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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWhy This Republican Won't Vote for Trump.
A perspective by Mark Salter, McCain's former chief of staff and 2008 senior campaign adviser, and it's not pretty:
Hes an ignoramus whose knowledge of public issues is more superficial than an occasional newspaper readers. He casts his intellectual laziness as a choice, a deliberate avoidance of expert views that might contaminate his ill-informed opinions. He excused his failure to consult professionals before commenting on the Brexit vote by dismissing foreign policy advisers in general, including his own. None of them are any good, he said, as he likened running the worlds most powerful government and its foreign policy to opening a golf course.
Hes a charlatan, preposterously posing as a business genius while cheating investors, subcontractors, and his own customers. Hes rich because his father left him a great deal of money. He couldnt turn a profit with a casino, for crying out loud. The epitome of someone who is famous for being famous, his business model consists mostly these days of selling his surname to a group of (often foreign) investors, who slap it on some vulgar monstrosity that consumers naturally associate with a vulgar reality TV celebrity.
He possesses the emotional maturity of a 6-year-old. He cant let go of any slight, real or imagined, from taunts about the length of his fingers to skepticism about his portfolio. So shaky is his psyche that hes compelled to fits of self-sabotage to defend his self-regard, as was the case in his racist, politically devastating attacks on U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. He views the powers of the presidency as weapons to punish people whove been mean to him reporters, rival candidates, critics. They better be careful, he warns.
Hes unhinged by criticism from women, most particularly female journalists. Who knows what thats about, but whatever the cause of his misogyny, minor exchanges provoke it. It neednt take an insult or criticism; sometimes just a lack of fawning deference will have him spewing abuse at the offending woman.
Hes a charlatan, preposterously posing as a business genius while cheating investors, subcontractors, and his own customers. Hes rich because his father left him a great deal of money. He couldnt turn a profit with a casino, for crying out loud. The epitome of someone who is famous for being famous, his business model consists mostly these days of selling his surname to a group of (often foreign) investors, who slap it on some vulgar monstrosity that consumers naturally associate with a vulgar reality TV celebrity.
He possesses the emotional maturity of a 6-year-old. He cant let go of any slight, real or imagined, from taunts about the length of his fingers to skepticism about his portfolio. So shaky is his psyche that hes compelled to fits of self-sabotage to defend his self-regard, as was the case in his racist, politically devastating attacks on U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. He views the powers of the presidency as weapons to punish people whove been mean to him reporters, rival candidates, critics. They better be careful, he warns.
Hes unhinged by criticism from women, most particularly female journalists. Who knows what thats about, but whatever the cause of his misogyny, minor exchanges provoke it. It neednt take an insult or criticism; sometimes just a lack of fawning deference will have him spewing abuse at the offending woman.
And there's more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/06/29/why_this_republican_wont_vote_for_trump_131043.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202
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Why This Republican Won't Vote for Trump. (Original Post)
kstewart33
Jun 2016
OP
Koinos
(2,792 posts)1. Wonder how he feels about Sarah Palin speaking in prime time at the Republican convention.
PJMcK
(22,037 posts)2. That's an amazing column and I recommend it to everyone
Thanks for bringing this article to our attention, kstewart33. With the exception of one sentence, the entire column could have been written by almost anyone on DU. It's a brilliant, articulate and forceful take-down of the Republican's candidate.
Given that this was written by a very prominent Republican, this paragraph at the end amazed me:
Whatever Hillary Clintons faults, shes not ignorant or hateful or a nut. She acts like an adult, and understands the responsibilities of an American president. That might not be a ringing endorsement. But in 2016, the year of Trumps s campaign, its more than enough.