Former GOP rep: The republic may be "safer if Democrats take over" in 2018

As Donald Trump continues down a path of destructive, narcissistic, and unstable behavior, GOP politicians have largely stuck by him. But those who are leaving office — like Sen. Bob Corker — have been quicker to speak their mind.

Former Republican politicians who are now out of office are even more blunt, like former Rep. David Jolly of Florida.

In an appearance on MSNBC with Laurence O’Donnell, Jolly said the Republicans have “never really recovered and found their footing” from the rise of extremist personalities like Sarah Palin and Steve Bannon, and that Trump is “risky when it comes to matters of national security.”

But Jolly took it one incredible step further. He said he would prefer Democrats to win the House next year — and that our safety as a country might depend on it:

JOLLY: And so I will be honest with you, Laurence. I personally, as a Republican, in the past few weeks, have wondered, Is the republic safer if Democrats take over the House in 2018? I raised that issue with a leading Republican in D.C. last week, and the remarkable thing is that he had been thinking the exact same thing. This is a president that needs a greater check on his power than Republicans in Congress have offered.

As impolitic as it is for a Republican to say this, there is no arguing with Jolly’s logic. From goading nuclear war with North Korea to pulling America out of multilateral agreements with no valid explanation, Trump is clearly a risk to our standing and security.

A Democratic House could do plenty of things to curb his excesses, from opening investigations into Trump officials abusing their office, to forcing him to release his tax returns, to — if necessary — impeaching him.

But Jolly was not finished. He offered this further justification for supporting a Democratic House:

O’DONNELL: There are Republicans like you who think the Democrats should be in control of Congress?

JOLLY: Look at this in real time. There is no discernible Republican ideological agenda that is worth fighting for right now. But we do know that we have a president who very well might put this nation at risk, and this Republican Congress has done nothing to check his power. Democrats could, and we might be better off as a republic if they take the House in 2018.

In other words, according to Jolly, not only would a Democratic House make America safer, there is no real downside for the GOP because nothing House Republicans are doing even matters. Not health care repeal. Not tax reform. None of it.

If current GOP members of Congress had the integrity to admit half of what Jolly is saying, the Trump presidency would already be over. As it stands, the American people should heed Jolly’s warning next year and vote in a Democratic Congress who do have that integrity.