I took the NY Times headline from this article and changed it to reflect a more accurate picture of what is happening with some GOP members of Congress, just days after many of them were deserting Donald Trump. On Sunday morning, we published a comprehensive list of GOP politicians and other Republican politicos who were disavowing Donald Trump after the release of the now infamous Access Hollywood video.
I also wrote about the difficult position Ted Cruz found himself in, after having just endorsed Trump several weeks before. Following a debate win (in what could be called a win for Trump), some of the “brave” Republicans who rescinded their endorsements and/or told Trump he should step aside, are, as of today, making their way back into the Trump camp.
When Ted Cruz chose to endorse Donald Trump, despite signaling he would not, many people were horrified. I reminded people politicians are always going to disappoint them. That said, there is a difference between making politically focused decisions and just flat out cowardice.
And cowardice is exactly what is being exhibited some in the GOP who are turning their backs on their own disavowals of Donald Trump:
Stung by a fierce backlash from Donald J. Trump’s ardent supporters, four Republican members of Congress who had made headlines for demanding that Mr. Trump leave the presidential race retreated quietly this week, conceding that they would still probably vote for the man they had excoriated just days before.
From Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the only member of the Republican leadership in either chamber who had disavowed Mr. Trump, to Representative Scott Garrett of New Jersey, who is in a difficult re-election fight, the lawmakers contorted themselves over Mr. Trump. Some of them would not mention him by name, preferring instead to affirm their support for the generic “Republican ticket,” still grasping for a middle ground.
They said that if Mr. Trump would not make way for his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, to lead the party after the release of a recording on Friday showing Mr. Trump bragging about groping women, they had little choice but to vote for their embattled nominee.
Little choice? This should be an easy choice. Is John Thune such a gutless wonder that he cannot stick to his guns over a statement he made on Twitter? Here is what he said:
Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) October 8, 2016
What is John ‘Change His Tune’ Thune going to do now that more and far worse stories are coming out about Donald Trump? And these are not stories that can be explained away with “locker room talk” excuses. These are stories of women who say Trump moved on them without consent.
Is Thune suddenly going to call on Trump to step aside…..again? Thune is not stupid, though. He’s a smart politician. After telling Trump to step aside, he did a radio interview on Tuesday and said, “I intend to support the nominee of our party, and if anything should change, then I’ll let you know.”
There it is. Thune’s opening for saying…….again……Donald Trump should step aside…..if anything changes.
How convenient.
The problem with Senator Thune and Senator Deb Fisher (she too asked Trump to step aside but suddenly changed her mind on during a radio interview, like Thune) is they’ve fallen into the trap of believing the foolish notion of this election being a “binary” choice and that is flat out garbage.
There is nothing dishonorable about voting for a third party or abstaining from voting at all. Voting is based upon casting a ballot for the person you feel best represents you not just because the person as the same party registration.
Senator Thune giving into the foolish idea that he must “support the nominee” because they represent the same party, reveals him to be just as much of an opportunist as Donald Trump. Cowing to the screaming and yelling of Angry Trumpkins on social media shows Thune is not fit to be for leadership in Congress.
The GOP is supposed to be better than Democrats who will wrap their arms around any louse who runs for office. There has to be consequences for this kind of cowardice on the part of Republicans like John Thune and others like him who won’t take a stand on something that is indefensible.
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