Trump and the GOP

It's rich that star columnist George "Chickenlips" Will has left the Republican Party because of the likely nomination of Donald Trump. He told the Federalist Society on Friday that he would change his registration to unaffiliated because the party that would have such a standard-bearer "is not my party." In a later interview, he said, "Make sure he loses. Grit (your) teeth for four years and win the White House."

I usually decline to extend [the real-estate developer's] brand by calling him by name, but here I am making an exception for clarity and economy of writing.

Beyond the unseemliness of a working journalist being registered as anything but an independent, Will's statement and even its forum tell us much — but not as he intended.

Columnists such as Will and the vast right-wing infrastructure that includes the Federalist Society (its specialty is the law and courts) have spent decades creating this moment. Decades of seeding the politics of racial antipathy through the Southern Strategy. Decades of teaching Americans to hate their government and be misinformed about its essential place in our society, history, and economy. Decades of creating devils (Hillary!) — and, yes, the left is capable of this, but doesn't have the reach of right-wing media. Decades of pushing policies that defunded schools, ruined our infrastructure, destroyed the middle class. All this was funded by a dark conspiracy of billionaires intent on repealing everything from the New Deal through the Nixon administration.

And this was mere prelude to the actions of the Republican Party in the Obama years. Even before Barack Obama was sworn in, we saw the frightening Nuremberg-lite rallies ginned up by Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Things got so bad that an embarrassed John McCain was forced to contradict an old bat who kept saying Obama was a Muslim terrorist. Palin led the party's final exodus from knowledge ("elitism!"), history, common sense. George Will didn't disown any of this; none of it offended his bow-tied Tory sensibility.

Then seven-and-a-half years of scorched-earth policy, where the GOP Congress regularly held the nation's economy and government hostage, even threatening default. Even minor appointments by the president were held up for years. The GOP-controlled House voted at least 60 times to repeal Obamacare, offering no alternative for uninsured Americans. Mr. Obama faced the unprecedented situation where his nominee to the Supreme Court could not even get a hearing. The party bigs and their puppetmasters helped fund the creation of the Tea Party — giving voice to an eager cohort of angry whites — ensuring a GOP so extreme that today Ronald Reagan couldn't win a Republican school-board primary. Not a peep from George Will. He was out to the ballgame.

All this and more. Yet now they are shocked, shocked! that Trump has appeared. As far as I can tell, their only legitimate beef is that Trump is a vulgarian who doesn't quote Edmund Burke and use dog whistles instead of a megaphone. Oh, and that Trump might be using what passes for conservatism as a convenient hustle to bamboozle the conservaproles and win the White House, but he isn't a true believer (indeed, the old Donald was quite heterodox). If the latter, it would be a rare case of Trump taking over a bankrupt enterprise rather than causing it.

The major media are working very hard to make Trump an anomaly from the Republican Party, rather than its logical outcome. At the same time, their false-equivalency, "both-sides-do-it" coverage risks normalizing Trump and the GOP as it has become, an enormous danger to the republic.

When forced to cover Trump's offensive blurts, they imply there is a sensible, moderate Republican Party that has been hijacked by Trump. But where is the evidence for this?

Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush all oppose women's reproductive rights, deny mainstream science on climate change, support ruinous austerity, want to gut "entitlements" such as Social Security, endorse Citizens United, are hostile to cities, would privatize the public's lands, enact draconian anti-immigration measures, despise the commons and the safety net, and would spend ever more on the Military Industrial Complex. To a man, whatever wiggling they might make to on Meet the Press. The nullity that is John Kasich is little better, as his tenure as Ohio governor has proved.

The "sensible, moderate Republican leader" they imply is out there is too old and would have no support from the angry talk-radio base: George H.W. Bush.

Behold the Party of Lincoln. This is the radical menace it has become. The only difference is that Donald Trump says out loud what most Republicans silently believe. This is one reason he swept aside the empty suits challenging him in the primary. He is the Republican Party, the Party of Trump. The base loves him. At least Jan Brewer gets credit for intellectual consistency (bet you never thought you would see the words "Jan Brewer" and "intellectual" in the same sentence).

