Yesterday the bomb dropped--on the edge of the make-or-break 2nd debate, a video was uncovered that showed Trump making vulgar, regressive remarks about women. That's the nice version: the objective version is that he was talking about, at least, committing sexual harassment while (a) his wife was pregnant and (b) against a married woman who rejected him despite him buying her furniture.
Today the fallout starts to hit. There have been at least nine defections from previous endorsers. His appearance with Paul Ryan, scheduled for today, was first switched for Pence and then switched for no one.
When Paul Ryan showed up, the crowd allegedly gave him grief for distancing himself from Trump. On CNN, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway had to ask another contributor to "stop saying [the word pussy]" because "her daughter was watching." The other person (Anna Navaro?) pointed out, correctly, that Trump was using that word.
CNN ran the footage un-bleeped. For the first time, the New York Times printed the words 'fuck' and 'pussy' on its front page.
If the GOP Nominee were anyone else, Clinton would be having to explain her "Open Boarders" speech in the Goldman Sachs transcripts that wikileaks got hold of. Arnold Schwarzenegger instead, made a blip in the news cycle by quitting The Apprentice.
But the GOP Nominee IS Donald Trump. What does that mean?
For Anyone Disappointed In Trump
HOW DID YOU NOT SEE THIS COMING??
Seriously. As Hot Air's Allahpundit pointed out, "we wanted politically incorrect and we got it." Yes. Yes we did. It's not like Trump was an unknown quantity. He had massive name recognition, none of it for being a choir boy. He was a thrice-married adulterous millionaire (billionaire?). He was proudly ignorant of foreign policy, lost without a teleprompter, and embraced name-calling as a national strategy.
He told you who he was in the primaries.
For People Who Didn't Like Trump But Supported Him Anyway
It might be time to admit there is something wrong with the Republican party. If the GOP were serious about stopping Hillary, they would have nominated Marco Rubio . . . or Tim Kasich . . . Maybe Lindsey Graham? If you go, well they weren't conservative enough, you're part of the problem. Ted Cruz is plenty conservative--but he's also the Scorpion in the tale of the Frog and the Scorpion. So, eh.
The question is this: do you recognize, even at this late date, that Hillary Clinton is not just the only alternative--but a viable one? That handing the country over to Trump would be, potentially, an existential disaster? No. Okay then: you're part of the problem too.
Questions Going Forward
- If the word "pussy" or "fuck" gets used at tomorrow's debate, will they bleep? Or will it be Rated-R?
- Will Trump make way for Pence? (No). Will the RNC stand up to him (No).
- How far will Trump's defenders go? Will they assess that it is, really, OK to grab women "by the pussy"? As a society we need to decide . . . is it?
As to your second question: considering that by the end of next week early voting will be well underway in at least 19 states, what would happen if Trump did step aside? The general election is a month away and the ballots have already been prepared.
ReplyDeleteThe only recent precedent I can think of is what happened in the 2000 Missouri Senate election, in which John Ashcroft lost to the late Gov. Mel Carnahan, killed in a plane crash three weeks prior to the election (the acting governor appointed Carnahan's widow Jean to serve in his place).
So what legal options are available? I don't know, but my gut feeling is that Orange Hitler's ego won't permit him to either lose gracefully or bow out; if he loses, he'll insist that the election had to have been rigged against him.
-- Ω
On that last point, I believe that Trump's logic will be along the lines of 'if I'm going down everyone's going down' - and he'll stay in for spite if nothing else, hoping to drag down everyone who has abandoned him.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know there's a typo in "For People Who Didn't Like Trump But Supported Him Anyway" section, it says "Tim Kasich".
ReplyDeleteGotta say, I dig your work.