The audio/video from this article should give Trump supporters pause. This is sickening. I know, I know, every movement has its crazies. But this feels too much like a key part of the Trump Train’s DNA.
When James Troup decided to attend a Donald Trump rally in Dayton
, Ohio, he knew that there was bound to be more than a bit of factually inaccurate fear mongering, but he never expected to see a crowd literally calling for the murder of protestors.
Read the whole thing and watch the clips.
“I didn’t join the conservative movement to become a fascist.” – Ace of Spades
(also, I’ve added a “trump” tag. I didn’t want to do it
, but as I am posting these days mainly on the election – I didn’t want to do that either – and he doesn’t appear to be going away, I guess it’s time.)
I’ve always really liked Jonah Goldberg (he’s a fabulous writer and serious dog-person to boot), but my respect for him has shot through the roof in recent months due to his sane, eloquent, and always witty punditry against Donald Trump. His latest Goldberg File is fantastic and somewhat alarming. He gives voice to what I’m feeling and I only wish I could express it half as well as he does. Read the whole thing – the final money-quote is below:
I know I’m being glib and jocular as I criticize Bill [Bennett] and other friends. That’s basically how I argue. But let me be clear (as Obama likes to say too often): I hate this. I hate it. I hate attacking people I respect. I hate hearing from former fans who say they’re ashamed to have ever admired me or my writing. I hate being unable to meet fellow conservatives half-way. One of the things I love about conservatism is that we argue about our principles; as I’ve written 8 billion times — more or less — we debate our dogma. I love our principled disagreements. But I honestly and sincerely don’t see this as a mere principled disagreement. I see this as an argument about whether or not we should set fire to some principles in a foolish desire to get on the right side of some “movement.” I have never been more depressed about the state of American politics or the health of the conservative movement. I hate the idea that political disagreements will poison friendships — in no small part because as a conservative I think friendship should be immune to politics. I certainly hate having to tell my wife that my political views may negatively affect our income. But I truly fear that this is an existential crisis for the conservative movement I’ve known my whole life. And all I can do is say what I believe. If Donald Trump is elected president
, I sincerely and passionately hope I will be proven wrong about all of this. But I just as sincerely and passionately believe I won’t be.
I’ve stopped being baffled. Yes, I don’t understand the Trump phenomenon. But I’ve realized I probably never will
, and I can live with that. To his followers, this behavior is a feature, not a bug.
Michelle Fields was a Trump supporter before the assault she reported by a Trump campaign operative. Look at how they treat her now. Learn.
— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) March 11, 2016
Donald Trump blew off #CPAC2016 to hold a rally in Kansas.
Ted Cruz just won Kansas. https://t.co/tjLf9FXPV3
— Chris Moody (@moody) March 5
, 2016
From Stephen Green’s wrap up of tonight’s debate:
I must repeat that I do not believe that Donald Trump is a fascist or a national socialist or a white supremacist or any of that.
But when it comes to pleasing the crowd, he proved himself tonight willing to play by the Führerprinzip when it comes to (ahem) enhanced interrogation.
I could try to explain to you why I thought Rubio did a good job
, or maybe how Cruz seemed to downplay at least some of his more unlikeable tendencies…
But I keep coming back to that one thing: Trump and the Führerprinzip — bending the military to his will, rather than to each member’s oath to the Constitution.
I’ll repeat what I said earlier: Trump is no Hitler, but he really ought to read a history book or two.
Maybe I’m making too much of this one thing…
But shouldn’t somebody?
Yes.
This is fantastic. Money-quote:
To vote for Trump is to validate; to vote for Trump is to participate. He is a crass
, gutter-tongued, vulgar man whose self-regard blinds his ability to understand his own ignorance. A man who casually encourages the worst, enables the mediocre, and wafts aloft cartoon concepts of American greatness with gusts of flatulent banalities. It takes a certain kind of historical illiterate not to realize his facial postures are literally aping a second-rate Italian fascist.
Sorry for taking the long way; could have just linked and agreed. But the author’s points deserve interrogation. Short version: no. Long version: hell no. On the off chance history makes marks in a ledger: I will not support Trump if he is the nominee. I will not vote for him. The devil you know is still a devil, and worse yet: you don’t really know him at all.
Read the whole thing.
https://twitter.com/smod2016/status/704479214389432321?s=09
From this week’s excellent Goldberg File:
I was only half listening when Donald Trump came into the spin room on CNN to explain why he’s been audited every year for twelve years.
“I’m always audited by the IRS, which I think is very unfair — I don’t know
, maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I’m doing this, although this is just recently,” Trump said in an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo immediately following the 10th GOP debate on Thursday night.
Cuomo cut in: “What do you mean religion?”
“Well, maybe because of the fact that I’m a strong Christian, and I feel strongly about it and maybe there’s a bias,” Trump said.
Cuomo cut in again: “You think you can get audited for being a strong Christian?”
“Well, you see what’s happened,” Trump said. “You have many religious groups that are complaining about that. They’ve been complaining about it for a long time.”
“Spit take” doesn’t even come close to describing my reaction. As it was, I gagged so hard my spleen almost came out my nose. It was nearly the first recorded instance of spontaneous self-mummification. I scared the cats because I reacted like members of Delta House when the picture of Flounder appeared on the screen.
There are two possibilities here. Either Donald Trump believes what he said, or he doesn’t. If he does believe this, he’s sufficiently delusional to disqualify himself for public office. If he doesn’t believe this, he thinks his conservative Christian supporters are morons.
I vote for option 2. And if he wins the nomination with the help of a significant percentage of “evangelical” votes, I’d say he’s right.
I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2016
Sounds like a threat
, doesn’t it? Here’s a pleasant thought: giving the full might of the Executive branch, with all its IRS auditors, machine guns, NSA/FBI/CIA agents, the whole smash, to a guy who thinks like Trump. For me the prevailing theme of this current election season is not liberal vs. conservative. This election seems to be pitting those who would like a Strong Man to come in, trample our (his?) enemies and solve all our problems versus those who still desire government restraint, especially in the Executive branch.
The Strong Man side is winning.
As Neo writes:
Some people do indeed want to do just that—they long for it and would celebrate it—right up until the moment the crocodile eats them. The human desire for tyranny knows no bounds, left or right, and people delude themselves when they say it won’t or can’t happen, or that it will be okay if it’s used in the interests of their own pet causes.
And by the way, this isn’t some anomaly on Trump’s part; it’s a deep and abiding character trait and favorite weapon. This is the pattern of his entire adult life: threaten, threaten, threaten; insult, insult, insult; sue, sue, sue. Anything he can to hurt his enemies. He makes Nixon and Obama look like pikers.