Mr. Trump may just have — finally — sunk his own battleship. Fittingly ironic, that he did it all to himself — by echoing his primary season attack, on another war hero. [He should by now know that what won him the primaries — will undo him — in the general. But he is not that self-aware. It is all better for the Democrats — but bad, for our nation.]
He continues to tweet — as late as Monday morning (from last Wednesday’s event) that the family of Capt. Khan has (in some mysterious way) “viciously attacked” him. In Trump’s Alternate Universe, telling someone they are wrong is a vicious attack, I guess. In Mr. Trump’s Universe, there is no debate — not even about his on-the-record positions, for example, banning Muslims from the US.
Now that Mr. Trump has tripled down — on his attacks of the Khan family, Sen. McCain has risen, and as ever, stood tall — to speak forcefully, on the family’s behalf, and as a former POW, in Vietnam. Here is the NYT, on it this morning:
…Mr. McCain, a war hero whose service and capture in Vietnam was also once derided by Mr. Trump, had stayed largely silent over the weekend as Mr. Trump’s feud with the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan brewed, waiting until Monday morning to release a prepared statement.
“In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier’s parents,” he wrote of the parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan. “He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States — to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump’s statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates.”
Reverence for the military has been at the core of Mr. McCain’s career — he was his party’s nominee in 2008 and serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee — and he has a close allegiance to families of those killed in conflict. Mr. McCain is now in a tough re-election battle in his home state of Arizona….
“In the end, I am morally bound to speak only to the things that command my allegiance, and to which I have dedicated my life’s work: the Republican Party, and more important, the United States of America. I will not refrain from doing my utmost by those lights simply because it may benefit others with whom I disagree. I claim no moral superiority over Donald Trump. I have a long and well-known public and private record for which I will have to answer at the Final Judgment, and I repose my hope in the promise of mercy and the moderation of age. I challenge the nominee to set the example for what our country can and should represent….”
Well-said. But now it is time for the true conservatives of the GOP to rescind their endorsements of Mr. Trump. And for those who have not yet endorsed him — it is time to declare that the party will not be run by a tyrant in a fancy suit and pompador.
It is my firm opinion that HRC will now win — and win handily — in November (she’s getting a nice post convention bounce, and will never look back) — with or without the GOP leaders doing “the right thing”.
But it is the soul of the GOP that is now at stake. It will no longer exist, in this form, after November, unless its leadship begins to stand more on principle, and less on odious pragmatism. Your nomiee will lose. Will you insist on losing the whole party — with him?
Powerline Lies... 