[quote=Rich Toscano]This is a good idea, to make such a list. I think you’re not the only one wondering this. Bill aka Calculated Risk wrote a blog post discussing the potential aftermath of supporting Trump, in which he said:
[quote]I believe we are seeing a Litmus Test moment right now, especially for Republicans. I believe, in a few years, whether someone supported Trump or not will make a difference in how people are perceived. This will make or break some political careers.[/quote]
Even before reading that post I had been thinking the same thing. To me, Trump personifies the worst aspects of our political discourse and of our culture as a whole. If someone endorses Trump, that implies to me either that they are putting partisan politics way above the public good, or that they are hopelessly misguided. I’m not sure which is worse, but it doesn’t really matter — I will never, ever vote for any politician who endorses Trump.
Based on this thread and CR’s post, others feel that way too. I would think a lot of people do, but obviously I’m not that great at predicting what other people will think, as I never would have thought a monster like him could get nearly this far.
However, I do know that it would be cool to have a resource where you could enter a politician’s or business person’s name and see if they endorsed Trump, and to what degree (reluctant vs. enthusiastic). If CR is right, maybe that will make an impact in the future, and maybe even make some good come out of this cluster-f of an election.[/quote]
Popular theme lately. And it’s not just wonks like Bill McBride that are saying it. The following is from James Fallows of The Atlantic:
[quote]As this goes on, it’s not really about Trump any more. We know exactly who and what he is. He’s a genuinely-charming-at-times salesman and schmoozer with sub-Palin-level knowledge of public affairs, more on a par with “Chauncey Gardiner” of Being There. He instantly knows all about the gorilla, and next-to-nothing about the international economy. This isn’t his fault. It’s who he is and what he does.
Nor do I think that a litany of Trump’s knowledge-holes or judgment-lapses will make any difference to his already-committed supporters. It’s part of what they like about him.
But the people who I hope are thinking about how they’ll look in history’s eyes, are the leaders of a major political party now lining up to declare this man acceptable. Not one of them can pretend later on that they didn’t know what they were signing on for.
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And only because this is both hilarious, and obvious, from Frank Rich at NY mag:
[quote] To understand how Trump has advanced to where he is now, and why he has been underestimated at almost every step, and why he has a shot at vanquishing Hillary Clinton in November, few road maps are more illuminating than Reagan’s unlikely path to the White House. One is almost tempted to say that Trump has been studying the Reagan playbook — but to do so would be to suggest that he actually might have read a book, another Trumpian claim for which there is scant evidence.[/quote]
