Sunday, February 14, 2016

Matthew Yglesias — Trump finally went too far for Republicans

Donald Trump finally made some bold and provocative claims that were largely true, and the Republican Party finally closed ranks to attack him.
Saying Mexican immigrants are rapists didn't do it. Calling for a return of torture didn't do it. Calling for a ban on Muslim immigration didn't do it. Raising questions about Barack Obama's status as an American citizen didn't do it. Pretending that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheered 9/11 didn't do it.
So what did it? Trump said that invading Iraq was a disaster, that the country was mislead into invading Iraq by the Bush administration, and that the claim that Bush kept the country safe from terrorism is ridiculous because 9/11 happened on his watch.
It was a bizarre and telling moment, in which the battered forces of the Republican establishment finally picked themselves up off the floor specifically in order to defend some of its least-defensible conduct of the 21st Century.…
Trump lays it on the line and the GOP freaks out:
"They lied," Trump said, "they said there were weapons of mass destruction and there were none. And they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass destruction."
Trump is one rude dude.
"While Donald Trump was building a reality TV show," Jeb Bush retorted, "my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe. And I'm proud of what he did."
Then Trump cut in with his uppercut: "The World Trade Center came down during your brother's reign. Remember that?"
Enter Marco Rubio:
According to Rubio, the president to blame for 9/11 was not the president who was in office on 9/11, it was the guy who left office nine months earlier. "The World Trade Center came down because Bill Clinton didn’t kill Osama bin Laden when he had the chance to kill him."
The audience loved this, and were mightily displeased when Trump observed: "George Bush had the chance, also, and he didn't listen to the advice of his C.I.A."
Get out the popcorn. This is going to be an entertaining election cycle.

VOX
Trump finally went too far for Republicans
Matthew Yglesias

6 comments:

Matt Franko said...

SC audience was stuffed with anti-Trump people...

Malmo's Ghost said...

Trump has been saying this long before last evening.

...and, Matt, the event was stacked with RNC big money donors as you say. Establishment hacks all the way. Rubio was cheered loudly by 90% of the audience when he only has about 10% of the electorate in SC. No one is fooled, however.

Matt Franko said...

"GOP freaks out"

Tom, Trump is running away with the nomination... so how can it be that "GOP freaks out"????

Trump is simply pointing out Ws lack of competency when he blew off the career intel pros who warned him something was afoot in the early days ... he waved them off with the "ok you covered your ass" dismissal...

To Trump, its all about competency and results... he knows how to hold people accountable vs. the results...

Tom Hickey said...

All true. And the GOP Establishment has been endeavoring to blame 9/11 on Clinton and the Iraq debacle and ISIS on Obama. Saint George had nothing to do with it in their revision of history. To suggest otherwise is blasphemy. This is core dogma for them.

Trump is calling them on it and "they" are beside themselves over it. We haven't heard the end of this by a long shot. Trump is hit a nerve with it and he smells blood.

Moreover, it's not just about competency and results. Trump called them out over the lies. That is incendiary.

Matt Franko said...

He is hitting Cruz with Evangelicals on the "lies" issue too...

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/698661220258357248

"He holds the Bible high and then lies and misrepresents the facts!"

Ad he doesnt need ALL the Evangelicals in the Primaries....

Matt Franko said...

Salon decent analysis:

"If Trump can blame 9-11 on establishment icon George W. Bush and then win the South Carolina primary, then we’ll know that the old Republican Party just doesn’t exist anymore. If that doesn’t sink his campaign, then nothing will, and he will be the GOP nominee. "

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/14/trump_and_drudge_for_the_win_again_matt_drudges_army_is_bigger_than_the_rncs/

Democracy is working in the GOP.... Democrat side completely corrupt....