Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Where Is The Tipping Point?

Donald Trump continues a true master class in self-inflicted wounds this week.  First, he picks a fight with a Gold Star family, then he lies about things that are easily proven to be lies.

What next?

Josh Marshall has laid out the persuasive case that Trump is entirely motivated by dominance - the need to win, whatever winning might look like.  It's the central method of New York real estate. When you hear the tales of people who worked for Trump and then got bullied into taking pennies on the dollar, this makes sense as Trump's world view.  This is why he thinks he can extort NATO allies into paying protection money.  This is who this man is.  He's a liar and a bully.  There is no pivot.  There is no "more mature" Trump waiting to be unveiled.

Eugene Robinson asks the critical question: Is Trump mentally ill? For the record, yes, Trump suffers from a textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

He cannot afford emotionally to lose any fight.  This is why he's already pre-preparing his sour grapes over losing the election.  Trump can never lose, he can only be betrayed.

The fights he is picking are damaging to him and our public discourse.  The mother of a veteran was booed at a Pence rally for asking Pence about Trump's behavior towards the Khans.  The horrible fact is, we are seeing him re-define the limits of Republican discourse.  The most avid partisans will simply assimilate his rhetoric and positions. Attacking veterans will now be cool (although that's not a new thing among Republicans - See their treatment of John Kerry and Max Cleland in 2004.)

The reason that almost no GOP politicians showed up in Cleveland is because they know Trump could destroy them personally in years to come.  Video of you endorsing Trump will not disappear.

But as Trump goes further and further off the deep end - and he's going to keep going, he can't help himself - when do prominent Republicans finally say, "Enough is enough?"

At what point do they put their country above their party and their re-election bids?

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