Once in a while decent people need to rant. This is one of those times.
Joke or not, what Donald Trump said this week in Wilmington, NC about “Second Amendment people” doing something about Hilary Clinton picking the next Supreme Court justice was reprehensible.
It confirms something that needs to be said: Donald Trump being the Republican nominee for president is an insult to the American people.
Moreover, everyone who is supporting him is adding injury to that insult.
Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States because he is not fit to be president of anything, not even his own company.
He is a vile, small minded, self-centered, vengeful, and childish man whose nomination for president of the United States makes a travesty of our democratic process.
It is an insult to the intelligence of all responsible Americans for the Republican Party to ask the nation to seriously consider putting this man in charge of our country.
Nothing can undo what he said in Wilmington. He wasn’t talking about “second amendment” people voting. He was talking about them using their guns. (Who, by the way, are these “second amendment people? Just those who belong to the NRA, an organization no better than the KKK)?
No, what Trump said cannot be explained away.
That is why no one should ever, ever, ever want to have someone who would say such a thing, joke or not, on script or off the cuff, as our nation’s president.
The only positive quality his supporters point to is Trump being a successful businessman. Not even that is true. He is an incredibly lucky businessman born into wealth. His bankruptcies, cheating of sub-contractors, and fraudulent endeavors like Trump University all suggest that if he had had to start a business from scratch, he would still be scratching.
This is not an election like any other. This is a threat to our way of life, and those who refuse to believe that don’t care about our way of life. To say he was “not my choice, but he’s what our party has” is choosing politics over the well being of our nation.
Say what you want to about Hillary Clinton, but she is not a threat to our democracy, our national security, or our values as a people.
Donald Trump is, and more than a few principled Republicans are saying so. They understand what is at stake in this election and they are not willing to sell the country down the river for a con artist who thinks running for president is show business.
I admire their courage and are thankful for their voices, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Republican Party as a whole has insulted the nation by nominating Donald Trump for the most important political office in the entire world.
The ball is now in the court of Republican voters to make up for what their party has done.
They can help the rest of us not only defeat him, but do it in such a convincing way that the few supporters he will have left who just want to stick it to the establishment will get the clear message that the rest of us have had enough of their radical and ridiculous politics.
Enough of their wanting to add injury to the insult Donald Trump’s candidacy for president represents.
linnposts.com 
Well spoken. Thanks for saying what needed to be said on this subject.
Had to. Thanks, Wally.
I agree that you are right that Trump was not talking about voting or organizing to defeat Clinton. His voice quality and his body language give support to the implied threat he is advocating., I.e. Viol emcee against Clinton. The Secret Service has taken it seriously.
Even if he meant it as a joke, it is still revealing. It comes down to this: we are our jokes.
Perhaps more disturbing than Donald Trump, himself si the base that supports him, no matter what! They represent, through their ignorance of the principles of the Constitution, a serious threat to democracy.
Thanks for this needed essay. Well done!
Cheerz!
Thanks, Gene. “We are our jokes.” Great statement.
Oh, good grief Charlie Brown! Just tonight I SAW a half-dozen video clips of Democrat politicians making “veiled threats of death” to Rep. incumbant/candidates–Kerry, Clinton, and a number of others. So this ain’t the first rodeo on this issue!! It just depends on whose ox is being gored. Trump has obviously not been trained in the finesse of language arts, but he has never claimed to be a politician, and it shows. Let’s review Hillary for a while, shall we?? In the interests of FAIRNESS. A “real, true LIBERAL” will (repeat: WILL ) look at all sides and evaluate–NOT JUST ONE SIDE AND CRITICIZE. Single-minded people are called “Conservatives” because they reserve their judgments for ONLY ONE SIDE! That makes you a Conservative, Jan!! Now, since both candidates have all those personal negatives about them, all I can do is vote on Party Platform. Do I want more regulations, more government spending, more taxation to pay for more entitlements, higher health insurance premiums?? Or do I want private small business growth, health insurance options, states rights in education and other issues? There is a BIG difference in party platforms, and that’s all I’ve got as far as choice here. Trump is not a big scary monster to me–he’s got too many others who will be check and balance on everything. (Actually, same with Hillary–she ain’t gonna git away with anything either.) And “choosing politics over the well-being of our nation?” You were talking PERSONALITY, NOT POLITICS!! I am a Kasich fan actually, but regardless, I RESENT your implications that Trump people are nasty vile people. They just basically do not like the likes of people like YOU !! Too “lefty,” that’s why. Too corrupt, that’s why. Too self-serving, that’s why. So, therefore, I am NOT voting for Hillary; not voting for Trump; I’m voting for PRINCIPLE, the future of our country, and Hillary ain’t it. She and Bill have both been so corrupt for so long–i about vomit thinking about the likes of them in the White House. They continue to this day with their latest out-of-country contributors who expect favors. Spend a column on that !!
