When a definitive history of the GOP debacle of 2016 is written, Sean Hannity will have a place of infamy as one of the main figures who enabled and legitimized Donald Trump’s candidacy. Throughout the election cycle, Hannity gave Trump free rein to spout whatever nonsense he wished without fear of contradiction and, if needed, he ran interference. For instance, when Breitbart reporter Michele Fields was “manhandled” (I put this in scare quotes because man really isn’t a fitting description for the Vicious Niblet) by Corey Lewandowski, Hannity just couldn’t see anything wrong in the video. In fact, Hannity interviewed Trump at least 41 consecutive times without generating a single newsworthy utterance. (For complete coverage of Hannity’s acting like a Trump campaign staffer, visit our Sean Hannity Archive.)

Now that Trump is floundering in the polls and unable to keep his yap shut long enough to let the media actually report on Hillary Clinton’s emails, the Clinton Foundation, etc. etc. — which they are trying to do — Hannity has decided to blame the #NeverTrump movement. That would be those of us, derided in the past by Hannity as insignificant, who now have enough power to stop Cheeto Jesus in his tracks. This led to an epic and quasi-deranged rant yesterday:

Business Insider provides the transcript:

“Well, let me just say to all of you. And that includes the commentator class. That includes the Jonah Goldberg class, that includes radio talk show hosts. Glenn Beck is like on a — it’s a holy war for him at this point. I mean, he’s off the rails attacking me every day. Blaming me for Trump. Well, no. I was fair to everybody, Glenn. Whether you want to admit it or not. I know I was fair. My conscience is clear. And I, frankly, I’m proud to pull the lever for Donald Trump with a clear conscience.

[…]

“So here’s what I say to all of you Never Trumpers — Glenn Beck, I hope you’re listening. You own Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court appointments. You own it! You are doing everything you can do to cast doubt in people’s minds! Trump gave us a list. You own her Supreme Court nominees, you own her un-vetted refugees and the 550% increase she will bring into this country. You own the jobs that illegal immigrants will take from the 95 million Americans out of the labor force. You own Obamacare, which is a disaster for this country. You own education because she is beholden to the NEA [National Education Association]. And if we don’t improve the lives of 95 million Americans out of the labor force, I blame you for that, too!

“Because you’re helping elect her. And I’m also saying that, hey, we have a $4,100 increase in healthcare payments since Obama has been president. It’s only going to go higher. You get responsibility for that, too! We have got 12 million more Americans on food stamps. If that increases, I’m going to blame you! We have 46 million total. Eight million more Americans living in poverty. Fifty million Americans in poverty. If that gets worse, I’m blaming you! You know, we have the worst home ownership in 51 years. If that gets worse, guess who I’m blaming? I’m blaming all of you!

“Arrogant, stubborn, lying about what Trump has said and his record. Purposefully distorting, creating doubt, misperception — and you’re so obsessed, some of you with Trump, you don’t even go over how corrupt Hillary is! What a disaster Obama has been. And if we have 1 in 5 American families four years from now, still without a single family member working, I am blaming you. And if in four years from now we have 1 in 6 American men, 18 to 24, in jail or living in mommy’s basement, I’ll blame you. And if we continue to build up more debt than every other president combined like Obama did, well, that’s your debt! And that’s money you are helping to steal from our kids! And we have the lowest labor participation rate since the ’70s, well, I blame you for that!

“And if we elect a president because you are so stubborn, arrogant, and stupid, that can’t say ‘radical Islam’ and can’t engage an enemy and identify it, that’s your fault as well! And if you help elect the single most corrupt person to ever seek the presidency, somebody who lies like she did, somebody who sold out her office for gain like she has, somebody who has failed on Iran and ISIS and radical Islam in general, and Iraq and Iran and Syria and North Africa and Libya, I’m blaming you!

“And you are going to say, ‘Hannity, we blame you. You gave Donald Trump time on your show.’ And I gave every other candidate time. His agenda is infinitely better than hers. And if you can’t see that, then that’s your problem. You own it. You own her. You own every dumb thing she’s about to do. I blame you. Got it? I am going to name names regularly if she wins.”

Hannity goes off the rails in several places. First and foremost, Trump isn’t being hurt because we are lying about his record. He’s being hurt because we are exposing his record. If Hannity had done his job he would have raised these questions… none of which, by the way, are new… with Trump or at least taken them into consideration before hopping aboard the Trump bandwagon. We know what Hillary Clinton is and I’m not aware of anyone whitewashing her actions. Unfortunately, we know what Donald Trump is, too. And where Hillary will be damaging to the republic, Trump will not only damage the nation but he will destroy one of its political parties in the bargain.

But this kind of disingenuous claptrap actually betrays the shallowness of the reasons to support Trump. No sane person actually believes a single thing that comes from his lips. Trump is a huckster. A carnival barker. He’s selling encyclopedias door-to-door. Another great enabler of Trump, the formerly respectable Rush Limbaugh, admitted on the the air that he never believed Trump was serious on immigration. Trump’s support is falling because people are looking at the “stubby fingered vulgarian” and they are repulsed. The only reason he is still in the race is because his opponent is Hillary Clinton.

As I’ve said many times. You can’t blame me for Trump losing because I insist on taking credit for sending the cretinous poseur back to the depths of Manhattan.