GOP’s self-made Trump dilemma: Understanding the monster of their own creation

[TomCADem]

Nice article that underscores how the GOP's efforts to topple Trump is to hide the fact that he "tell it like it is" with respect to the racist policies that the GOP pursues.

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/04/gops_self_made_trump_dilemma_understanding_the_monster_of_their_own_creation/

And as Greg Sargent has been diligently pointing out, there’s a more satisfying explanation for why Trump is so stubbornly popular among Republican base voters: they really like his anti-immigrant proposals and promises to deport all undocumented immigrants. The latest CNN poll of the Republican primary bears this out. It found that 53 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of conservatives, and 52 percent of self-identified Tea Party supporters believe the government “should attempt to deport all people currently living in the country illegally.” Strong pluralities of all three groups also believe that deporting all the immigrants will help the U.S. economy. This lines up perfectly with what Trump proposes, which may also explain why 48 percent of those polled say Trump is the best candidate to handle immigration.

Even if this doesn’t end up translating into a Trump nomination, it’s still a huge problem for the GOP, given its oft-repeated concerns about expanding the party’s demographic appeal beyond old, angry white people. Republicans and conservatives may soothe themselves with the idea that voters will eventually abandon Trump, but any attempt to explain why he’s risen in the first place would require the GOP to confront the unpleasant truth that they took an active role in creating this monster.

As Trump endures in the polls, I think more and more about the political significance of the child migrant crisis of the summer of 2014. With the midterm elections coming up and the GOP poised to make gains, the thousands of unaccompanied minors coming across the southern border offered a ripe opportunity to demagogue on immigration and bite back against some of Barack Obama’s executive orders granting deportation relief. The House GOP took full advantage and passed legislation that would have expedited deportations of children crossing the border, and separate legislation that would have ended the White House’s deferred-action program for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. They targeted people who had nothing to do with the migrant crisis as part of a broader message that the Republican policy position was “throw ‘em all out.”

That ugly display was followed up by a government-funding fight in which Republicans in the House and Senate threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland Security if Obama didn’t roll back is executive orders halting deportations for certain classes of undocumented immigrants. There was no chance of either of these legislative gambits working. They were all about sending a message: deport everyone.

[Wednesdays]

1. What's amazing is

that this article came out December 4, and it took until March 3 before the GOP really got serious about stopping Trump. Indeed, the Republican Establishment knew Trump was a threat months or even years before this article was even conceived, yet merely equivocated over him. I believe that's because all along Trump has been saying what most Goopers are thinking, but are inhibited from coming right out with it. Now that it's possible for him to demolish the establishment, they're pulling out all the stops against him. It's far too little, far too late.

[TomCADem]

2. Have They Got Serious? They Would Still Support Him...

I would have far more respect if they said that if the party nominates this racist meglomaniac to be our standard bearer, then I have no business being in this party. Likewise, stop apologizing for the voters who are voting for him. Don't say, "oh, they have every right to be angry." No, they are being racist, and they should be ashamed for buying this racist B.S. that Fox News has been trafficing in.