Will did give away the long game about gritting one's teeth for four years, then taking the White House. The viciousness displayed against That Black Man in the White House will be transplanted toward That Bitch in the White House. To most Republicans, every Democratic president is illegitimate.

And this should cause some soul-searching in the Democratic Party. As moving as it was to see Rep. John Lewis, who was brutally beaten in the Civil Rights era, lead a sit in on the floor of the House, this — and the whole theater of the left — is no substitute for winning down-ticket elections. And that means from the school boards and state legislatures on up. Winning the White House merely postpones national suicide, with the added, and essential, power to appoint Supreme Court justices. If they can get a vote.

 

 

Comments

[Mombo Number Five]

I would vote for a Warren/ Clinton ticket, but the Clintons would kill Warren to ascend to the throne. It's how they roll.

[B. Franklin]

Oh, that's right. The Clinton's are murderers.

I forgot!

He's MacBeth and she's Lady MacBeth.

Can I get you some more tinfoil for your head?

[jon7190]

Warren would have been such a better candidate than Clinton (not that I would probably vote for her)!

[Mombo Number Five]

I doubt they would hurt a fly, but I bet they employ people who own flyswatters.

Did you sprain your wrist when you fell off that turnip truck, last night?

[Cal Lash]

B. Frankin: U might want to start your research with, The Fire in Waco.
But that said, Hillary or Donald in my humble opinion is standby for the "Fire Next Time".
and from Frontera:
"this is neo-con nonsense...in Hillary's hard cover edition of her book Hard Choices she bragged about her role in the coup. That section was removed in the paperback edition. There has never been a candidate for president more right wing than Hillary."

and: murderous dictator re installed with help from Clinton:
"Emails released last year by the State Department also show how Clinton rejected calls by the international community to condemn the coup and used her lobbyist friend Lanny Davis — who was working for the Honduran chapter of the Business Council of Latin America, which supported the coup — to open communications with Micheletti, the illegitimate interim ruler installed by the military."

thats enough you can take it from here, if you really care.

[Cal Lash]

Jon, Excellent piece.

[Cal Lash]

How will Trump play this playbook?

https://theintercept.com/2015/07/06/clinton-honduras-coup/

and also this
Narco News: Emails Show Secretary Clinton Disobeyed Obama Policy And Continued Funding For Honduras Coup Regime

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2015/07/emails-show-secretary-clinton-disobeyed-obama-policy-and-continued-fund
Posted by Bill Conroy - July 5, 2015

[Hillary for President]

Spot on once again Rogue!

[Cal Lash]

But regardless of Clinton being a neo-con and a Hawk and a wall street warrior, she is the only hope for a liberal Supreme court selection. I guess that makes it the reason to make a check mark behind her name. Plus Trump is borderline megalomania.

Just keeps making Uruguay look better every day. But then thats the easy way out.
However James Baldwin and others found Europe a better place to be. "Go Tell it on the Mountain and The Fire Next time."

[Sandverbena]

A rodent jumping ship, where's George's will?

He did take the easy way out.

[Sandverbena]

You may not agree with how Clinton moved the chess pieces in Honduras, but at least she knows there's a chess game going on.

He who should not be named probably doesn't, unless there is a golf course there.

[Cal lash]

Sander benadryl. Well so much for spell check Sandverbena. Agreed Trump fires his best weapons on the greens but I suggest Hillary's "chess piece" moves murder many innocent peons in South America. She is with out a doubt the Neocons best drone.

[Cal lash]

I wonder what waterboarding Lannie Davis might bring besides some old news about Monica and her dress. Finally Ceasar will be a female. I just wish it was Elizabeth Warren wearing the crown jewels.

[Cal lash]

Actually it's Warren and Sanders carrying the heavy water. Hillary is going to ride in side saddle as the First Woman. Oh well better than the Clown and all his golf cart caddy's.

