Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Dealing with the fallout

Last week I wrote about how the Donald Trump candidacy was made possible. I argued that there were a series of reasons that he was able to gain the nomination.
col-summerville.15_10142016.jpg

Last week I wrote about how the Donald Trump candidacy was made possible.

I argued that there were a series of reasons that he was able to gain the nomination. But I identified three critical factors as potent causes of Trump's rise: the decline of trust, the inability of American conservatives to articulate the value of their ideology and the decline of middle-class skill jobs. As I was writing the column I was unaware of the breaking news that was about to shatter the news cycle and bring new and very damaging information to light about Trump's character.

It is hard to know what to say. In fact it is hard to find anything to say that has not already been written and reported.

Unequivocally, it must be said that no one, no person, ever, under any circumstances should be touched without their permission.

Period.

That's it.

There is no excuse.

There is not a single justification that can be used to explain the comments made by Trump in the video. The idea that these remarks are simply "locker room" talk is absurd.

The fallout from the release of the video again highlights the troubling implosion of the Republican Party. The immediate withdrawal of support by many prominent Republicans was denounced as a "too little, too late" move.

Many people asked: "Why is this video the last straw when Trump has already crossed the line on so many issues?" In fact, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post used the camel analogy very effectively in his opinion column We Knew This Trump All Along. He wrote:

"What was on the 2005 video tape, first reported by The Post's indefatigable David A. Fahrenthold, was beyond what we've known before of Trump - that he grabs the genitals of women without their consent and tried mightily to seduce a married woman. But it's worse only by degrees. If this is the straw that broke the camel's back, this dromedary was already overburdened and suffering from arthritis, spinal stenosis and ruptured disks."

For many Republicans though it seems that they were willing to "hold their noses" and support Trump because their own political fates are so heavily linked with his political future. Republicans in Congressional races (for the House of Representatives and the Senate) appear to be between a rock and a hard place... they don't want to support Trump but they don't want to anger the Republican voters who do.

This fact was highlighted in a story by Johnathan Martin of the New York Times who reported on Wednesday that "Some in GOP who deserted Donald Trump over lewd tape are returning." He wrote:

"Stung by a fierce backlash from Donald J. Trump's ardent supporters, four Republican members of Congress who had made headlines for demanding that Mr. Trump leave the presidential race retreated quietly this week, conceding that they would still probably vote for the man they had excoriated just days before."

Without doubt the Republican Party is in turmoil. Paul Ryan's decision to revoke his endorsement of Trump to focus on the "down ticket" campaigns means that he has likely given up hope that the Republicans will win the White House. For political observers I would suggest that they should focus on the House and Senate races. The Republicans are counting on not losing the House majority as a way to stop the passing of any significant legislation that might be brought forward Hillary Clinton.

A year ago, when I decided to (mostly) focus my column on the U.S. election I never dreamed I would be writing about a major GOP crisis, but with only 23 days left until the election little surprises me anymore. The next presidential debate on Wednesday will be the last chance for there to be any substantive discussion about real policy change. I will certainly be watching.

I hope that readers will indulge me in mentioning that as I write today I am remembering my dad who died earlier this year and who would have been 86 today. He taught me a great deal especially about writing, jazz music and baseball. I miss him and his honest and thoughtful support and critique of this column.