Shaking one’s head or rolling one’s eyes is all too common in the age of Trump.  And those body motions are not just reserved for this president.  A republican majority in Congress have become accessories before and after the fact.If trump is the bank robber, the GOP is driving the getaway car

As one branch of government anointed to be a check and balance to the executive branch they are feckless.  But even more troubling then their commitment to being wall flowers to trumps raging bull personality is their abandonment of the real reason most voters cast their votes for them.  They have traded their integrity for playground ethics and find morality inconvenient.

The theme is all too familiar when you listen to republicans on Capitol Hill or drawn into conversation by Trump supporters.  Hillary Clinton is the immediate defense for anything onerous Trump does.  In demonizing Clinton, it not only provides cover for trumps lies and misdeeds but to many absolves Trump of any blame

This is playground ethics.  When immature children fight and a teacher steps in the first words are always "well he started it” In their minds Clinton is the embodiment of the original sin.  And no amount of facts can redeem Clinton or allow them to assess Trump’s behavior with rational thought.  This transference of reality that Trump must be better since Clinton is "evil" only reinforces just how polarized our dialogue has become.

Those republicans who do find trump reprehensible are plagued by the irrefutable fact that his presidency is dragging down their party.  A consistent talking point for decades was that the GOP was a party of values,  has turned into a group of men and women must constantly make excuses for Trump’s actions past and present.  Morality has become such an inconvenience that saying nothing is now the default strategy.  Morality for the many republicans who support Trump is now based on a sliding scale.  For them their tool box they refute facts so as not to hold Trump accountable with now familiar th catch phrases. “Fake news”, “the deep state” and “Trump is just being Trump”.  All designed in their minds to undermine any negative talking point about this president.   While these shibboleths have created a tribalism that does hold Trump’s base together, it as done severe damage to what a democrat, republican, independent, liberal, and conservative should always hold dear, what is the truth.  And the “value” that honesty and accuracy should always supersede party affiliation.  Especially when we are talking about what is good for the country and not any one individual in power.

There is no group guiltier of having their moral responsibility hijacked for short term gains in ideology then the Christian Right.  A voting bloc that first came into the political landscape over issues like abortion, the Christian right has preached over the last quarter century the ideals of stable marriages, a religious family life, and adherence to a set of Christian values and morals in accordance with the New Testament.    Since the candidacy of Donald Trump those ideals that they held on to so tightly have easily slipped out of their grasp.  With their heads permanently titled  to look the other way even as they have supported Trump, a womanizer, adulterer, and con artist in business.

Even as the evidence of collusion, obstruction, and corruption mount for this president the Christian right continue an apology campaign for anything this president does.  Franklin Graham son of Billy Graham an icon for Christian values for over 40 years said recently on CNN that

“Trump stopped sinning when he became President.”  The outlandishness of this statement is only matched by those who believe it.

There is no doubt that a conversation of ethics and morals includes both parties.  Neither at times as shown their better angels when it comes being honest brokers of the truth.  In addition, political expedience has all too often been the default for both.  Still Trumpism has brought a more pernicious zeitgeist to how we see ourselves as Americans and how we wish the world to view us as well. A culture of blatant ethic violations, with no remorse and selective morality as it suits the situation can the strip the core of a compassionate nation.  And should that happen we have all lost much more than winning or losing an election.