Editorials
Establishment
Republicans Shoot At Trump -- And Hit Themselves In The Foot
8/09/2016
8/09/2016
2016 Election: Republicans seem to
like nothing more than kicking one of their own when he's down. So it's not entirely
surprising that dozens of Republicans decided that now is the time to declare
Donald Trump unfit for office. But in doing so, they've made themselves, not
Trump, look like idiots.
One reason for the
rise of Trump is, arguably, the anger at the fact
that so many establishment Republicans refuse to attack Democrats with the same
vigor as they attack their own. Now
that Trump's poll numbers are slipping and his campaign is in disarray, they
are at it once again.
First came a
blistering letter signed by 50 officials who've served in various national
security capacities in past GOP administrations. "None of us," they
said, "will vote for Donald Trump."
They say Trump
"lacks character, values and experience," has "little
understanding of America's vital national interests" and "lacks the
temperament to be president."
Fair enough. We
haven't been shy in our criticism of Trump, particularly on foreign policy
matters, either.
But many of
the examples these erstwhile Republicans provide to back up their decision apply
as much to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as to Trump.
The authors complain
that "despite his lack of knowledge," Trump "claims that he
understands foreign affairs." Yet it was
greenhorn Obama who once bragged that "I know more about policies on any
particular issue than my policy directors."
These Republicans say
Trump "appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the U.S.
Constitution ... religious tolerance, freedom of the press." But they ignore the fact that Obama, with Hillary's full
knowledge and consent, has spent almost eight years running roughshod over the
Constitution, attacking religious freedom and intimidating the press.
They say Trump
"persistently compliments our adversaries and threatens our allies."
We could devote thousands of words providing examples of Obama committing this
sin.
So where were
these high-minded Republicans when Obama was running for president and
seeking re-election? Where was their blistering attack as Obama's
policies led to the decline of U.S. influence abroad, the rise of ISIS, an
increasingly aggressive Russia and China, and a soon-to-be nuclear-armed Iran? Their silence was deafening.
And how is it that
all these national security experts can bring themselves to say about Hillary
Clinton is that they "have doubts" about her?
Trump has serious
character flaws, to be sure, but Clinton has an actual
record of failure in just about everything she did as secretary of
state. And that's to say nothing of the cavalier
disregard for national security with her use of an unsecured private
email server while at State. Even the head of Obama's FBI
admitted that Clinton's recklessness likely put classified information
in the hands of our enemies.
If there's
anyone who, on national security grounds, is unquestionably
disqualified for the highest office, it is Clinton, not Trump. Yet these spineless
Republicans are either too afraid or too politically correct to say so.
Next came a statement
by Republicans who once headed the EPA and complain that Trump isn't sufficiency
liberal when it comes to the environment.
Trump "hasn't a
clue about Republicans' historic contributions to science-driven environmental
policy," write William Ruckelshaus and William Reilly, who ran the
EPA during the Nixon and George H.W. Bush administrations, respectively.
"We Republicans
should be shocked, outraged even, at the prospect that all this progress, this
legacy will be repudiated and rolled back by Donald Trump."
This is, to put it
charitably, sheer lunacy.
The EPA is the most
out-of-control, unaccountable, scientifically unmoored and economically
hazardous agency in the federal government. Under Obama, the courts have
repeatedly blocked the EPA's lawless power grabs. The latest is its
alleged climate-change-fighting "clean power" rule, which the
courts put on ice after two dozen states sued to stop it. Republicans should be
uniform in calling for this agency to be reined in, not showering it with
praise.
Constructive
criticism of any candidate is important. But there's a difference between
constructive criticism and the tawdry political opportunism on display
this week by Republicans who ought to know better.
