Containing Trump is the business for 2018

Washington Post's progressive political opinion writer, E, J. Dionne, Jr., has declared that it is difficult to set priorities for 2018 because of "the provocations and outrages that emanate daily from President Trump and his White House."  Here are some excerpts from his year-end column, which was written before the sensational Michael Wolff book was available.

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"In 2018,  Trump's abuses of power, his indifference to truth, and his autocratic habits will be the central issues in our politics.   Nothing else comes close.   This means there is no more vital business than containing Trump and, if circumstances demand it, removing him from office. . . . 

"With special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation under constant threat from Trump's apologists, solidarity among his opponents is imperative.   This is all the more pressing in the face of the Republican leadership's shameful cowering before a president who is perpetually in search of loyalty and sycophantic praise. . . .

[In the 2018 midterm elections] "Trump, not some ingenious new policy, will be the issue on voters' minds, and opposition to him will be the most powerful force pushing voters to the polls. . . .

"Let's not shilly-shally about this.   To truly check Trump, Democrats will need to win elections in usually unfriendly territory. . . .  A campaign in defense of democracy that transcends immediate policy goals will make it easier for moderately conservative voters to do something a lot of them won't relish:  vote for a party they usually shun. . .

"The fact that revulsion over Trump has shaken loose many normally Republican voters can be embraced as an opportunity for dialogue and persuasion.  What deserves rebuke is the obsequiousness of the current Republican political leadership toward Trump as well as the indifference of the president's protectors to the rule of law. .

"The priority of 2018 is for our nation to rise up and say:  Enough."

Ralph