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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans want to draw the line now, after normalizing racism and bigotry with every Trump gaffe
...every outrage they ignored or dismissed to support Trump in this campaign. THIS is what outrages them, above all else?
How likely is it that they didn't already know of the depths of Trump's vulgarity and abusiveness toward women? How is it they missed the rape charges; the sexual assault charges and settlements; the endless stream of vulgarities Trump committed to Twitter...?
Does this uprising of theirs mean all of the rest of Trump's nonsense was acceptable to them?
Or, could it be they've really been embarrassed and appalled, all along, that Trump is their standard-bearer and were just waiting for a seminal moment like this AH video to galvanize their opposition and fall in behind the rest of the civilized and mature world in denouncing the serial misogynist?
Tell you what, I'm not here to shield Trump supporters too stupid and craven to stand up to this loser from the consequences of their reckless politics. Republicans compromise our values like this every day. Pretending to care now is far too late, and too little, to redeem their hollow party.
Oh, and good luck changing horses this late in the contest...
Andrew S. Ginsburg ?@GinsburgJobs 2h2 hours ago New York, NY
It is too late for the GOP to rid itself of the Trump stench http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-hot-mic_us_57f85ea9e4b0b6a4303277b6?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004
via @HuffPostPol
The GOP has limited, if any, options to replace Trump on the ballot and they all depend on him actually choosing to quit. But regardless of what happens, it cannot cleanse itself of his stench. At last not yet.
In all likelihood, a cleanse wasnt available even by the time that Graham urged his fellow Republicans to jump ship. After all, when the South Carolina Republican made that plea, Trump had already called Mexican immigrants rapists, proposed a full ban of Muslims entering the United States, and had a well-known reputation as a misogynist. To have taken an off-ramp then would have been to imply that those prior moments didnt rise to the status of disqualifying.
Since Grahams comments, its been only more of the same. Trump publicly started a fight with a Gold Star family (questioning whether the mother of a fallen soldier had been forbidden from speaking because of her religion). He retweeted a blatantly anti-Semitic image. He accused the current president of founding the so-called Islamic State, suggested that gun enthusiasts take out Hillary Clinton, and called a Miss Universe winner fat ― and then later defended himself by saying that she was indeed fat. It was revealed he had likely not paid federal income taxes for 18 years and he publicly stoked the birther conspiracy theory before delivering a half-hearted disavowal.
In prior campaigns, each of these moments would have individually proved catastrophic. But if Trump showed one political gift, it was in his ability to move on from calamity, even if it meant stepping into the next. When elected Republicans didnt withdraw their endorsements, they not only helped normalize this behavior, they weaved it into the partys image. By the time they got around to expressing horror at his hot-mic moment, it rang painfully hollow...
That stench? Its not new. You just couldnt smell it anymore.
read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-hot-mic_us_57f85ea9e4b0b6a4303277b6?
related:
Donald Trumps Comments About Groping Women Are The Least-Surprising Thing Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-groping-misogny-history_us_57f84c00e4b068ecb5dea118?
C_U_L8R
(45,025 posts)He actually had it right by not jumping on the Trump train.
But with his recent capitulation, he looks like an even bigger sad clown.
bigtree
(86,008 posts)...again.
Mitt's still ready; Kasich's still sitting upright in his chair; and Graham is drafting a petition to draft himself, based on how consistently he's clucked his tongue throughout this election.