HOW MUCH TO BUY BACK OUR SOUL?:

Politics is a team sport. But Trump's idea of team is where he is the coach, captain and quarterback while everyone else is a waterboy. And that cannot work in the long term. Trump's egomania has sucked all the oxygen out of the room, leaving no opportunity for other Republicans to build an independent base or identity. When the real estate mogul's hegemony is threatened, he attacks, unwilling to share a photon of the spotlight. His focus is on himself always, not on building a lasting majority. All other Republicans must serve him. 

Even worse, his attitude has filtered through the Republican Party. Witness the fumbling of the House GOP. A narrow majority needs teamwork to operate, and yet Trump acolyte Matt Gaetz, along with a collection of other me-first Trump fans, channeled the Trump Way by torpedoing Kevin McCarthy's Speakership. The fumbling, confused attempts to elect a new Speaker have featured more Trump attitude, with various collections of members sinking candidate after candidate. 

That me-first attitude spreads to messaging and the policy agenda. Particularly in the Republican House Caucus, members are more focused on grandstanding for talk-show appearances and podcasts. A perfect example is James Comer, chair of the Government Oversight Committee. Comer, who has singularly failed in his crusade to impeach Joe Biden and has allowed a plethora of political opportunities to pass by, has been on Fox News or Fox Business 200 times this year. 

Comer has certainly figured out how to self-promote, bluster and pontificate -- too bad he is unwilling to do his actual job. If Comer were serious about building a Republican majority and electing a Republican president, he would be holding hearings on any number of Biden administration policy failures. But that is not Comer's main focus. Like Trump, Comer is all about himself and his own ego. 

In the end, Trump's me-first politics is the real damage inflicted on the GOP.

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