Norms

"Rules and norms" became a thing a few years back when Norm Ornstein  -  a fellow at the conservative AEI - noted that the Republican Party had become a radical outlier, waging war on American rules and norms.  Now cometh the days of the Trump.  Trump has violated so many rules that he will likely be found in violation of any number of campaign finance laws, tax laws, criminal statutes and so on.  The violation of norms is harder to measure.  What happens when a norm is violated?  How do we re-create something that evolved over time?

The shutdown is a clear example of violating norms. The government should pay its employees.  The government should pass legislation through regular order.  The government should find minimal common ground in order to fulfill basic responsibilities.

None of the above should be up for negotiation.

However, when we look at the Age of Trump, we have to look at who proceeded him.  Newt Gingrich began the process of "government by hostage taking" back in 1994.  Mitch McConnell took up that banner in the Obama administration.  Trump has violated all sorts of norms about how we expect Presidents to behave.  His tweets, his disdain for the doing the actual job, his inability to reach out to Americans who don't think exactly like him.  But the longest shutdown in US history is not solely a Trump problem.  Or rather, like so many things, Trump has simply exaggerated tendencies within the GOP that have been peaking for years.

America has a Trump problem, sure.  But as Trump (hopefully) becomes sidelined through his rule breaking, let's not forget that the norm breaking preceded him.  If we don't bury the GOP, it will continue to plague our institutions.