[Mike Doughty]

R.C.-spot on post.The Repub.'s have been gathering the nuts in this country for 50 years with their Southern Strategy and Willie Horton scare tactics.The chickens are coming home to roost with the Donald and Will is crying the sky is falling.Rich in so many ways.

[bearsense]

Perhaps the WaPo can use a pompous baseball columnist ?

[Joanna]

The real estate swindler epitomizes what the Republican Party has become. Some in the Never Trump camp must be looking at themselves in the mirror and are not liking what they see.

[Dawgzy]

Driftglass has a talent for Nasty ridicule, especially in the graphics. The summary on G. Will:
Makes a giant, reeking mess.
Abandons it.
And is now bitching about how the help isn't cleaning it up fast enough.
Corey Robin points out that big business big money doesn't need TRED as long as they have HRC. It will b a counterweight to any "shift to the left" that Sanders and Warren might exert.
Josh Marshall comments about polls showing Trump losing. The premise of his campaign and his whole approach to life is "winning." Being perceived as a loser might result in a negative feedback loop, with TRED becoming more extreme and shrill. It's quite the show. Fascinating but dangerous.

[Dawgzy]

And another thing: TRED burned a bridge with the Washington Post, which has since come out with an investigative piece on his charitable contributions- apparently not all they've been made out to be by TRED. Oops squared.

[Rick Niel]

George Will is most often a pompous burro, except when he agrees with me, then he is most erudite.

[Joe Schallan]

I don't know which Republican sin is the worst, but I'll single out one -- teaching hatred of government.

Thus it becomes OK to verbally and even physically abuse people such as public librarians, who have the gall to attempt to offer citizens free books, movies, music, and computer tech support.

Only in America can the work of public servants such as librarians, landfill managers, and forest rangers be cast as oppression.

The worst aspect of preaching hatred of government is that it alienates citizens from the fact that it is, after all, their government, and that it responds only to what they have demanded of it.

No human institution is without corruption or inefficiency, but in America government has mostly simply responded to a bewildering array of competing interests and demands: One man's commonsense approach to land management is another man's oppressive regulation.

One thing the Republicans expertly know: You don't win elections by appreciating nuance. (And that may be saying something worse about the electorate than about the Republican Party.)

[Hattie]

I hate that man.

[Hattie]

And George Will. I hate him, too.

[Cal lash]

George Will is a hooker for the phony intellectual elitest monied crowd.
Hillary will find a place for him.
Sanders is very Haptically; unlike the pale faced blood drained Zombies of Hillary and Donald.
Rain has came to my part of the Sonoran desert. The quail and cottontail are snuggled under my motor home and the coyote has laid down for the nite.

[wkg in b ham]

Off topic. RC delete it if you wish:

Their Cool Streets Report, released in May, is a "hot list" of the retail-mixed use districts in the US and Canada's major cities that are attractive to regional and national retailers and property developers.

The 2016 report lists these as the top 15:

•Brooklyn / Sunset Park
•Chicago / Logan Square
•Cincinnati / Over-the-Rhine
•Denver / RiNo
•Los Angeles / Silver Lake
•Miami / Wynwood
•Minneapolis / North Loop
•Phoenix / Roosevelt Row
•Richmond / Carytown
•San Diego / East Village
•San Francisco / Jackson Square
•St. Louis / Delmar Loop
•Toronto / West Queen West
•Vancouver / Mount Pleasant / Main Street
•Washington D.C. / Shaw

from real estate titan Cushfield and Wakeman:

[Mike Doughty]

Republican "hatred of government" is destroying this county.We are losing the Commons,our schools,and too many other things to enumerate.
Experience is denigrated,and respect is non-existent.Joe Schallian is right on.
The fact that Trump can win the nomination is proof that at least 1/2 of our electorate doesn't have a clue.If he wins,I am sure the Dems will try the same tactic.

[Cal lash]

"Real Estate Titans" that's a gigantic part of the problem. Less development more Wilderness.

