Jonah Goldberg expresses the feelings many of us share when fellow Republicans tell us we will ‘Come Around’ to supporting Trump. There are times when we are called by a higher power and higher morals than the Republican party.
ANGER ISN’T ENOUGH
It seems pretty obvious to me that the rage I hear from Trump supporters when I say they’re wrong stems from a kind of insecurity or resentment. Simply put, they want to be validated. It’s an awfully similar response to what we hear constantly on college campuses from the delicate little flowers who say they don’t want debate, they want empowerment. It turns out that many of the mental habits we mock and ridicule on the left have ample purchase on the right as well. This revelation, along with several others, has been painful but useful.
The Trump candidacy has been a like a dye marker, highlighting traits and inclinations on the right I didn’t appreciate or acknowledge. I’m grateful for the lesson, though I can’t say I’m glad I had to learn it.
Many of us at yesterday’s 10th district convention witnessed that anger first hand when Trump supporters yelled profanities and vulgarities at our candidates during their speeches. I would never want to be associated with people like them.
Goldberg poses a question about all this anger that is driving the Trump supporters,
How many times have you been justifiably angry in your own life yet still let your anger lead you to a bad decision?
An excellent question that I hope all Trumpians will ask themselves.
30 comments
Trump supporters are a lot more than just angry. They are ignorant and unprincipled … and willing to sacrifice the Senate, the Supreme Court, and God knows how many down-ballot candidates if their juvenile megalomaniac is not anointed.
Folks get real and stop following Cruz’s Alinsky strategy. Lying to voters in Iowa, lying to voters in Hawaii.Shear hyprocrisy. Cruz holds a bible in the air like he is a pastor and then does numerous un Christian behavior like adultery,lying, etc but somehow he is the moralist on the ticket!
If you want to act like some big babies and say no to Trump because he won’t play in your sandbox that is OK. A No Trump or a No Cruz means a Yes Hillary. I don’t want to hear any complaints from those that say they won’t vote for Trump if he is the nominee and Hillary wins. At that point you got the government you deserved. If you want Hillary to decide who sits on the Supreme Court because you thru a temper tantrum and are angry at Trump for winning the nomination you will regret that decision.
Trump will beat Cruz in NY by over 40%. He will beat Cruz in Pa, Md, and Delaware, and onto the nomination in spite of Cuccinelli attempts to undermine the process.
Now let the arrows fly!!!
This sort of angry list of false stories is why Goldberg and I believe Trump will split the Republican party irreparably. It is accusing everyone else of what the Trumpeters are doing. “Now let the arrows fly!!!” Who in the vast pool of ordinary citizens would be other than revolted at this cry for jihad?
It hasn’t been Cruz lying… that would be your guy.
I am not against those who aren’t capable of thinking for themselves parroting their betters. But you should be careful whom you parrot. In parroting Trump, you simply parrot lies and betray yourself as uninformed. Find someone whom you really know, really trust, and whom you’re really sure is more informed than you are and then parrot her. We’ll all be better off then.
Everything you said about Cruz is a BIG LIE. Goebbels would be proud.
I fear Goldberg is correct. Another blogger recently said Trump has a sizeable following within the Republican Party that really detests the Republican Party as much as it detests the Democratic Party. Much of the rest of the Republican Party detests Trump. In Virginia about 65% voted AGAINST Trump. Trump is drawing in people outside the Republican Party that also detest the Republican Party. Now Trump is accusing the Republican Party of rampant corruption. Republican leadership in Congress has very few allies due to its leadership vacuum.. In the end Trump’s candidacy will rip the Republican Party asunder and a new Party will need to be built from the wreckage. It is inconcieveable that new Party would be built on a Trump model. In the meantime all these angry people will allow a terrible Democrat to give us the third term of Obama no matter who ultimately wins the nomination.
Well said. It’s a lose-lose-lose situation for the Republican party.
Did they vote against Trump or just in the paid for back pocket of Rubio ?
Check the scoreboard TRUMP WON VA.
There are only to people that understand illegal alien employment in Va ; Trump and sorry to say Terry McAuliffe.
Head Cruz supporter Boyer can’t even articulate this to local Reps inspite of a law degree , to bad republicans do not understand tiered contracting either.
Check out Lynchburgs News and Advance April 14 titled ; They owe the community an apology.
