Elisberg Industries
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like
Decent Quality Since 1847

The GOP Realizes It Got Trumped

6/8/2016

0 Comments

 
It's been fascinating to watch the Republican Party establishment react to Donald Trump's bizarre, continued  rants about how he couldn't get a fair trial from Judge Ganzalo Curiel as a result of Trump's own racist statements.  And Trump has since added that he didn't think he could likely get a fair trial from a Muslim judge either -- also because of Trump's own racist statements.  And a Trump spokesman has said that the candidate likely may not be able to get a fair trial from a female judge because....well, you know.  Because of Trump's sexism.

We may be nearing the point where it may be that Donald Trump could feel that he can't get a fair trial from anyone other than a judge affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.

Of course, Donald's Trump's position on judges is pathetically ignorant in addition to being racist, as well as idiotic.  In fact, in regards to Judge Curiel specifically it shows how woefully uninformed Donald Trump (R-Trump Tower) is given how widely-praised the jurist is when he was a prosecutor and took on the Mexican cartel.

But all that's beside the point, massively important as it is.  The point is how the Republican Party establishment is reacting in horror.  To their credit, many have been slamming their party's nominee for the new statements, to the point of deriding them as racist.  Even Speaker Paul Ryan has walked back his initial bland criticism and became more blunt.  And very importantly, few have said that their candidate's racism hasn't affected their decision to vote for him, which is a problem they'll have to deal with.  Because apparently having a racist president is still just peachy with them.

Still, Sen. Lindsay Graham, who has been perhaps the most blunt ranking-Republican in his criticism of Donald Trump for a long while (something that Trump didn't help by his withering ridicule of the senator), has been so outspoken that he's given Republican an "out" for cutting ties with their party's nominee.

“There are a lot of people who want to be loyal to the Republican Party, including me,” he said. “But there’ll come a point in time where we’re gonna have to understand that it’s not just about the 2016 race, it’s about the future of the party and I would like to support our nominee. I just can’t.” 

“Every person in the Republican Party’s got to make their own decision,” Graham continued. “I am going to focus on the House and Senate. I am going to focus on helping my colleagues in the House and Senate ‘cause I can do that enthusiastically.” 

In many ways, it's a noble statement by Sen. Graham, and I applaud him.  I'd have preferred that he said it's not merely about the future of the party, but also about the future of the country, but that's Sen. Graham.  And it's also a good strategy for him.

It's also a problematic one, for several reasons.  The first is that cutting ties with Trump risks offending the base of the party -- though it's probably a risk that should be taken because there's more upside to it, and can attract undecided independent voters.  But secondly, the bigger problem is that it avoids the larger reality.

And that larger reality is -- the candidates will have to explain why they supported and endorsed Donald Trump in the first place.

Here's the thing.  Donald's Trump's racist statements about the heritage of the judge (who is an American citizen born in Indiana, it's always worth repeating...) did not come out of the blue.  This isn't his first racist statement.  It's simply the latest in a massively long string of racist statements on which he has based his campaign.  It should have shocked no one.  It should have surprised no one.  Donald Trump's racist, sexist, misogynistic statements about Muslims, Hispanics, Blacks (you have to love, "Look at my African-American over there" the other day) and 
women is a given.  A long-term given.  So any Republican candidate withdrawing his support from Donald Trump over the presidential nominee's latest racist rant will have to defend why he ever gave that support despite all the other racist remarks.

Here's the problem in a specific -- Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois is in a tough fight for re-election against Tammy Baldwin, who was ahead of the incumbent in the last poll I saw.  Just the other day, Mr. Kirk was asked about Trump and replied, "I cannot support him because of what he said about the judge.  That was too racist and bigoted for me."  And he followed up by adding, "That was the big straw for me."  

And so, the problem:  If this was the "big straw," then what were all the little straws that Mark Kirk had previously been okay with?  Are racist straws all right if they're just daily, normal ones?  And "Too racist"??  If this was "too racist" for Mark Kirk, why wasn't he bothered by all the other racist comments that apparently weren't "too racist" for his taste but were just racist enough to be acceptable.  And Mr. Kirk is actually a moderate Republican on social issues.  Imagine all the others...

And therein glares the problem.

This is Donald Trump.  This is who he is, and who he's been from the beginning.  There is no surprise here.  And all the Republicans who've been rallying around him now that this racist, misogynist, sexist, lying, egomaniacal bully became the GOP's official nominee have to live with their support, even while they try to explain away why they were okay with it before.

Running away from their past support might well save their soul and some GOP careers.  But in the end, when you help promote the village idiot to captain of the ship, the boat with you on it is going to take on a lot of water and slowly sink.

And in the end, it's really hard to run away from an 800-pound gorilla when you've hoisted it on your back.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Elisberg Industries gets a commission if you click here before shopping on Amazon.
    Picture
    Follow @relisberg

    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



    Picture
           Feedspot Badge of Honor

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Audio
    Audio Land
    Books
    Busienss
    Business
    Chicago
    Consumer Product
    Education
    Email Interview
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Fine Art
    Food
    From The Management
    Health
    History
    Huffery
    Humor
    International
    Internet
    Journalism
    Law
    Los Angeles
    Media
    Morning News Round Up
    Movies
    Music
    Musical
    Personal
    Photograph
    Piano Puzzler
    Politics
    Popular Culture
    Profiles
    Quote Of The Day
    Radio
    Religion
    Restaurants
    Science
    Sports
    Technology
    Tech Tip
    Theater
    The Writers Workbench
    Tidbits
    Travel
    Tv
    Twitter
    Video
    Videology
    Well Worth Reading
    Words-o-wisdom
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2023
Contact Us    About EI    Chicago Cubs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like