A crack in the Republican wall?

[PJMcK]

In order to keep from being trapped in a bubble or echo chamber of Democratic thinking, from time to time I'll read columnists and editorials from the opposite political side. I avoid the crazy and the fringes but will read the National Review and the NY Post among a few others.

"Burning Down His House" by Greg Weiner is on the National Review's site and discusses a traditional view of Conservatism and how Trump and his supporters have abandoned the underlying principles that formed their ideology. By no means am I supporting his point of view but it's instructive to hear other, sober viewpoints.

The most interesting aspect of the essay- and the reason I thought to share it- is that Mr. Weiner doesn't make any policy pronouncements. He expresses a long-term view of our country and her history and writes in dismay at how Trump has become our nation's first Kardashian president. He describes the traditional, fundamental ideals of Conservatism and calls on Republicans to examine their support for Trump who doesn't follow a single one of those principles.

This is the final paragraph:

"It is true, to be sure, that politics requires the suppression of particular preferences for the good of the group. So does patriotism. If the argument was that Never Trumpers should forgo their opposition to Trump for the good of the party, surely there is a point at which the supposed good of the party must be considered in light of the good of the country. The latter cannot be served by a president this reckless. Trump’s escapades — from the intelligence-leaking to what was all but, and perhaps was, obstruction of justice — have run out the clock on the dualism between the supposedly conservative agenda and the obviously unconservative disposition. It is time to reckon."

Could we be seeing the beginning of the cracking of the Republican wall?

The entire piece is here:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447746/donald-trump-self-inflicted-wounds-conservative-cognitive-dissonance-untenable

[luvMIdog]

1. 'Kardashian president' - that's a good one really

[mindfulNJ]

2. Hopefully

Read the comments after though...Trump really has to eat a live baby in front of them to sway them.

[DarthDem]

3. Well-Written

Both the linked piece and your comments. Great idea about avoiding an echo-chamber effect.

They're hedging their bets a bit but yeah, they do seem to be pretty resigned to Dump, uh, resigning. Eventually.

[PJMcK]

6. Thanks

The Republicans are definitely suffering. Good. They're un-American.

They'll get rid of Trump as soon as they see their own prospects going up in smoke. I wonder how far the Russian connections go into the Republican leadership. Are McConnell and Ryan or anyone else involved?

[MountCleaners]

4. The problem is that Trump supporters...

...are emotionally driven and anti-intellectual. They feel threatened by stuff like the National Review. The conservative arguments against Trump are too sophisticated for them.

Pundits left, right and center keep chiding us for "judging" these people, but I don't think they go on pro-Trump forums and actually read what the Trump defenders are saying. They don't like political philosophy. They really don't like to think. Trying to be "nice" is hindering us from recognizing the obvious: we are dealing with a mass psychological problem where rational thought is threatening.

Some of the Trump defenders I've encountered don't think of themselves as "conservative". One of them is in Bikers for Trump and supports same-sex marriage! Yes it's nuts, but a lot of them think they are being rebellious.

I think people who publish articles chiding people for their "insensitivity" toward Trump supporters are out of touch with what we are truly dealing with.

[PJMcK]

7. "...a mass psychological problem where rational thought is threatening. "

Great point, MountCleaners! That is the result of the Republicans' decades-long destruction of our public education system.

[mercuryblues]

5. for decades

the republican followers have been fed a diet sprinkled with hate. The so traditional republican politicians encourages and cheered it. If you listen to the followers, they actually don't care about policies as long as they can stick it to Democrats. Trump's election is the culmination of the lies and hate they have been sucking up like an aardvark eats ants.

Sounds like Weiner has buyers remorse