Will Trump Sink the GOP?

The Republican Party has been on a self-created death spiral for years now.  The process began with Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" that sought to benefit from the racism of Southern whites.  Over the years dog whistle racism became outright and open racism and white supremacists were welcomed into the party with a wink and a nod. Add to this the toxicity of the Christofascists who seek a Christian theocracy with themselves as the arbiters of a form of Christian Sharia law. Now, with the release of Trump's 2005 remarks on women, the GOP war on women and view of women as chattel to be used for the gratification of men, the cycle of misogyny is complete.  The question is whether or not American voters will punish the GOP for its descent into a party of hate, bigotry and anti-women filth.  A piece in the New York Times looks at this question.  Here are excerpts:

In the history of October surprises, it is hard to think of anything comparable at this stage of a presidential race. Obviously, it is too early to say exactly what effect it will have on Mr. Trump. But the videotape fits all of the major criteria for a damaging scandal, and it puts congressional Republicans in a precarious position.

It fits the Democrats’ contention that Mr. Trump is a misogynist. The Clinton campaign has been laying the groundwork for weeks with ads about his statements about women.

■ The scandal is easy to explain and can be turned into new television advertisements, although in this case it is probably unnecessary.
■ It is bad enough to force condemnation from Republican officials, and even some abandonments. Very few are defending Mr. Trump, ensuring one-sided media coverage and making it easier for Republican-leaning voters to break away as well.

Perhaps Mr. Trump will escape a knockout blow, as he has so many times before. Perhaps he will have a spectacular debate performance on Sunday night. But the potential downside for Mr. Trump and his party is huge. He could lose by a wide margin and endanger the Republican hold on the House at this late stage (although that result is still unlikely).

[A]t this point, it is worth looking at the precedents for how things could get out of hand for Mr. Trump and his party.

Todd AkinIn August 2012, Claire McCaskill and Todd Akin were in a competitive Missouri Senate race before Mr. Akin, the Republican candidate, said that victims of what he called “legitimate rape” very rarely became pregnant.

Like Mr. Trump’s remark, Mr. Akin’s comments about legitimate rape played into a narrative, were fit for television advertisements and triggered mass condemnation from Republican officials.

Mr. Akin’s collapse — he was basically reduced to the Republican base vote — is a reminder of just how far candidates can fall once their party abandons them.

Mark Foley
In late September, it was revealed that Mr. Foley, a Republican congressman, had sent lewd messages to former congressional pages. At least some House Republicans were aware of it, and didn’t do anything. The G.O.P.’s standing in the polls collapsed, the Democratic wave built quickly, and Republicans in safe districts soon found themselves in jeopardy.

The similarities between the Foley scandal and Mr. Trump’s are a little more superficial than those between Mr. Akin and Mr. Trump. What’s most striking is that the prelude feels similar: Like the Republicans of 2006, the Republicans of 2016 had a pretty decent stretch from mid-August to late September. The underlying vulnerability in each case — George W. Bush and Mr. Trump — did not go away. But it really seemed as if the 2016 G.O.P. could dodge the worst of it.

In some ways, the link between Mr. Foley and the conduct of the rest of the Republican House was clearer in 2006: House Republican leaders were aware of his behavior, and Democrats had already been running against a Republican “culture of corruption.” This year, Democrats have not quite laid the groundwork to tie Republicans to Mr. Trump — although they could still try to do so, especially with Republicans who continue to support him.

But Mr. Trump poses a more difficult challenge for Republican officials than Mr. Foley did: There was no cost to repudiating Mr. Foley, but the decision on whether to repudiate Mr. Trump puts Republicans in the unenviable position of alienating either Mr. Trump’s fervent base or moderate voters. It’s difficult to predict how this dynamic will play out — it will probably vary by state and by candidate.

My guess is that even this worst-case scenario would leave the Republicans in control of the House, although narrowly.

As the Foley scandal makes clear, however, there’s a lot of downside for Republicans, and it’s not too late for a whole host of Republican-leaning districts to become much more competitive.

Trump and the Deliberate Blindness of the GOP

As noted in a post yesterday, the feigned shock of Republicans over the release of a 2005 tape that caught Donald Trump displaying his true self - additional tapes from Howard Stern shows have also now been released that show the 2005 tape was no aberration - would be laughable but for the fact that it is the moral bankruptcy of today's Republican Party that facilitated Trump's rise in the first place.  Any political party that is willing to court religious extremists and white supremacist as its base has, in my view, lost all legitimacy.  Hence my resignation from the GOP years ago before the cancer within the GOP had metastasized as evidenced by the nomination of Trump as the party's presidential standard bearer.  A column in the Washington Post looks at the hypocrisy of Republicans now acting shocked to learn that Trump is a sexist, racist pig.  Here are excerpts: 

What is truly shocking is that Donald Trump’s Republican enablers are shocked.

