Pay Attention Joe!

In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the phone lines and websites of local election officials across the country were jumping: Tens of thousands of Republicans were calling or logging on to switch their party affiliations.  In California, more than 33,000 registered Republicans left the party during the three weeks after the Washington riot. In Pennsylvania, more than 12,000 voters left the G.O.P. in the past month, and more than 10,000 Republicans changed their registration in Arizona.  An analysis of January voting records by The New York Times found that nearly 140,000 Republicans had quit the party in 25 states that had readily available data. Voting experts said the data indicated a stronger-than-usual flight from a political party after a presidential election, as well as the potential start of a damaging period for G.O.P. registrations as voters recoil from the Capitol violence and its fallout.  This should give Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Check Schumer more than enough ammunition to justify doing as much as possible, as quickly as possible.  There is nothing to be gained by delaying things with negotiations with Republicans.  Republicans continue to remain loyal to a losing proposition and the fear of primary challenges from a continued shrinking minority faction of the Republican Party.  The quicker Democrats act and the more tangible benefits are signed into law can only benefit Democrats.  Republicans remain too enmeshed in their myths to realize the extent the Republican Party would actually attract voters with honest, bi-partisan action on their part.  This will be particularly true if the majority of Republicans in the Senate unite to refuse to impeach Donald Trump.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Democrats to really tip the balance of power in their favor and would be the political mistake of the century if they fail to take advantage in the name of unity or bipartisanship.  Pay attention Joe!