Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Trump Erupts, Republicans Run for Cover

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

With only three exceptions, Republican presidential candidates are keeping unusually quiet regarding Donald Trump's latest blast of insanity.  Yesterday, after The Donald called for a temporary policy of barring all Muslims from entering the United States - even those who are U.S. citizens and currently traveling abroad - Jeb Bush manned up and referred to Mr. Trump as "unhinged," and Lindsey Graham called Trump "downright dangerous."  Marco Rubio issued a general statement condemning Trump's "offensive and outlandish" statements.

Non-candidates Paul Ryan (Speaker of the House) and Dick Cheney (former Vice-President) also rebuked the Trump remarks, but Ryan quickly followed his initial statement with a tweet declaring he would support the ultimate candidate - even if it was Trump.

But what of the other candidates?  Ted Cruz did say that his plan was different from Trump's, but he did not take the bait and respond directly to the xenophobic content of the latest Trump claptrap.

Reverend Mr. Huckabee, how does all of this strike you?  Should Muslims be barred from entering the United States?  Is that what Jesus would want?  Speak up, Mike!

And what about you, Chris Christie?  Should we ban Muslims at the border?  Maybe we could also deny the vote to those who are here and refuse to leave.  Chris, you usually have the subtlety of an exploding cigar - tell us what you really think about all of this.

Rand Paul, what do you think about the libertarian aspects of singling one religion out for harassment?  Does that "freedom of religion" thing in the Constitution bother you at all?  Sound off, man!

Reince Priebus, the National Republican Chair, has removed Trump from a Republican fundraising event, but as to the candidate's horrific suggestion that anyone subscribing to one of the world's major religions be banned from entering the country, Reince is as silent as the fellow decomposing in Grant's Tomb.

The sad truth is that Donald Trump is simply throwing red meat to his supporters - a group of gun-toting, government-hating, dentally challenged imbeciles who believe devoutly that Muslims are our enemies and that the only way to deal with enemies is to kill them.  Trump keeps his minions stirred up and frothing at the mouth.  It's not about foreign policy, its about misdirection and inciting the ignorant masses.

A third of the Republican Party is crazy - but the Republican patriarchs need their votes in general elections and are thus loathe to intervene while Donald Trump serves up his blood-soaked, bigoted lunacy.  At some point someone within the party is going to have to stand up and ask Donald Trump if he, at long last, has no decency.

It isn't our great nation that needs cleansing - it is the Republican Party.  There is room for a hero to emerge in today's Republican Party - if only someone had the guts and the honor to stand up to the monster that the party itself has created.

The GOP will never be able to govern our country effectively until it first learns how to govern itself.

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