[Mark in Scottsdale]

Certainly the GOP created this moment. It's frustrating to me as someone who tends to vote GOP but disagrees on some issues like presidential sanity and basic human decency. It's too bad that our primary process allowed this to happen but that's the problem with primaries...a candidate who was never acceptable to the majority of the nationwide GOP citizenry can still win handily thanks to votes being diffused among various candidates. I had hopes for Cruz but unfortunately he just wasn't able to pull it out. Kasich just hurt other candidates and never stood a realistic shot of winning; he was basically a big shot in the arm for Trump. The national party clearly didn't hold much sway over anybody and the Wild West nature of the primaries, and no one being able to force Kasich out, etc., all point to the party's being fractured.

The main concern among the conservatives I talk to and myself is, will the fact that most of us don't want to vote for Trump hurt our turnout and really hurt us downballot? That's the real push this election season, to get people out there to vote for all the other races regardless of what they do with the big race...already I've seen a pretty unified message coming out from guys like Cruz, Rubio, Paul, etc., all pushing this focus on Congressional elections.

[Mombo number five]

Mark, while your posts here are most often sane and well thought out, your comment,"I had hopes for Cruz" puts you in the category of voter of WTF are you thinking. The jury is still out on whether Cruz is a human being.

The republican way of things is being repudiated in state after state: AZ, LA, KS, FL, OH. You aren't governing. You are destroying. The GOP governors leave office with the states destroyed and bankrupt.

The only positive thing to come out of the GOP war plan is that in the process, the GOP is destroying itself. Good riddance.

One rotten party down. One more to go.

[Cal lash]

10-4 Mombo.
Mark, at nine I gravitated away from my poor little man parents philosophy. And soon to be 76 I'm still a registered Republican voter. The GOP had NO candidates worthy of president. And Cruz is an insane Theocrat. There are no Eisenhowers available. So we get the wheels off his circus wagon, Clown, the Donald Daffy Duck and Hillary a combination of Attila and Ceasar. And the arizona legislature could use more balance and negotiation.

Reflecting on my passion for Thomas Malthus I have since learned from Dan Flores, Coyote America, that thousands of Years Ago before Malthus, Coyotee Invented death to avoid overpopulation according to Ancient Indian folklore.

[Cal lash]

To be a successful American politician you must have enemies. And invoking fear helps.

[sj]

Trump is not just a creation of the GOP. He's a result of both major parties' piss-poor leadership and abdication of governance.

Yes, the GOP has used that blasted dog-whistle to rile up everyone with a grievance and a fear of the other. But, in the course of our elections, all the solutions offered to the GOP base have been disavowed after the election is over. Trump just hasn't played the game with the GOP's blessing.

The Democrats have played a big game of three card monte: Paying lip service to all the usual working man's goals, and then delivering on none of them. And doing it over and over again, for decades. (And just to be clear, the Arizona Democratic Party is a disorganized, toothless, faux party. Fred DuVal, anyone?).

So, the working class in America is increasingly poor, angry and disillusioned; courted every few years for their votes, then quickly forgotten and never represented in the halls of power. The parties are not addressing any of the real problems with our country and our economy.

People are screaming for change. And neither Trump nor HRC answers that call. They just embody different sides of the same coin: "Trust me. I'll fix it[wink]."

[Cal lash]

SJ. Very gooood.

[Mark in Scottsdale]

Mombo and Cal, I kind of talked myself into Cruz as by the time of Arizona he seemed like he had the best chance of anyone not named Donald.

My concern with Cruz was and is sincerity...I'm just not sure how much of what he's saying is the truth. So things that on paper I agree with him 100%, I still find myself wondering if he really feels that way, or if it's just all part of his tactics -- he's a brilliant guy and quite a tactician but just wasn't about to come across as a nice, relatable guy. I guess we didn't realize how good GWB was in that regard until he was gone ... relatability is a skill and 16 years of Clinton and Bush, both skilled in this regard, perhaps made us forget that a lot of politicians lack that ability to connect with people easily.

But if you look at the minefield of GOP candidates this year, boy were we ever short on personality, humility, relatability, etc. We had a lot of people who had excess ego even for politicians.

