Absolutely Deplorable
Plant a thought and reap a word;
plant a word and reap an action;
plant an action and reap a habit;
plant a habit and reap a character;
plant a character and reap a destiny.
IT IS RARE that we are given moments such as these in our political culture, an opportunity to reconcile one’s personal character to the public and private character of a politician.
Trump’s comments are universally being derided as being deplorable. One could not agree more. Any father with a daughter, any brother with a sister does more than wince at what has been caged as “locker room talk” by others.
At VMI, there are certain codas and phrases that are passed around as legend. A gentleman does not lie, cheat, or steal; nor does he associate with those who do. Another maxim? A gentleman does not talk about the merits or demerits of a lady.
Full stop.
As I told everyone once before, Wiener is a sick puppy who will never change-100% of perverts go back to their ways. Sadly, there is no cure
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2013
What is amazing at this point is the effort of Trump PR hacks to normalize what Trump has said. Thus far they have done this with a skill not seen since the homosexual lobby “normalized” gay marriage, and is trying to do so with transgenderism, gender fluidity (a concept as laughable as it sounds), and other sundry topics. Trump’s praetorian were already out using the word “pussy” without the slightest bit of shame, in much the same way as their candidate slandered Mexicans, immigrants, blacks in Chicago and elsewhere, Muslims of every background, fellow Republican candidates, and so forth.
In short, if we talk about it… we normalize it. There’s no science here, just a matter of breaking down taboos in the hopes that — once broken — the soft bigotry of lowered expectations kicks in.
In turn, it is completely fascinating (not to mention, terribly hypocritical) to watch the Democratic Party suddenly develop a taste for decorum and morality, especially 20 years after Cigars in the Oval Office: Clinton Edition. Sorry folks, far too late for that… once the bar is lowered, artificially raising it mid-jump seems as bit, well… obtuse.
Discovering too late that the Christian ethos actually imposed a sense of decorum, in its absence our leftist friends seem shocked an appalled that secular feminism cuts both ways. Just as it “liberated” women by asking them to become more like men and shed their own femininity, so too have men taken complete advantage of the shift, objectifying women as tools for sexual gratification.
After demolishing all the rules and decorum of Christian culture in America, the political left substitutes a cheap imitation of the same through Title IX tribunals, peer pressure, and public shaming. Rather than God, we get government to enforce the rules.
Here’s the thing we all forgot in the Great Cultural Leap Forward (sic) — things such as morality, honor, ethics — these are not things that can be imposed. Rules of morality and honor and ethics, these are all things we individually accept… not because we need to live by them because the rest of the world imposes it (and as our leftists friends would prefer), but rather because they preserve our own integrity:
“You follow the rules of war for you — not your enemy. You fight by rules to keep your humanity.”
— Franz Stigler, German WW II Ace (d. 2008)
That’s the superiority of the Christian ethic and Christian faith. We accept these rules, traditions, the faith because it preserves our integrity… not the integrity of “social justice” or any other mythical standard.
What Trump has successfully accomplished is that he has tapped into a very real concern of so many Americans. Our culture is falling apart, the long tradition of Americans identifying themselves by what they did is being eroded in a sea of “creative destruction” and disruptive technologies. Savings are down, debt is up, elites are living in a golden age while working class Americans live paycheck to paycheck as millions more newcomers happily do the work Americans used to do — and for far less.
That sentiment will never truly go away.
…but the answer to that sentiment is not Donald Trump. The answer to globalism is not nationalism, but federalism. The answer to declining manufacturing jobs is not to attack free trade, but to retrain and arm our workforce through educational development. The answer to racial division is not to choose a camp in a form of economic apartheid, but to develop free markets that extend equal opportunities and equal chances to every American regardless of background or economic status. The answer to incivility is not embracing it… but choosing to stand apart.
Look, no one is going to blame you for changing your mind on Trump. We find out new things about certain people every day… and it doesn’t make you irresolute, disloyal to principles, or any of that stuff. Better to be loyal to yourself… your honor, convictions, thoughts… and give the cause of human freedom another chance — a day in the sun.
Just not with Trump. To wit:
It’s not you. It’s him — and he is absolutely deplorable.
UPDATE: A reader helpfully adds:
As I said last night….he can pick on the disabled, Mexicans, Muslims, Syrian refugees, prisoners of war, a Miss Universe contestant, and the Pope, among others….and we’re okay with all that. What line did this cross that the rest didn’t???
That someone is willing to forgive all of that? Suggest a largeness of heart.
The distinction, of course, is the distinction between charity… and sunk cost. At some point, you have to recuse.
UPDATE x2: Another reader helpfully adds:
Trump wasn’t just talking – he was describing his own actions. He was bragging about how being a star have him the right to do anything. That’s not empty talk.
Leader of the Free World is one hell of a pickup line, right?
UPDATE x3: RNC Victory operations have come to a screeching halt, via POLITICO:
In an email from the RNC to a victory program mail vendor, with the subject line “Hold on all projects,” the committee asked the vendor to “put a hold” on mail production.
“Please put a hold/stop on all mail projects right now. If something is in production or print it needs to stop. Will update you when to proceed,” Lauren Toomey, a staffer in the RNC’s political department, wrote in an email that was obtained by POLITICO.
You’re talking hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars literally being put on hold, folks — with hundreds of thousands of dollars of art and production hanging on the printing presses.
Ouch.
UPDATE x4: Dave Brat chimes in with what has to be the most perplexing, backhanded, perhaps the most unethical thing I have ever read from a sitting congressman:
I am proud that Republicans do believe in ethics and make our positions clear at every turn. The left and the press is now in full attack mode claiming that Trump’s unethical remarks are disqualifying for the presidency, but that same ethical standard was not to be found when a sitting president acted out even more crudely in the Oval Office.
So lemme get this straight — ethics good, but he can’t bring himself to unequivocally condemn them without going for the “but the Democrats did this too!” line?
Utterly weak. For someone who claims to be a professor of ethics, Brat has none. Want to see ethics? Here is Rep. Barbara Comstock’s call for Trump to bow out of the race.
That’s ethics, Mr. Brat.
UPDATE x5: Pence throws his hands in the air:
“As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday,” the Indiana governor said in a statement.
“I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.”
Whether or not Pence will step away from the VP nomination remains to be seen… still, at some point, one’s continuing presence inside the tent dictates a certain form of assent.
UPDATE x6: Carly Fiorina calls on Trump to step aside for Governor Mike Pence, via The Hill:
“I understand the responsibility of Republicans to support their nominee. Our nominee has weighty responsibilities as well,” Fiorina said. “Donald Trump has manifestly failed in these responsibilities.”
Fiorina reiterated her opposition to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she is “unfit” to be president.
“For the sake of our constitution and the rule of law, we must defeat Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina said.
If you want to get principled conservatives like myself back on board? Make this happen… because Pence is an infinitely better man than Trump who will actually keep his promises to give me pro-life SCOTUS appointments… and not use them as bargaining chips.
UPDATE x7: Jonah Goldberg — stalwart leader of the #NeverTrump contingent at National Review — offers his thoughts:
Loyalty is a 2-way street. The party, the down-ballot races, the court, surely these are more important than Trump? Surely the emotional investment in Trump is worth writing off for the good of the country? If you sincerely believe that the country is “over” if Hillary wins and it becomes transparently obvious that the only possible way to avoid that is some kind of Torricelli maneuver, what is your reason for saying “No. We must go down to defeat with Mr. Trump!”?
Start coming up with your answers now, because you may need them very soon.
My advice: Cut him loose, because you know in your heart of hearts he’d cut you loose for far, far less.
Damn straight he would.
