GOP Arrogance and Disrespect for the Rule of Law

“Today's Republican Party...is an insurgent outlier. It has become ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition, all but declaring war on the government. The Democratic Party, while no paragon of civic virtue, is more ideologically centered and diverse, protective of the government's role as it developed over the course of the last century, open to incremental changes in policy fashioned through bargaining with the Republicans, and less disposed to or adept at take-no-prisoners conflict between the parties. This asymmetry between the parties, which journalists and scholars often brush aside or whitewash in a quest for "balance," constitutes a huge obstacle to effective governance.” ― Thomas E. Mann, It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the Politics of Extremism

The New York Times is reporting that the White House is blowing off criticisms that the president's blatant use of government resources for his personal political gain is illegal under the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while they are working in an official capacity. It also prohibits civil servants from running for political office or using their titles in political activities. The White House just does not care. The NYT writes:

“Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares,” Mark Meadows, President Trump’s chief of staff, said in an interview with Politico. “This is a lot of hoopla that is being made about things mainly because the convention has been so unbelievably successful.”

Mr. Meadows made his comments the morning after the Republican National Convention aired two official ceremonies staged earlier on Tuesday on the White House grounds — a pardon performed by Mr. Trump and the naturalization of new citizens performed by Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, as Mr. Trump watched and chatted with them.

During the convention, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech from Jerusalem, in an apparent violation of separate State Department rules, and the first lady, Melania Trump, delivered a speech from the Rose Garden.

Arrogance, irrationality and untruthfulness

Meadows assertion that nobody outside of the Beltway really cares is arrogant, irrational and not true. Some people still do care about respect for the rule of law, even if the president and most of the GOP leadership does not. Clearly, the president and his administration do not. Meadows was also quoted as saying that “you can’t break the law — you shouldn’t do it,” but then suggested that the Hatch Act was outdated. That seems to imply that breaking the law somehow isn't breaking the law because it is allegedly outdated. The irrationality of the Meadows ‘rationale’ is obvious and undeniable.

Apparently, Meadows and the president are both unaware of the facts that (1) an outdated law is still the law, and (2) outdated laws need to be repealed or amended by congress, or invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction. They just blow that off and break the law as if it no longer exists and pretend that breaking it is not breaking it.