Our Republicans Could Learn From Britain's Tories

Boris Johnson has been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since July 23rd of this year.  On September 3rd, he lost the support and leadership of the Tory (Conservative) Party.  Under Britain's system of government, that means Johnson also lost the office of Prime Minister.

That role, under the UK's parliamentary system, automatically devolves to the head of the party holding a majority in the House of Commons.  So, Mr. Johnson was the across-the-pond analog to Donald Trump for only 41 days.

As journalist Mehdi Hasan points out,  Donald Trump's and Boris Johnson's governance share quite a few characteristics.

• Both men gained power in part by demonizing immigrants
• Both men are Islamophobes
• Neither came to office with majority support from the electorate
• Each has disregarded governmental conventions and norms
• Each has a history of pathological lying
• Each has a long history of marital infidelity
• Each is a member of the 1% who likes to present himself as a populist and friend of workers

Unfortunately, I have o agree with Hasan that, unlike the Tories who openly opposed Johnson, Republican members of both chambers of our Congress have been shamefully complicit in Trump’s lack of respect for democratic (note the lower case) norms.