The New York Times on December 2 carried yet another story of Republican leadership fretting about Donald Trump, “Wary of Donald Trump, G.O.P. Leaders Are Caught in a Standoff.” The article quoted among others, Senator Lindsey Graham on the effect of a Trump nomination. As a candidate himself, and one who is trailing Trump by a wide margin in the polls, Graham is not exactly a disinterested observer. Yet his succinct precis bears repeating:
“It would be an utter, complete and total disaster,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, himself a presidential candidate who has tangled with Mr. Trump, said of his rival’s effect on lower-tier Republican candidates. “If you’re a xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot, you’re going to have a hard time being president of the United States, and you’re going to do irreparable damage to the party.”
We admit to being among the legion of people who underestimated Trump’s staying power and, indeed, we still find it difficult to fathom and depressing to try. On the other hand, we were among the first to recognize his danger to the Republican Party and the need for decisive action. Way back on July 11, we wrote in a Special Bulletin:
It is clear that other Republican candidates and “leaders” have, as our British friends would put it, their knickers in a twist about what to do. That is unnecessary. The answer is obvious, not easy perhaps, but obvious: every other Republican candidate should decline to appear on a debate stage with Trump. Acting individually, they would fear alienating Trump supporters, but acting collectively they should be able to summon the courage to do the right thing. One or two, say Senator Cruz, might insist on showing up, but we could live with that.
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In short, we call on our Party to “Dump the Trump” and to do it sooner rather than later. Bumper stickers, anyone?
Needless to say, our advice was not taken, but we believe it is as valid, or perhaps more valid today. Republican candidates clearly have the right to decide with whom they choose to debate. Refusing to participate with Trump would not censor him. We can be sure that his vulgar megaphone will still echo throughout the land. But the more responsible leaders will have shown that they know how to draw a line in the sand and stick to it. And if they cannot deal with Donald Trump, how can we expect any one of them to be a match for Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Ayatollah Khomeini, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi or other rivals and enemies around the world?
For our part we suggested in July the possibility of “Dump the Trump” bumper stickers. There are now available from Cafe Press a variety of Anti-Trump bumper stickers. We have no connection, financial or otherwise, with Cafe Press, but if any of our subscribers choose to purchase such a sticker and display it, RINOcracy.com will be pleased to reimburse half the cost.
Can’t say I am in favor of bumper stickers. Those things are ugly and brand your car forever.
And the movie continues to unfold. Whatever is going to happen, will happen.
“The Impossible Dream” lyrics certainly come to mind. We have become jaded over this field chasing windmills. Aren’t we all ready for a good man to emerge?
P.S. Please don’t pipe in with some woman. I’m too old to get tied up with those linguistics of sexism — otherwise, I’ll demand they change the name of a manhole cover.
Pundits, commentators, elitists, journalists, (some), denounce and call for the removal of Mr. Trump as a candidate. I thought the primary voters would be making that choice . If being offensive, brash, devisive,manipulative ,obnoxious , and decietful are reasons for denying candidates, the halls of Congress would be mostly empty.
The disdain for Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, and the dismay that so many potential conservative voters appear to be drawn to supporting them, is a phenomena I fully feel. To me, it underscores the importance of groups like RINO succeeding in reorienting the direction of the Republican Party. Directing ones ire at Trump, though, I suspect may be futile, as most of his backers are fed up with the entire political system and, as conservative voters, more specifically with the leadership of the Republican Party. The Party’s main thrust during the past seven years has been, primarily, to block Obama policies, and has lacked presenting a positive set of policies to redirect the course of the nation and deal with pressing national problems. So Obama has largely failed, and major problems have escalated, setting the stage for extremists and blowhards like Cruz and Trump. Hillary can probably beat them, the political stalemate is likely to continue, and, in my mind, Republican leadership should look in the mirror for the cause.
The Donald could drive me to embrace Hillary. OMG! Pass the hemlock, please.
That’s the plan. Trump and Clinton are friends.
A certain percentage of American voters are sick of politics as usual and the Donald is the non-politican they love. One cannot blame them. Our politics are rife with corruption, here are a few easy examples: look how much we pay for prescription drugs and Internet access; not to mention patents that never end and copyrights that use to have a 20 year protection now have a 100. In each case the rest of the world pays a fraction of the cost we do and in the case of internet access, get more bandwidth at the same time. American’s corruption may not be the old school type of money in the pocket of the politician but then again he or she has the money they need to get reelected.
So we have Donald Trump, I dislike the guy as much as the rest but our political failures have opened a door, as they always do, to a demagogue.
With one, quite significant caveat, I think a “Dump the Trump” effort is a great idea. The caveat? If “The Donald” were to go, whither Ted Cruz? Would he gain additional support? I pray that neither Donald Trump nor Ted Cruz will be elected president. That said, if one had to pick his poison, Donald Trump is the more benign threat. Ted Cruz has an infinitely greater potential to damage the Republic. Given the damage that both Trump and Cruz threaten, it would be nice if other contenders for the nomination were to call Trump and Cruz’s bluff — to attack them head on. It would be refreshing to hear some common sense and reality-based discourse to the Republican campaign. Perhaps reason might persuade the disaffected? It’s certainly worth a try. To paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt: All the other candidates have to fear is fear itself.
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