True, Trump’s comments in the 2005 video made public Friday by The Post are shockingly vile, astonishingly disgusting and disgracefully open about the freedom Trump felt (because he was a “star”) to grope and, let’s face it, assault women.

But while the investigative reporters deserve our thanks for fully exposing Trump, no one needed to rely on their work to know who he is. Only political opportunism allowed leading Republicans — from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on down — to pretend that Trump was an acceptable presidential nominee.

Indeed, it should offend and enrage Mexican Americans, African Americans, American Muslims and everyone else Trump has attacked that none of these prior offenses had turned the Republican establishment away.

Birtherism? No problem. The verbal assaults on the Gold Star Khan family? Bad, but not enough to justify rescinding endorsements. Mexicans as “rapists”? This was just “that Mexican thing,” explained Mike Pence. The trashing of a former Miss Universe for gaining weight? We can get by that, too, they decided.

But now there’s audio catching Trump describing women in the most vulgar and obscene language.

Maybe the Republicans who are now oh-so-outraged and are pulling their endorsements have done their political calculations. They figured that they could write off African Americans, Muslims and Latinos, but could not possibly offend all women, too. Perhaps they remembered the things they have said about “family values” and the importance of “character” and realized they just couldn’t roll with this one.

But if they cared about “character” and “family values,” Trump had already made clear that these meant nothing to him. 

As for character, the brave and good Republicans of the Never Trump movement have been citing chapter and verse about what a horrific man this is — someone who walked away from his debts, often failed to pay the people who worked for him, demeaned John McCain because he was a prisoner of war, and gleefully gave his opponents belittling nicknames.

Sadly, sickeningly, even those whom Trump had besmirched fell into line. 

And what about the devout conservative Christians (Pence, for example) who claimed to care about how people live their lives and then embraced this despicable man? The conservative writer David French put it well Friday evening. “Honestly,” he tweeted, “pro-Trump evangelicals, in future elections don’t try to argue that character matters. Just don’t.”
Even when Ryan was rebuking Trump, he seemed to be looking for an escape hatch.  There must be accountability here for an entire party that was complicit in the rise of Donald Trump and tried desperately to pretend that he was fit for our nation’s highest office.

The Never Trump movement tried to block Trump, but its champions were resisted by the GOP hierarchy. Priebus actively pushed back against efforts to derail Trump at the national convention. The supply-siders were bought off with his tax cuts. The congressional leadership just wanted to hold the House and Senate and were willing to prop Trump up to minimize the damage he could cause.

This is the most shameful episode in the history of the party that gave our nation Abraham Lincoln. A steep electoral price must be paid to jolt Republicans into a period of reform, renewal and, yes, repentance.

Trump's Lewd Conversation About Women in 2005

As readers have no doubt gathered by now, I find nothing redeeming in Donald Trump who in many ways symbolizes what is wrong with far too many American males: he is a totally self-absorbed sexist pig who cares for no one and nothing other than himself.  What I find startling as  the father of two daughters myself is how little he values women (does this include his own daughters?) and sees them merely as objects to be pursued sexually, provided, of course, they meet his standards of beauty. Some had speculated that Trump might seek to bring up Bill Clinton's infidelities in tomorrow night's debate, but a newly released tape that shows Trump seeking to have sex with a married woman just months after his marriage to his current wife may chasten him on that front.  It also ought to convince women that Trump, despite his unusual and disingenuous apology, is the last man any self-respecting woman should vote for.  As for those Republicans who delude themselves that Trump is/will be capable of self-control, that myth should be totally put to rest.  The Washington Post looks at the bomb shell.  Here are article highlights:

Donald Trump bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone, saying that “when you’re a star, they let you do it,” according to a video obtained by The Washington Post.

The video captures Trump talking with Billy Bush, then of “Access Hollywood,”on a bus with the show’s name written across the side. They were arriving on the set of “Days of Our Lives” to tape a segment about Trump’s cameo on the soap opera.

Late Friday night, following sharp criticism by Republican leaders, Trump issued a short video statement saying, “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.” But he also called the revelation “a distraction from the issues we are facing today.” He said that his “foolish” words are much different than the words and actions of Bill Clinton, whom he accused of abusing women, and Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of having “bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.”

In that audio, Trump discusses a failed attempt to seduce a woman, whose full name is not given in the video.

