Why Trump? Here Is One Reason…

I saw a good piece by Will Rahn the other day entitled, Why #NeverTrump Failed, and while I don’t agree with all of Mr. Rahn’s conclusions about Donald Trump, I thought he was spot-on in his diagnosis as to why the GOP failed to derail the Trump juggernaut.

Will Rahn, CBS News:

Let’s say you’re reading an article about a man who raised a pit bull for the purpose of entering it in dogfights. He teaches it to be mean, to attack mercilessly. He makes it strong, feeds it red meat. And then one day this pit bull mauls him. Would you have any sympathy for that man?

This is not a charitable way of looking at the conservative #NeverTrump movement, but it’s what I keep returning to when I think about why it’s been so unsuccessful. It’s a movement led by conservative opinion leaders, media personalities, and Republican consultants — the people who really run the GOP, or at least did before Donald Trump came along. The base they’ve stoked has turned on them, and they’re upset. But they’d be a lot more sympathetic if they’d cop to the fact that they are largely responsible for his rise. [read it here]

Here is just one small example of what I believe Mr. Rahn is referring to when he indicts the mainstream GOP establishment in the Trump phenomenon, albeit probably not specifically what he had in mind.

Fox News (speaking of the devil):

Judge Rules Kansas Cannot Require Citizenship Proof to Vote

WICHITA, Kan. –  A judge said Tuesday that Kansas can’t require people to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections at motor vehicle offices.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled that the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements likely violate a provision in the National Voter Registration Act that requires only “minimal information” to determine a voter’s eligibility. She ordered Kansas to register thousands of voters whose paperwork is on hold because they did not comply with the requirement. …

In other words, as it stands right now you don’t necessarily have to be a U.S. citizen to vote in Kansas.

For further background you can go here and here.

(It may be noteworthy to add that, until very recently, anyone applying for a driver’s license in that great bastion of right-wing fascism California, had to provide either a birth certificate or documentation of legal residence.)

Now, here is the rub, to pull a tired quote from the Bard.

According to Wikipedia:

Robinson was nominated to be a United States District Judge by President George W. Bush on September 10, 2001, to a seat vacated by George Thomas Van Bebber. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 2001, and received her commission on December 13, 2001.

And no doubt approved by Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Bob Corker, Mitch McConnell and every other establishment Republican (and some actual conservatives) under our multi-trillion dollar Dome.

Maybe not the best example for “Why Trump?” but certainly a good exemplar of how the GOP lost the confidence of its base and why a “Say Anything” populist shoplifted it, walking away. No offense to Mr. Trump or his supporters, among whom I now include myself.

In summation…

Donald Trump is what happens when Republicans mate with Democrats.

File Under: RINO-Plasty, The Wrong Right Turn