What Does It Take For Republicans To Break Up With Trump?

As noted before on this blog and Facebook and elsewhere I am at a loss to understand how people I once thought to be decent and moral can be enthusiastic Trump supporters and even in some cases attack those who see him as both a danger to the nation and the personification of evil.   I have found myself pushed to block people - most acquaintances rather than true friends - or unfriend people because I simply cannot take the batshit craziness of their support for Trump and their willingness to embrace every insane conspiracy pushed by Fox News, its imitators, and, worse yet, lunatic podcasters.  As I see the 2024 presidential election, it is not a disagreement about politics, but instead a matter of basic morality.  If you support a man whose stock in trade is hatred of others - primarily non-whites, gays and religious minorities - constant lies and outright misogyny, its a testament to one's own immorality no matter how much one wears religion on their sleeve or talks about being "Christian."  All of which brings me to a piece at Bearing Drift, which calls itself Virginia's conservative voice, that calls out Bill Bolling, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia who once upon a time was deemed a moderate, decent and commonsense Republican.  Like my reaction to Trump supporters I know, the author ask what would it take for Bolling to disavow Trump and reembrace decency and morality.  Here are column highlights:

For much of the time I’ve been here on Bearing Drift, Bill Bolling has been here with me. Unlike me, he has stayed with Donald Trump and his party throughout the decade, as late as yesterday. As it happens, I was in the hospital yesterday so I missed his latest post. Now that I’ve caught up, I can only ask him….

Why are you doing this, Bill Bolling?

If I could, I’d ask that of every Republican who is still defending Trump; I just can’t speak to all of them. I can speak to Bill, however, through this medium. So I’m giving it my best shot.

Last week, Donald Trump parroted an insane, ridiculous, and racist lie about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio (WaPo). In response, he and his running mate, JD Vance, “sound like a radical deconstructionist in a 1990s faculty lounge, appealing to the ‘larger reality’ of immigrant crime that is so true that the facts of the particular case, even if shown to be untrue, are beside the point” (Russell Moore via The Atlantic).

Ohio is a Republican state, with a longtime Republican Governor who completely debunked the nonsense:

Ohio Gov. DeWine on ABC says “absolutely not” when asked if he’s seen any evidence of Haitian migrants eating pets and adds, “The Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move and Springfield has really made a great resurgence.”

That didn’t stop Trump from lying anew, declaring that the Haitian refugees were “illegal” (ABC News) and claiming Kamala Harris will “bring back the draft.” Vance continued to press the lie on CNN.

This is the pair you want in the White House? Really?

Policies? What Policies?

In Bill’s attempt to justify his decision, he cites Harris’ “far-left agenda” and “the failed economic policies of President Biden.” I’ve spent quite a bit of bandwidth on the mistakes of Bidenomics and I’ve already noted Harris’ economic plans are far from perfect. But last I checked, only one candidate is demanding a $350 billion tax increase – and it’s not Kamala Harris.

This is why I fail to understand the impulse to claim “policies” as a reason to support Trump. What exactly are you supporting here? His massive tariff plans? His willingness to let Russia carve up Ukraine (WaPo)? What could possibly justify this?

Remember Who These People Are

I get the pull of tribalism and the need to belong. But is this Republican Party really yours, Bill? Has it ever been?

Lest we forget, this was the same party that told you not to run for Governor in 2009 in favor of a candidate who won fewer votes than you did. Four years later, you were told to do it again. The party to which you have given loyalty has not given it back to you. Now they are asking you to support the most spendthrift, tax-hiking, and isolationist president in the party’s history.

You don’t have to do this. Dick Cheney isn’t doing this. Former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales isn’t doing this. George Will isn’t doing this. Hundreds of former Republicans, including Reagan alumni, aren’t doing this.

If you’re still willing to support Trump after all of this, what does that say about you?

I ask this same question of "what does supporting Trump say about you" to those I know who remain supportive of a man (and Vance is proving to be no better) who is the epitome of moral bankruptcy and frankly cares nothing about others, only himself.