Lindsey Graham may have been one of the most personally likeable of the group but his policies didn't really mesh with what any voters really wanted and he never got any traction, but to me he did come across as very pleasant.

[Cal lash]

Mark with all due respect Bill Clinton and George W Bush were terrible predidents. Clinton was intelligent and a con man. George was not smart and got conned alot.
Both were cowards and had no clue about miltare operations on a international scale. Clinton killed thousands of poor mexicans with NAFTA. And Bushes actions killed thousands and continues to this day.
AND the thing that will haunt Obama thru history will be his Drone assassination policy. Let's face it there were no GOP candidates that qualified.And what is it you don't understand about Cruz being a Theocrat? So now we have 4 choices. Ceasar,or a mad dog or a write in or leave for Uruguay. A glimmer Hillary gets indicted and Sanders is voted president with Warren as VP.

[wkg in b ham]

Article in latest “The Baffler” (issue #31) by James Howard Kunstler titled “Metropolitan Museum of Rot”. A lot of it is a rehash of stuff his has written at Fustercluck Nation. The focus of the article is the future of large metroplexes; in his view not good. Takes a sharp shot at Phoenix and L.A. Even trash talks NYC. Probably worth dropping into Barnes and Noble, grabbing a cup of coffee and reading it in the café.

[Mombo Number Five]

Kunstler , the greatest chicken little in history.

The oil is running out. The oil is running out. The oil is running out.

Please send me money. The oil is running out.

Meanwhile, in the real world. Oil coming out of our ass.

Please don't use con men as a source on this blog.

[Greg Hilliard]

Cal, the drones will haunt Obama? You get points for killing brown people, you don't lose them. If Nixon and Kissinger can get away with letting 25,000 more Americans die in Vietnam so they can "save face," Obama can start preparing where we'll build a monument to him.

[Cal lash]

Agreed

[Cal lash]

"Reality: "I envy those that live in the pillowing globule santuary of denial as the billowing loudness of the truth will kill you." May the Wiley Coyotes join with the rapid Road Runner to save us from the
political human carnivores of the world."

cal lash from the land of the wind blown shifting sands.

PS, your gods do not care who wins the election any more than they wold choose sides in any war.

[wkg in b ham]

@Mombo re Kunstler: I agree with your assesment. Since JHK has been frequently cited here, I posted the link as a public service, not an endorement.

[Cal lash]

Cumon, Mike and Walt. We could use some hot hardon sizzling commentary from the brillant part of the planet.

[Jerry McKenzie]

Nice post Joe S.!

I wish I was out in the Sonoran wilds listening to snoring coyotes and smelling wet creosote with cal.

Hilliary may have been a Goldwater girl, but she's no Goldwater.

Cruz sincere? Only about bringing Jesus back.

[Cal Lash]

Trump is the next Custer?
"White Man: loses:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/donald-trump-needs-7-of-10-white-guys-213699

but, the white womb in the ballot box?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-c-wilson/the-elephant-in-the-exit_b_2094354.html

[Warren Peace]

Still holding out hope that Trump gets dumped at the convention and Hillary gets dumped at the convention.

Sanders/Warren 2016

[teri dudas]

Oh yeah - that old notion of 'hope' Take heart from the first edition of Omar Khayym's Rubiyat. . . "the worldly hope men set their hearts upon, turns Ashes - or it prospers and anon, like snow upon the deserts dusty face, lighting a little hour or two - then is gone.

[Cal lash]

War an peace. Good post.
But I will still prepare for violent storms and raging floods of human caused moronic crusader actions as a result of their Ceasar egotistical need to sword slay monsters.

[Cal lash]

I got a think terrydudas, got it right.

[Warren Peace]

My apologies. I forgot the current prez sullied the word "hope" from this point forward. Please accept my post minus the word hope.

[Cal lash]

Someone said hope is the last refuge of lost causes?

[Cal lash]

Warren, per George Washington, when all hope is lost, ATTACK.