The back-and-forth between Cruz and AOC today has been revealing about how much Cruz thinks it’s all a game and how much AOC doesn’t. https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1354879766843830272

Still thinking about Rep. Kelly Armstrong’s floor speech on 1/13, where he said voting against impeachment would give him credibility with his base and voting for impeachment would give Dems credibility with their base.

This is basically how GOP lawmakers think about things.

Been thinking a ton about game theory in politics — thanks @MattGlassman312 — but I actually think that misses something essential.

If it’s just a game, anything that helps you gather more power or get re-elected is permissible. I don’t think that’s how a lot of Dems see it.

Look at Obamacare in 2010. There were a lot of Democrats who knew they were writing their political death certificate with that vote — and they did it anyway.

Politicians aren’t always single-minded seekers of re-election. Sometimes they actually want to help people.

I’ll also add that there are some Republicans who act out of principle rather than political expediency.

Chip Roy opposed GOP efforts to overturn the electoral college, noting that he may be signing his political death certificate to do so. Liz Cheney also comes to mind here.