The Swamp Strikes Back

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Look, I really don't care. Appoint a fleet of special counsel, special prosecutor, special-special, super-duper investigators to dig into the election of Donald Trump and his "ties" to Russia. I don't fear it because they won't lay a glove on Donald Trump. The man isn't disciplined enough to stay off Twitter for five minutes even when it's to his advantage. I'm supposed to believe he's committing organized, international espionage? Trump's a Russian agent like I'm an Olympic gymnast.

But let's suppose, just for argument's sake – an investigation of the Trump administration is the political downfall of Donald Trump. Guess what? Conservatives like me, however briefly, will throw an election night party all over again.

Say it with me. "President Pence." Is that what the left REALLY wants here? Oh, sure, they talk a big game about President Trump obstructing justice, or colluding with Russia, or impeachment, or whatever crazy soap opera script they create daily. But we know what this is really about. Washington D.C. can't and won't take threats to their existence lying down.

This goes far beyond partisanship. The GOP is every bit the loathsome creatures of the D.C. swamp the Democrats are. Just look at the way they're conducting themselves right now. Predictably the Democrats are screaming "fire," or in this case "Russia" everyday. But what are Republicans doing? Nothing. When I say nothing, I mean, they're not moving a muscle. OK, a few are flapping their gums, but that's it.

The GOP is in total control of Washington. Would you know it were you to land here from another planet? What evidence would you have? In fact, the most vocal Republicans are those like John McCain throwing logs on "Watergate" talk. Quotes from House Majority Leader McCarthy, who last year suggested Russia is literally paying Trump cash to do their bidding. The Senate Majority Leader and Pennsylvania Senator Toomey who suggested this week Trump should fill the post of FBI Director with DEMOCRAT Merrick Garland – President Obama's Supreme Court justice nominee.

What in the hell is going on?

It's simple. Politicians are professional popularity contest winners. Nothing more. They don't want to radically change anything that would cause them grief to come back to their respective districts and states to explain. Further, the game in Washington is time-honored. Hold office, befriend lobbyists, leave office, and then assume a plumb role with an even more plumb paycheck to serve as government relations head of some major private entity or issue group.

The people who voted for Donald Trump hate this game. They voted for him with the hope he could change it. The mistake, or perhaps the miscalculation was in assuming Washingtonians would simply submit to such an overhaul.

Allow me to apply some simple math. Currently, there are twenty-three House districts represented by Republicans whose voters also chose Hillary Clinton in November. The Democrats need twenty-four seats next fall to make Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House once again. Before you say, "That's impossible, Chris! Republicans won't lose that many seats!" Consider the history of new presidents' and the losses their party sustains in their first term. The average is over thirty seats.

I'd love to tell you the GOP is concerned, but we're being honest here. They know the math better than anyone. Frankly, they loathe Donald Trump as much as their Democrat colleagues. Taking up his legislative agenda means trouble for them. If they can win their seat by bucking their president, they'll do it. (See Pennsylvania Republicans.)

Worse, if it means being the minority party, so be it. They can continue to enjoy all the creature comforts of a Washington built for them, while pretending they're the warriors trying to fight it, "if only they had the majority."

Democrats are going to be Democrats. I won't waste the bandwidth describing their destructive agenda for the nation. You know it. You've been living it. But I'll give them this credit – they know how to fight. They know how to stay on message. They know how to mobilize. And they NEVER stop, acquiesce, or relent until they achieve total victory for their radical agenda.

What I've sadly come to realize is most, not all, but most of the GOP doesn't really mind. It's easy to win elections when you don't oppose handing out taxpayer money to illegal aliens, abortion clinics, and green-energy unicorn farms. They leave you alone, you leave them alone – and they'll allow you to go back home and talk a big game to your constituents about how you're fighting them - as long as you don't, really.

And that's why we're hearing "Trump –Russia –(repeat)" everyday. It's all about running out the clock. For Democrats, it's stopping a legislative agenda. For Republicans, it's cover from acting on a legislative agenda that would cause them heartburn in town halls. Eventually, they may lose control of Congress and that's the comfortable spot for GOP "leadership." They're great at being the party of "we REALLY want to, but…"

It's a win-win for members of Congress and a huge loss to the voters who elected a President they hoped would put a stop to it all.

So, have at it D.C. We know what you're up to and we know how this ends. President Trump will still be President. This "investigation" isn't real and it's about a total fiction. But it will burn time off the clock and keep Republicans from any meaningful legislative overhauls, thus insuring their loss of control of Congress.

At this hour, Trump and his voters may have won the battle. But the swamp is committed to winning the war.