The GOP internecine war

HRC is the worst possible candidate for POTUS in history. She is incompetent, with no history of accomplishments; she is venal and corrupt and puts her self-interest above national security. The idea that she would be awarded the presidency rather than a prison cell is appalling.

Even more appalling is the behavior of the GOP. Rather than unite in opposition to HRC they have split in warring factions, each trying to position themselves for 2020. The idea seems to be that if the GOP holds the Senate and House they can mitigate the damage of an HRC presidency and elect a “better” candidate next time.

The GOP has controlled the House since 2010 and the Senate since 2012. In that time we have seen no effective rein on the Obama excesses. Why would this change in the event of an HRC presidency? McConnell and Boehner were more interested in marginalizing the Tea Party than reining in an out-of-control executive. Ryan hasn’t shown much change from Boehner.

The GOP base and many independents have gotten fed up with the continual betrayal by the GOP leadership. I think this accounts for the recent polls showing large majority of the GOP electorate still back Trump, even as the GOP “leaders” jump ship. The fact is that for most elected officials it doesn’t matter who is POTUS, or even whether the GOP is majority or minority. Individually, they are not accountable for results, they get the same perks and will get the same lobbying contracts post Congress to feather their nest. They see no personal gain in taking a principled stand.

The principled stand is to keep HRC out of the White House. The DoJ and FBI have failed miserably and shown themselves to be hopelessly corrupt. The burden falls to the American electorate. I think Trump is a terrible candidate and have opposed him from the start; allowing HRC the presidency is much worse however than a loud, lewd buffoon.

The idea that congressional leaders can not endorse Trump but still oppose HRC is fallacious since the election is a binary choice between candidates (Binary because Johnson and Stein are not viable). The choice is HRC or Trump. It’s not a choice between HRC or not HRC; none-of-above is not an option. The only meaningful vote against HRC is a vote for Trump. The conservative who stayed home in 2012 because Romney was not conservative enough helped elect a much less conservative candidate, Obama. We can’t stand a repeat in 2016.