“....GOP sitting back twiddling its thumbs and allowing it?”
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GOP = Gutless Old Party.
I'm not convinced it simple gutlessness. There must be something more at work here. Perhaps Conservatives are, well...just too conservative and don't like to make waves. Or, my favorite theory is that after someone's been in Washington for any significant length of time, they become seduced by the dark side. Prestige, power, money are all potent aphrodisiacs.