Well look where we are now. The National Republican Party, it appears, is on the way to nominating Donald Trump for President of the United States. For all of you who have said or heard from others that this couldn’t happen, well, it can and very likely will. For way too long, too many Republican leaders assumed it would go away, taking for granted that it “could never” happen. I’ve made that mistake a couple of times myself, to the point that I now don’t take much of anything for granted. Strange things do take place, but this would be one of the wildest and scariest in my lifetime.
Think for a moment what we have here. This is a man who has no problem wanting to ban all Muslim people from entering the United States, with no understanding about what that says not only to the millions of Muslims living in the United States but Muslims around the world who we need as partners and not enemies. He’s going to build that big wall to keep out all those “crooks and rapist” coming to this country from Mexico and, somehow, get the Mexican Government to pay for it. All this is going to be done at a time when more people are leaving this country than coming this way and when slamming the door on the fastest growing population segment in the United States makes absolutely no political sense. Not to mention, it runs counter to our values as a nation of immigrants which has historically opened its arms to those who seek a better life for themselves and their families. But just because those two positions were not enough, he now has had problems clarifying whether he accepts the support of David Duke and the KKK and has been unreceptive to all those calling for the release of his recent tax returns.
For those of you reading this and wondering why I should be concerned about this, I’ll tell you why. First of all, he could win. I’ve seen too many “obvious losers” win to take his losing for granted. Secondly, I’ve been around long enough to know that it has been and is in the best interest of this country to have two national political parties of strength competing over their ideas and vision for the country and contributing to the positive dialogue and debate about the future. There is no way that Donald Trump will be positive for the future of the Republican Party or the country. That is why you see the establishment Republicans and now individual Republican elected officials talking and taking action to try to avoid this embarrassment and make it clear that they’d rather support a qualified person with whom they disagree than a wildcard who will do serious damage to our country and its reputation around the world. The obvious question follows, is this too little too late?
And perhaps more concerning is the number of Republican elected officials and political opportunists now lining up to throw their support behind their party’s toxic and divisive front-runner, as part of an effort to somehow legitimize his candidacy. This isn’t as surprising from someone like Governor Chris Christie, who is apparently bored with his current job in Trenton and sees very little future for his political career, to go “all in” and put his few remaining chips behind Trump. But for other Republicans who have either failed to denounce or are full-on supporting Trump, it is a clear statement that they either value their personal interests over the interests of the country, or worse, they find his hateful and demeaning rhetoric and his lack of concrete vision and relevant experience acceptable from someone who is seeking the presidency of the United States. Both are tragic outcomes that are not worthy of the party of Abraham Lincoln or the idea of government of, for, and by the people.
Think for a moment what we have here. This is a man who has no problem wanting to ban all Muslim people from entering the United States, with no understanding about what that says not only to the millions of Muslims living in the United States but Muslims around the world who we need as partners and not enemies. He’s going to build that big wall to keep out all those “crooks and rapist” coming to this country from Mexico and, somehow, get the Mexican Government to pay for it. All this is going to be done at a time when more people are leaving this country than coming this way and when slamming the door on the fastest growing population segment in the United States makes absolutely no political sense. Not to mention, it runs counter to our values as a nation of immigrants which has historically opened its arms to those who seek a better life for themselves and their families. But just because those two positions were not enough, he now has had problems clarifying whether he accepts the support of David Duke and the KKK and has been unreceptive to all those calling for the release of his recent tax returns.
For those of you reading this and wondering why I should be concerned about this, I’ll tell you why. First of all, he could win. I’ve seen too many “obvious losers” win to take his losing for granted. Secondly, I’ve been around long enough to know that it has been and is in the best interest of this country to have two national political parties of strength competing over their ideas and vision for the country and contributing to the positive dialogue and debate about the future. There is no way that Donald Trump will be positive for the future of the Republican Party or the country. That is why you see the establishment Republicans and now individual Republican elected officials talking and taking action to try to avoid this embarrassment and make it clear that they’d rather support a qualified person with whom they disagree than a wildcard who will do serious damage to our country and its reputation around the world. The obvious question follows, is this too little too late?
And perhaps more concerning is the number of Republican elected officials and political opportunists now lining up to throw their support behind their party’s toxic and divisive front-runner, as part of an effort to somehow legitimize his candidacy. This isn’t as surprising from someone like Governor Chris Christie, who is apparently bored with his current job in Trenton and sees very little future for his political career, to go “all in” and put his few remaining chips behind Trump. But for other Republicans who have either failed to denounce or are full-on supporting Trump, it is a clear statement that they either value their personal interests over the interests of the country, or worse, they find his hateful and demeaning rhetoric and his lack of concrete vision and relevant experience acceptable from someone who is seeking the presidency of the United States. Both are tragic outcomes that are not worthy of the party of Abraham Lincoln or the idea of government of, for, and by the people.
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