They approved rezoning of property for apartments , will they be built by illegal alien / unlicensed contractors ? like these in Boyers Republican Districts http://watchdog.org/202012/subcontractors-shadow-economy-
Darn Do Nothing Republicans , for Petes sake a Democrat Terry McAuliffe is doing more than you. At some point you will have to Govern not just cut budgets. End Va.’s ” Shadow Economy ” and expand the base , duh , a little enforcement will go along way.
Will McAuliffe’s enforcement carry him to VP and Va to Hilliary ? Yes if Trump is not the nominee because they are just budget cutters { not a bad thing , but that is all }. Where have R’s Governed in ending illegal employment in Va ? Not where Cruz kicked off his campaign { 200 violations } A VP McAuliffe will pick this area apart through his knowledge the employee misclassification task force is producing.
This is in NO WAY ALL THESE PEOPLE’S FAULT.
What kind of leadership don’t float ?
Apparently Republican Leadership !
The VA primary split almost equally into thirds. Trump squeaked out a small victory over Rubio and the rest of the candidates made up the other third. That’s about 2/3 voting against Trump in an open primary where Trump claims to have garnered unprecedented supports from people outside the Republican Party, meaning within the Republican Party he got less than 1/3 support. . We’re talking about a primary to select a Republican candidate for the General election. Goldberg is correct that Trump’s candidacy means a major split and probably a new, weaker Republican Party. Cruz has a proven record of fighting the party leadership on principle. As President he would become the head of the Republican Party and could reform it without destroying it. Trump would simply destroy it, leaving the very difficult task of creating a new Party from the wreckage.
The Republican party is not weaker because of Trump.
The Republican Party is WEAK because they have been an active player in the growth of illegal immigration , they have lacked the moral and testecular fortitude to combat it , therefore the vast amount of Trump support including me.
Here’s the problem. Cruz has been on your side all along but you won’t see it. Trump didn’t start the discussion about illegal immigration. It had been going on for years, but there is a stunningly short memory at work here. Trump just was brazen and excited people for that reason, closing minds to the real history. Somehow Trumpeters can say almost in the same sentence that Cruz “is hated by everyone in the establishment” and “Cruz is the establishment’s candidate”. Listen to your talking points people. They don’t add up.
On Immigration you are correct ; ” it has been going on for years ” and all the while the complicit R’s have chose to take the contributions and sit on their non-working hands. I have met whith many R’s and D’s .
I hold a letter from then Candidate McAuliffe stating ; ” when we are elected in Nov. , and we will I look forward to enforcing these laws.
Once again http://watchdog.org/202012/subcontractors-shadow-economy-
200 Violations in the districts of Republicans : Congressman Hurt , Congressman Goodlatte , Va. Senator Newman , Del. Byron and the NON- representating BE commentor Rick Boyer { American ? Drywall }
Terry McAuliffe for Petes sake is one of 2 elected officials in Virginia wanting and enforcing the LAW !
If Cruz DID NOT STAND up to loopholles in Texass Employee Misclassification Legislation is a perfect ingdicator he will not STAND UP to ILLEGAL Employment on a National level. Sorry i know that the truth hurts , I am still pulling the blade of the Republicans out of my and my families back today.
I can list the rapist , drug dealers child molesters and many more here in Va. with Va. issued violations.
There is no moral or testicular fortitude from Va. Republicans on this issue at all if so please inlighten me , they are just budget cutters and darn sure DO NOT enforce Va. Law when given the elected opportinity. Republicans should be happy of Trump numbers , but will throw these votes away.
I don’t understand why you think Trump has this “testicular fortitude” you are calling for, ameri, especially on the issue of illegal immigration. Below is an article from 2012, in which he called Romney’s suggestion that illegals self-deport “maniacal” and “mean-spirited,”
In a similar article that year, also below, Trump is quoted as saying we need, ““to take care of this incredible problem that we have with respect to
immigration, with respect to people wanting to be wonderful productive
citizens of this country,”
So I don’t get it. Trump’s been all over the place on all issues — illegal immigration, ObamaCare, big government control of education, abortion, gay marriage. Where is this testicular fortitude in Trump? What in his behavior or politics shows this determination to unyieldingly follow a set of political principles?
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/trump-romneys-crazy-policy-of-self-deportation-cost-votes-084238
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Donald-Trump-Ronald-Kessler/2012/11/26/id/465363/
You’ve hit on an amazing phenomenon. Trump supporters spout all the talking points that ignore the hard work by Cruz over the years fighting against illegal immigration while simultaneously ignoring all the recent Trump positions that are directly opposed to what they are most would like to see. It’s as if when Trump said “build a wall” all thinking stopped and is frozen in a tiny time warp.