“I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Trump is heard saying. It was unclear when the events he was describing took place. The tape was recorded several months after he married his third wife, Melania.

“Whoa,” another voice said.  “I did try and f--- her. She was married,” Trump says.

Trump continues: “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’”

“And when you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”“Whatever you want,” says another voice, apparently Bush’s. “Grab them by the p---y,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

Trump was also criticized by members of his own party. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who said he is “sickened” by Trump’s comments, said the Republican presidential candidate will no longer appear with him at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Saturday.

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Trump critic, said in a statement: “Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America’s face to the world.”

Paul Ryan may be distancing himself from Trump for the moment, but the man has totally prostituted himself from Trump and made me have an even lower opinion of hi, if that is possible. Can you imagine what Trump would see himself free to do as president?   That thought is frightening. 

Trump’s Angry White Men

The ascendancy of Donald Trump in American politics says little positive about the nation, but is particularly telling in the manner in which it shows the misogyny that reigns among white males, especially those who are poorly educated.    Having two daughters, Trump is the antithesis of what I see as a decent, moral individual, most certainly when it comes to his treatment of women.  His views on minorities, and I suspect gays as well, are little better. One can only hope that the women of America and minorities hated by Trump and his Neo-Nazi like supporters will see the danger that the man poses and get out and vote.  Michael Gerson, a long time Republican and former White House staffer looks at the ugliness fueling Trump's support.  Here are highlights: 

What do most of the chief advisers and surrogates of the Trump campaign have in common? I’m thinking of Chris Christie, Roger Ailes, Stephen Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich.

What could possibly unite this diverse group? They are white, middle-aged (and older) males — not that there is anything wrong with that. They are almost psychotically sycophantic. (According to Gingrich, Donald Trump won an “enormous, historic victory” in the first presidential debate. Both Christie and Giuliani have called Trump a “genius” for avoiding federal taxes.) They are very forgiving about certain foibles (“everybody” commits adultery, explains Giuliani) and rather tough on others (Miss Universe Alicia Machado, says Gingrich, was “not supposed to gain 60 pounds”). They apparently lack the gene for irony (“America’s mayor” is smitten with a candidate who has flirted with 9/11 conspiracy theories).

The ascendance of people such as Gingrich, Giuliani and Trump in the Republican Party, from one perspective, is succeeding. A campaign of shouting, apocalyptic, white men has undeniably appealed to white men. A recent Post-ABC News poll found Trump up 40 points against Hillary Clinton in this category. Up nearly 60 points among white men with no college degree. These results are remarkable, indicating both the limits of Clinton as a candidate and the fury in portions of middle-class and blue-collar America.

If the United States is truly in the midst of a wave election, fed by the fears and discontent of white males, it will have enormous consequences in a country that has moved considerably in the direction of diversity, tolerance and inclusion. A very real culture war will be in full swing, not between social conservatives and social liberals, but between a movement of white economic and cultural grievances and a party of social elites and ascendant minorities. This struggle — rooted in race and class — would be far more bitter than the old culture war of ideas.

Trump’s version of Eden is lounging at the grotto at the Playboy Mansion or smoking cigars in the back room at the Sands, with a little Studio 54 thrown in. This is the man who reportedly pressured his future wife Marla Maples to appear in Playboy and negotiated the deal; who appeared in a soft-core porn video himself (not naked, thank goodness, but breaking a champagne bottle over a limo); and who recently took to Twitter to urge Americans to view a sex tape. This is the man who boasted about his penis size and made amenstruation joke during debates and has a consistent history of demeaning women as “pigs” and “dogs.”

I wonder how Trump evangelicals explain to their sons and daughters that this man is a suitable leader for a great country. I know that people in some minority groups are genuinely frightened by the possibility of Trump’s election. . . . . I also know that if Trump ends up losing in November, it will be because women rallied in large numbers to defeat him.

Conservatives oriented toward reform and outreach — longing for the leadership of Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and Marco Rubio — are largely waiting in shelters for the storm to pass. But what of the Republican Party will be left?

I truly believe that the Republican Party needs to die given its open descent into racism and hatred of so many fellow citizens.  The irony, of course, is that the poorly educated white males supporting Trump will likely be even worse off over time if Trump  wins the White House and implements his tax breaks for the wealthy (including himself).   I find it difficult to have sympathy for these men.  Perhaps less fixation on sports - the current opiate of the lower classes, in my view - and more focus on schooling and education would have allowed them to have found better lives.  But that would mean taking personal responsibility rather than blaming others for their state in life.