We Should Never Allow Republicans to Hold Power Again

When it mattered most, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell chose power over country

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty

TRADING IS AS MUCH ART AS IT IS SCIENCE. No matter what the analysis, the charts, or the algorithms say, sometimes a trader goes with their gut. Maybe it’s a feeling about the market's direction or stock that doesn’t feel right. Other times, it’s a hunch regarding a merger that might occur. When it happens, it’s like the stream of symbols in The Matrix, a pattern only you can see. Like an athlete “in the zone,” the stars align, and suddenly, the big picture reveals itself.

When I was a Wall Street trader, going with my gut resulted in a great call every now and then. Those moments of clarity didn’t happen for me as often as I would’ve liked, but I always remembered a basic trading rule whenever they did. When traders are fortunate enough to get it right, the one thing they never do is say is, “I told you so.”

As much as the South sometimes embarrasses me, we’re good at the polite use of comments like “Bless your heart” to say what is better left unsaid. Similarly, when the gods of trading smiled on me, I relied on colloquialisms (or is it idioms?) such as, “even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while,” or “even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” Those disarming comments let me subtly brag on my trading prowess while maintaining a humble veneer.

But as fellow Southerner Dizzy Dean once said, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”

In January of last year, just days after Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, I wrote a piece entitled, “Do Republicans Want Democrats to Help Them Banish Trump from Politics?” I believed Republicans, Mitch McConnell in particular, saw the insurrection as an opportunity to ditch Trump once and for all.

I based my theory on a sequence of events by Republican leadership that, at least to me, signaled a coordinated strategy to keep Trump from running for president in 2024, with the Democratic majority doing the dirty work.

Recall that before Pence took the possibility of the 25th Amendment off the table on January 12, Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (who is also McConnell’s wife) both resigned, putting his ability to invoke the 25th Amendment into question. Also, if the goal was to prohibit Trump from a 2024 presidential run, the 25A is a half measure. 

Around the same time, Liz Cheney, who at the time ranked third in House Republican leadership, announced she would vote to impeach in a scathing statement.  When McConnell signaled he might vote to convict Trump, I thought I was on to something. Perhaps Republicans had finally grown a spine. I thought they wanted to rid themselves of the scourge of Trumpism. I was sure the sharks in the Republican Party smelled blood.