THEY'D DO ANYTHING FOR TRUMP (BUT THEY WON'T DO THAT)

We've established that congressional Republicans will do anything for Donald Trump. They'll defend him against impeachment charges. They'll agree that the 2020 election was stolen from him even though no one can find solid evidence.

But now Trump says he wants Americans to receive larger pandemic relief checks than the ones Congress agreed on. So congressional Republicans have no choice, right? They have to agree! Don't they?

Nope:

House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans as he ponders whether to sign a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill.

... House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, sought the unanimous approval of all House members to pass the bill, but GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who was not present in the nearly-empty chamber, denied his approval and the effort fizzled.

The optics appear terrible for Republicans....

The optics are fine for Republicans.

Sure, they're denying desperately needed cash to voters and defying the president, but "Always be loyal to Trump" is a rule that has one exception: It's okay to defy to Trump if your defiance owns the libs.

Throughout Trump's term, we've all wondered what it would take to get Trump's superfans to turn against him. I think the answer is obvious: He'd have to agree with liberals on something. He'd have to back an assault weapons ban or climate change legislation or Medicare for All or a tax increase on rich people. They probably would have turned against him if he, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer agreed on an infrastructure bill.

I don't think Republican voters will reject Trump for agreeing with Pelosi et al. on the need for larger stimulus checks. But the support of Democrats gives Republicans in Congress -- and the two GOP senators running in Georgia -- cover to reject the idea. If we're for it, it's fine to be against it, no matter what it is.