happen if our entire party unifies behind him? If—and this sounds crass—we can
purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him" . . .
. . . It doesn’t seem to have occurred to Ayers that members of Congress owe their constituents
their best judgment. Nor does it seem to matter that Republican lawmakers have, in fact, voted
over 90 percent of the time with the president, often giving the leader of their party more than
a little benefit of the doubt.
No. In today’s Washington, it seems normal to assume that party loyalty—understood as loyalty
to the president of one’s party—comes first . . .
. . . The Constitution envisions equal branches of government. The Federalist Papers expect some
degree of moral and intellectual virtue on the part of members of Congress. Neither the Constitution
nor the Federalist Papers envision parties. Parties have come to have their place, but that place is
limited. Parties have their claims. But party loyalty ought not mean a click of the heels and salute
to whatever the president wants . . .
. . . We know that great statesmen have always seen beyond party. Lincoln helped found a new one.
Churchill switched parties twice and more than once lamented the absence of a vigorous centrist party
distinct from overbearing progressives and unimpressive conservatives. Serious citizens as well have
a perspective higher than that of mere party . . .
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Time was, once upon a time, Mr. Kristol himself tended to view loyalty to party (read: to a president)
as somewhat above loyalty to principle. It's nice to see that time has now afforded him a little shard
of wisdom.
