Donald Trump is a buffoon. He utters such inane dogma that is difficult to listen to such stupidity. He is like that drunk at a cocktail party, loud, boisterous, in love with his own voice that will not shut up. The embarrassment would be entertaining if it were not so serious. The attention paid to him by the media, the electorate makes a person wonder and worry about the state of the national mental health.
During the McCarthy hearings there was a great exchange during the proceedings with a phase that is has always stood out. It is applicable to Mr. Trump.
“You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
I would add, do you not have any sense of shame? Do you not care about what you say? Do you not think that words have consequences? Do you not have any compass of right and wrong? Do you not care about national discourse?
Mr. Trump is a narcistic entertainer. A cartoon. He deliberately says and proposes outrageous things to focus attention on himself. But he is immune to ridicule, impervious to statements by serious people. I find this amazing. I hear this guy talk and it looks like he has no idea what he is saying. How can this be?
Mr. Trump exists for a couple of reasons. The first is that political discourse has become just nasty. While, confrontational and negative politics has been around from the beginning of democracy, it has flourished under our current President.
Mr. Obama sowed contempt for those that disagreed with him since he entered office. Remember the comment that “elections have consequences”. He has demonized and belittled everyone who does not do what he thinks is best. He has gone out of his way to exclude other views, to ignore the democratic process. He is a small-minded and narrow person.
His administration wired tapped the press and the IRS abused conservative groups without consequences. The patterns of deliberate deception on issues like Benghazi and the constant lecturing have eroded the trust in government. Excessive, exhaustive abuses of regulatory actions on a vast range of issues spanning immigration to the environment have angered a wide swath of citizens. No need to find consensus, just do not question. When he tries to act sincere, it does not connect. People are just not listening to him anymore. The list goes on and on.
Trump also exists because the flood of illegal aliens and the prospect of more to come from everywhere frustrates and angers a large segment of the country. The threat- and now actual- terrorism has people scared. The perception is that Mr. Obama simply does not care, has done little to address these issues and does about whatever he wants unchecked by a timid Congress. This lack of leadership has created a world for the Trumps to emerge. Calling those that disagree racist, bigots and un-American does not help.
So, there is a vacuum and Trumpism has become the rallying point for the frustration, the anger, the fear, the uncertainly, the vagaries of life, the unhappiness and shallow celebrity mentality. He preys on the worst in people.
I deplore the venom and devisiness that has come for the mouth of President as much as I deplore the venom coming from Mr. Trump. Neither person really cares for the country but for different reasons. Mr. Obama is a globalist ideologue with his own vision of the world, but Mr. Trump only cares about himself.
In spite of the fact, I do not think Mr. Trump could exist without the tone set by Mr. Obama. Other national leaders have also not been “profiles in courage”. Nothing can be done about Mr. Obama. Time will rid us of his arrogance. However, something can be done about Mr. Trump and I think it is time to say to Mr. Trump, have you no decency, no shame, no common sense? Maybe we already know the answer.
Make no mistake; Donald Trump is not a conservative. He cannot be defined, as there is nothing there to define. I believe he will fade once the voting starts. However, if he is the nominee, his candidacy will not only damage the Republican Party, it will destroy it, taking down a good portion of it along the way and thus, squandering an electoral opportunity that does not come along very often.