I’m guessing most of it is about the image Trump’s projecting, Bert. I was listening to Limbaugh not long ago and a caller said he’d taken his son to a Trump rally, and how proud he was that his son got to see a man who owned a 757 with his name on it. And Trump’s got a tower named after himself, and a hot, third wife who wears a lot of gold. Many people apparently respond to those surface things. Perhaps because they want that lifestyle for themselves, want to be rich, too? I don’t know.
Ugh.
Cruz was not a legislator in Texas so had no control over that, if your claim is even correct (did it come from CTH)?
IMHO you are betraying the one guy, Cruz, who has stood up for your interests by going to DC to fight the establishment, He has given his all for you and this is how you repay it.
Worse than that, you are betraying the Constitution, conservatism, and the country with your progressive populism.
A large chunk of Cruz supporters also dislike the GOP.
From a conservative/libertarian perspective the party has done little to nothing over the past 10-20 years to differentiate themselves from the Democrats.
Democrat-lite just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
All true. However, there is a difference between Trump supporters and Cruz supporters.The Trump supporters will candidly tell you that they don’t know what Trump will do but they are sure he will turn the placed upside down. Practically speaking, that means remaking the party in Trumps own image. Whatever that is is OK because it will take out the current Republican Party that is considered beyond repair.
Cruz supporters believe that will simply elect Hillary and perhaps many more Democrats because so many people have an extremely unfavorable view of Trump. He has much, much higher favorability deficits than any other candidate. Cruz supporters want to build on the recent Republican victories around the country, remove the offending leadership individuals, and enact a conservative agenda with solid Republican values. Turning the place upside down would not accomplish that goal of real reform.
The image of “the will of the people” used by Trump is illusory. Before today’s primary in NY Trump has garnered less than 40% of the Republican votes. Even if he tops 50% of Republicans in his home state, NY Republicans represent 28% of the state’s electorate. Cruz was part of a large field that garnered over 60% of the votes against Trump.
All the anger and the “anything that punishes the Republican “establishment” rage driving the Trump campaign may succeed in giving him the nomination. Whichever way it goes the Republican candidate may be what gets turned upside down. Mary Matalin this week was asked if she thought denying Trump the nomination would “blow up” the Republican Party. She said, “It is already blown up” because the Republican Party hasn’t been true to conservatives.
TDS is unfortunately alive and still kicking at TBE.
From what I’ve seen – esp in the 10th District – Cruz-supporters have no lock on ethics or integrity.
And I’m being nice.
Really? No Cruz supporter was spouting profanities or vulgarities during the convention yesterday. Nor were the booing and causing a scene. Trump supporters were do all of that. I get that they’re angry, but that’s no excuse for being rude and vulgar.
Maybe they were rude and vulgar because they were slated out of a district where Trump outscored Cruz by 2 to 1? But not to worry, Cruz will get his slating out in Cleveland.
They were VOTED out.
Since the primary there has been a lot of buyers’ remorse on Trump. Not to mention the fact that Democrats crossed over to put him over the top. A convention, however, is a Republican thing, and most actual Republicans want Cruz now.
Everything was run aboveboard and the way it’s always done. Trump delegates were well aware of the process – heck, DelGaudio and Lind are complete insiders in the 10th District GOP. Lind used to run the thing! Jaggers and Chase were up to speed too. They just couldn’t get enough people to support their candidate Trump.
No one was slated out of anything. It was a straight vote by about 1000 people. Trump and Cruz supporters were equally vocal at the convention, but there were a lot of quiet people there also – and they quietly supported Cruz, probably because of all the intimidation tactics employed by Trump surrogates across the country. I will say for the record though that I saw no intimidation by 10th CD Trump people.
If Trumpism is the future of the republican party, I’m not interested. #NeverTrump
I am sorry you had to deal with that incivility. That is one of the parts of the Trump phenomenon that i hate the most… his supporters follow his lead and act like Democrats.
Thank you. Security was called and the offenders were told to either stop yelling obscenities or leave. Who would have thought that necessary at a Republican convention in Virginia.
What my friend is going through in Georgia at the hands of Trump supporters makes my heart hurt, all because she nominated a successful alternative to a Trump delegate. Funny thing is I’ve been defending these zorts of folks for years against charges from the left that they’re dangerous. Now I’m eating plenty of crow served up by my liberal friends.
These reality show wannabes are not Republicans at all, and don’t care two hoots and a holler about the values embodied in the Republican Creed. If Trump doesn’t get the nomination, they are gone. Principles are not their thing.