Irwin, you are a genius at building straw walls and then knocking them down. The outrageous claim in your very first sentence, without a shred of evidence to support it, undercut any credibility you might have had thereafter. Enough said.
Well said, Jan. He’s a frightening, totally incompetent nominee. It seems that people are finally catching on. Let’s hope that momentum continues.
I admire republicans who can’t support him. I think that takes great courage. Among other responses, I have to ask myself how bad a democrat would have to be for me to switch my vote, and would I have the courage to so. There may come a time. For now I greatly admire republicans who have found that courage.
Let’s hope more join them before this thing is over, Wilbur.
In one instance, Trump is making great play with his so-called “law and order” credentials. And now, according to his interpretation of your country’s constitution, every one has the right to own the ultimate symbol of lawlessness.
To us on this side of the ocean, we have a major case of “cognitive dissonance” here…
You’re not alone. Nigel. All sane Americans are suffering from cognitive dissonance with you. I am banking on that being most of us. We’ll see in November.
Your post needed to be said, Jan. Trump is dangerous and unhinged. Hilary wasn’t my first choice, Bernie was, so I, like Erwin, am left with each party platform and the principles the platform represent. The Dems platform is the most progressive ever (at least that I can recall), thank you Bernie! The Repubs is is much more regressive/conservative than ever, thanks to the frightening Freedom Caucus. So, it’s a no-brainer for me! Go Hilary! Defeat for Trump!
Defeating Trump is the entire goal for me, Rollie. We can deal with Hillary once she is in office without being afraid she will start a nuclear war, offend all our allies, or give more tax breaks to the rich.
I think a lot of names from Washington could be put into your intro. Harry Reid comes to mind.
Also think at least once we have all been misinterpreted. Interesting Trump is not believable yet is not on record with blatant contradictions.
Edmund, we probably disagree about comparing anyone to Trump, but that doesn’t really matter because none of them is running for president. Had Democrats nominated George Wallace in 1968, I would have criticized them the same way I am now criticizing the Republican Party. The future of our country is at stake here, and to nominate such a person as Donald Trump was, I believe firmly, an irresponsible act that put politics before the nation’s well being.
Not sure what you mean about his not being caught in contradictions because he has insisted numerous times that he didn’t say something that he is on tape as saying. Knowing Putin is the latest example. He said he had met him and got along with him when he filmed a segment of 60 Minutes when in reality he didn’t meet him at all because he was in NY and Putin was in Moscow when the two segments were filmed independent of one another. Seeing the plane with “hostage money” going to Iran is another example. And on and on. The man will and does say anything without regard to truth.
If you want to see how a Trump presidency would divide our nation and pit us against one another, just look at what he has already done to the Republican Party. This is a picture of what would happen to our country because this is what happens when extremists get hold of political power. We cannot let that party bitterness and division spread through the entire country. We just can’t.
One more thing. Now Trump is doubling down on his claim that President Obama is the founder of ISIS. This is so patently absurd that it makes me wonder about Trump’s mental stability. He doesn’t need to be running for president. He needs to be under observation for a complete mental collapse. Can anyone with any genuine concern for the country truly believe this is the kind of person we should make president?
Oh, Jan, I just had to verify by Google, that Trump actually said or implied that President Obama was the founder of Isis…
It’s clearly going from the sublime to the plain stupid. It’s as if I were to stand in the streets of Portsmouth one Saturday, there to proclaim that Henry VIII was actually a woman! They’d put me away…
Nigel, he said it and then insisted he meant what he said when a conservative talk show host gave him a chance to modify his comments. The man is mentally unhinged, a dangerous candidate who should have never been taken seriously. He is the epitome of what right wing politics leads to.
No doubt we’ll see the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster entitled “The Rise and Fall of Citizen Trump”. The leading role would have been made to order for Rod Steiger – sadly no longer with us.
Who knows, Nigel, perhaps a movie about him is Trump’s real goal?
