The GOP actions under this President are pretty transparently aimed to run amok with deregulation in the background while Trump distracts with his insanity in the foreground. This chaos has allowed them to serve the corporate masters and accomplish much of the most dishonest conservative policies without a spotlight or accountability. When controversy swells, they insulate and protect Trump with sideways talk and appeals to faith, nationalism, guns, and anti-other (gay, liberal, minority, etc) to keep the 30% in line and ready to mob-up if called to hoist the pitchforks.
It's been plain dirty politics of zero accountability and governing to a narrow constituency to hold districts and electoral college results. That's it. The oath of office or the American experiment or the voice of the majority or our collective and historic values matter not one bit, it's just limit the power of opposition and expand income inequality.
So in this light, every illogical act makes "sense" and so does the very real possibility that beyond Trump and his White House there are media members, congress persons, and the GOP itself beholden to foreign/domestic interests for reasons of blackmail or bribery (which in turn becomes blackmail).
There is a very real possibility that the levers of power that run our entire nation are beholden to illicit money and ego--not a few bad actors--but the entire apparatus. It would explain so much of our policy and the propagandized national discourse where voters are convinced of irrational policy that does not serve them. A huge swath of Americans have bought into ideology where screwing others over is the purpose of politics, and government is not aspirational or the source of solutions that move us forward, it is a proving ground for regressive personal beliefs.
Given all of this, the latest acts by the Senate are still almost impossible to comprehend. Even if totally corrupt, how do GOP Senators not also support investigation into Russian interference; how do they not support mandating the Mueller report be public before appointing a new AG; how do they vote for removing sanctions on a Russian oligarch who has just been shown to be part of the conspiracy against our country when a year ago they voted almost unanimously to support this sanction; and how do they remain silent on the shutdown when they themselves voted overwhelming for a budget that would have kept government open?
Partisan outrage aside, there is not one reasonable explanation for these actions--especially the sanctions against Deripaska. Why in the world would America benefit from letting a corrupt oligarch get his money out of the country, right now, before the report goes public, while the entire country is watching the emerging story of collusion and the corrupt relationship between Putin and Trump?
How in the world do they justify it? Have they even tried? Are they all on the take? Why do we allow them to keep getting away with this? When justice finds her way, the retribution needs to be powerful and robust. No mea culpas or just following orders or sliding into the private sector, we must jail every single one of these collaborators and profiteers.
The Bear will not quilt, the Bear will not dye!
