Now we see why Trump was so eager to have Moore vote in the U.S. Senate

John McCain, the senator from Arizona who tried challenging Barack Obama nearly a decade ago for the presidency, is about to demonize himself yet again amongst the ideologues of our society.

McCAIN: Taking an early holiday break

McCain has been in poor health, having dealt with brain cancer for the past year and currently undergoing treatment for a viral infection. Which means he’s gone home. He’s called an early beginning to his Christmas holiday. Which, for his own sake, is good.

YET IT MEANS he’s not on Capitol Hill at a time when Congress is supposed to be considering the tax bill that President Donald J. Trump has referred to as his “Christmas gift” to the American people.

Although about the only ones who will benefit are those who are in the same tax bracket as The Donald himself. Which means there is a great mass of our society that would love to see this plan collapse.

They’d thoroughly enjoy having the Democratic minority caucuses in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, unite to kill the tax plan – and ensure that Trump’s first full year as president was one of complete failure. As in being unable to get anything he desired passed by Congress.

Of course, it is the Republicans who control both congressional chambers. But in the Senate, it is such a slim margin of majority for the GOP. Meaning that McCain’s absence will be noticed. And that the people who are desperate for Trump to have his first political victory will be looking for someone to blame.

TRUMP: Still looking for first political victory

I HAVE NO doubt that they will be more than willing to accept McCain as their “fall guy” should the tax bill fail to get approved by the Senate when it is scheduled to come up for a vote Wednesday. That is, of course presuming the House of Representatives passes it first on Tuesday.

For a political party that wants to think it is all powerful and that the opposition ought to just “Shut up!” and learn to do what it’s told, you’d think one lone vote due to illness wouldn’t be missed.

If the Republican Party were truly as significant as it likes to think it is, it wouldn’t be missed.

But there is the fact that it technically has a 52-48 margin over the Democrats in the Senate. One that will become 51-49 when Doug Jones takes his seat from Alabama in the Senate early next year.

MOORE: His loss hurts Trump

JUST LAST WEEK, McCain and Thad Cochran of Mississippi were absent due to health reasons. The Associated Press has reported that Cochran plans to show up on Wednesday for the tax plan vote.

But who’s to say that someone else will be unable to make it for the session. Or for that matter, that the upcoming year won’t include many times when Trump wants Congress to put its stamp of approval on his many goofy whims and desires.

But won’t be able to because of the numbers game.

Illinois on proper side of tax issue ...

It becomes all the more apparent why Trump would be willing to put aside his own concerns (if any) he might have had about the personal character of Roy Moore in Alabama. For a president who doesn’t have any real political skills to get things done, he’s not capable of swaying over the opposition to his desires.

IN FACT, THE whole concept of this Age of Trump is telling the opposition to “Stuff it!”

Which is why it would be perfect if Trump himself were to be told the equivalent of “Stuff it!” by the American people with regards to his tax plan – which truly is meant to benefit only a tiny segment of our society. Whom I’m sure that Trump believes are the only people in our society who matter.

... with Durbin and Duckworth

Now as much as I’d like to see a political defeat on this issue, I’m not getting my hopes up. My own sense from having observed government and politics throughout the years is that officials only occasionally do the “right thing.” We may have seen our share of the “right thing” with Jones’ electoral victory last week.

So when it comes to the $1.5 trillion tax cut that likely won’t benefit the majority of us, the only real question I have is how will the slim Republican majority manage to pass this in a way that will let them deny responsibility for the harm it could cause us all? Because that’s the most likely outcome.

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