While y’all are busy trashing Trump, what about the Clinton corruption going on–like right now? Tons of cash flow into phony pay-for-play type charity. Unsecure e-mail scandals continuing on a daily basis with new revelations coming out. All the LIES! And creeping socialism?? Venezuela had had a hefty oil economy; and they used their largess to institute “socialism” as a way of life–free stuff to everyone, all day long. Then their markets fell, but the Dependency on Government that they had instituted started crumbling; people are just lost and can’t function in the failing economy. Socialism fails AGAIN! We do NOT need to go there! It has been proven, over and over, to be a losing form of government. People who want “equality” in every way don’t seem to understand reality: some people are tall, or short; naturally thin or fat; I.Q. of 90 or of 160; physically strong or have serious bodily illness. Already in many ways, people are not “equal.” Dignity of personhood is given by people who have empathy for others in difficulty, but who do not create dependency–check out A.A. interventions as an example. Handing out “things” to people doesn’t help. Our poor in USA have TV, cell phones, beer, cigarettes, food, clothing. Poor children in India and in Africa are literally starving, bony bodies dying. Bottom line: Bernie’s philosophy comes from his loser life, a total wasteoid; Hillary has totally no honesty or integrity and will do ANYTHING it takes to get Power any way she can. (relationship with Bill seems to be totally “political business” as usual.) Trump is a verbal loose cannon, but many disenfranchised people, workers who pay taxes and who don’t feel respected or heard by government really don’t give a fig and are cheering Trump on regardless. Game on!
Erwin, Rollie’s reply was too generous.
You are apparently unaware of the Mark Twain quip that it is better to appear foolish than to speak up and remove all doubt. That is the effect of what you write.
You make broad, inflammatory claims without any evidence – such as accepting as “proof” a charge made by Judicial Watch, a right wing, propaganda organization, that Hillary was bribed – and then you draw conclusions based on your ridiculous claims. And then to end with “game on” makes me think you are either too young to know better or too old to care.
You write as if anyone should take you seriously when you say things that are as absurd as what Trump says. Unless you begin making an argument with specific evidence to support it instead of throwing fire bombs of meaningless opinions, I will have no choice but to block your comments. This is not a forum for allowing people to demonstrate they are skilled in speaking out of willful ignorance over and over again.
Tu quoque! Your reply is a logical fallacy, Erwin.
Erwin, GIVE IT UP! This is not a forum for “Honest Talk”. It’s just a blog where libs can lie with each other and make themselves feel superior over conservatives. I only keep reading it to get material to explain my feelings to more Christian and understanding humans who want to get along with other humans.
Example, “the NRA is no better then the KKK”. That went straight to my family who are members of the NRA. They’ll even tell you that Robert Byrd was not a member of the KKK. All they can do is call you names and will NOT listen to ANY facts you or anyone else will put into the “conversation”.
Remember someone said something like “keep your friends close and keep your enemy closer”. All we can do is keep reading and to pray for them.
JM, the NRA is an organization, funded and fueled by the gun manufactories. That is fact, not opinion. That you cannot distinguish between an organization, such as the NRA (or the Republican Party, for that matter) from members who may not agree at all with the organization’s policies, is precisely what is wrong with conservatives like you. You just don’t think things through.
Then you claim to be criticized, not listened to, even persecuted, as if the only way to respect you is to agree with the crap you claim is true that clearly is not. On top of that, you don’t miss a beat in saying you are a better Christian than liberals like me. Here what I would say to that: If you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, and love all your neighbors as you love yourself, thing Jesus said truly matters in the eyes of God, then, yes, you might be a better Christian than I am because I don’t do any of these often enough or well enough. Otherwise, you would be wise to stop talking and listen better and more.
And “honest talk” is not making unsubstantiated claims about Hillary Clinton or President Obama, or anyone or anything else. You can say such things at home, but when you make them public, be prepared to be challenged, or don’t say them. If you want to challenge me on my facts, great. I will have that debate. That is what “honest talk” means. But it is “dishonest talk” to want to say wild things that are demonstrably untrue and expect people to let them pass.
This blog is the former. Sounds like you are looking for the latter. You probably need to look somewhere else because you are never going to get a pass here.
JM, some good advice to Erwin. As a liberal, I do not spar on Conservatives blogs, posts etc. After all, the Republicans are working toward destroying Unions, dismantling Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, keeping minimum wage at a poverty level, and minorities as powerless as possible. But they will work tirelessly for you to keep those guns and no abortions allowed for women, regardless of the circumstance. What more could a guy ask for or need!!! Please take your narrow-minded views elsewhere.
Thanks, Kay.
kay, It’s amazing you all can ascertain my sex, religion, race from my comments. I won’t burst your bubble, but that’s “narrow minded”!
Don’t forget we want to feed grandma dog food and we’re all for dirty air and water. Harry said so, so it must be true!
Keep thinking against the grain.
I’m praying really hard, but I don’t think it’s working . . . yet. It ain’t over until it’s over, so we shall see.