A former foreign minister of Israel, Abba Eban, famously once said that trying to make peace with Israel’s adversaries was impossible because, “they never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Today’s Republican Party is apparently suffering from the same malady. While enjoying President Trump’s willingness to follow their policy ideas, cutting taxes, and building the Pentagon, they scrupulously avoided commenting on his behavior whether after Charlottesville, embracing conspiracy theories, denying the seriousness of Covid, or claiming kooky antidotes.

It was better to ignore him than get on the wrong side of his Twitter finger. Just ask Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Mark Sanford or Adam Putnam. They all either lost their primaries because of Trump or didn’t run again because they knew they would lose.

But when Trump lost the election, a new opportunity arose. The facts were on their side, Fox News agreed, as did numerous Republican elected officials in states like Georgia and Arizona. But when Trump cried “foul!” they all ran and hid. After each state certified, there was another opportunity, but they hid again. A few emerged after the electoral college met on December 14th, but most remained out of sight except to not disagree with Trump out of fear — not because they didn’t know the truth.

As a result, we got to the riot and horrific attack of January 6th. Now, surely, they would seize the moment and divorce themselves from such a person.

Yet, here again, as the impeachment trial is about to begin, we see Republican elected officials straining at the leash of Donald Trump and not being willing to cross him.

The result will be the end of the Republican Party. It has already been debased, but now is the opportunity to begin a path toward redemption. I don’t think they have any moral fiber left as they gave it away, piece by piece, over the past four years. It is sad. They are pathetic and, deep down, many of them know it.