Republican blame-mongering is only for whites

Here is the latest from the Washington Posts ‘Jennifer Rubin’.

Republican blame-mongering is only for whites

Debate swirling around Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” remark and the release of books such as “The End of White Christian America” and “Hillbilly Elegy” are forcing us to re-examine the appeal of Donald Trump. Back in March, the indomitable Kevin D. Williamson wrote that it is a “lie” to say Trump’s white underclass supporters are “victimized by […]

Paul Ryan and Hillary Clinton agree on at least one thing

It has not been a good day for Donald Trump’s efforts to keep his tax returns secret. First, Donald Trump Jr. let on: This is not about an “audit” but about stuff in the returns hurting his father. “Because he’s got a 12,000-page tax return that would create … financial auditors out of every person […]

‘Deplorables’ is this election’s ‘You didn’t build that’

The Republican presidential candidate and his team as well as the right-wing echo chamber think the opposing candidate made a terrible gaffe that would offend Americans. They hoot and holler. They make it a theme at the convention. They repeat it over and over again as a barb directed at their political opponents. In the […]

Who will hold the right-wing media charlatans accountable?

David Rothkopf writes that instrumental in Donald Trump’s rise was the “chorus of toxic commentators … the Rush Limbaugh phenomenon and the Black Helicopter guys. They have embraced smear, conspiracy theories, inflammatory language, and gross incivility to drum up ratings and stir up emotions.” They’ve sown not skepticism but hatred and unwarranted distrust of all […]

Is it time for Clinton supporters to panic?

If Republicans needed any further proof that a merely average, “normal” Republican could be lapping Hillary Clinton at this point, the past few weeks should have provided it. National and state polls (albeit with a shift to a “likely” voter screen that some Dems have quibbled about) have tightened. Clinton has been on the receiving […]

Morning Bits

Well, they could get more intellectually honest people. “Observers hoping for Fox News to change its editorial point of view now that Roger Ailes is out at the channel are going to be disappointed, if comments made Wednesday by 21st Century Fox chairman Lachlan Murdoch are any indication.” One problem with lack of candor about […]

Someone finally told Trump to shut up

A female African American pastor shuts down a loudmouth bigot trying to ingratiate himself with people he never has cared about and exploit a tragedy for personal political gain. Too good to be true? Nope, it was a heavy dollop of political karma and an awful campaign moment for Donald Trump: On his trip to […]

Who will stop Putin?

John Hannah, with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and who has served in multiple administrations, writes: Across the eastern Mediterranean and Levant, through Turkey, Iran, and the broader Gulf region, the trend line is obvious to anyone with eyes to see it: Russia’s star is waxing while America’s wanes. In strategic theaters where successive generations […]

Trump has conservatives playing the victim

William A. Galston writes: J.D. Vance, the author of the surprise best-seller “Hillbilly Elegy,” writes about running into a hometown acquaintance who said he had quit his job because he was “sick of waking up early.” Mr. Vance subsequently saw him complaining on Facebook about the “ Obama economy.” This man, he comments, is not […]

Should we care if Trump is obese?

We noted Tuesday that Donald Trump eats poorly, does not exercise and is badly overweight. Today we learned more about what now appears to be a very unhealthy lifestyle for a 70-year-old. Depending on what news report you choose, Trump is either nearly obese (236 pounds) or quite obese (267 pounds), meaning a body-mass index of more […]

Cruz isn’t about to endorse Trump

The Associated Press reported Tuesday: Ted Cruz has left a meeting with Mike Pence without saying whether he will endorse or even vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The Texas Republican senator and onetime rival of Trump’s has refused to endorse the billionaire. Cruz met privately with Pence in Washington and attended a lunch […]

Trump’s foundation is under investigation. Should he step aside?

The Post reports: Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are asking the Justice Department to investigate the circumstances surrounding a $25,000 donation the Donald J. Trump Foundation made to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at a time when her office was considering whether to open a fraud investigation of Trump University. . . . Separately, […]

Morning Bits

Donald Trump’s outreach is a dud. Hillary “Clinton is far ahead among Latino voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Nevada, with her biggest lead at 50 percentage points in Arizona and smallest in Florida, where she’s ahead by 24 points, according to a new poll for Univision News by Bendixen & Amandi and the Tarrance […]

How’s that ‘deplorables’ thing working out for Trump?

Donald Trump, his campaign and his spinners are convinced that Hillary Clinton’s remark that some portion (first she said 50 percent, then she said that was too high) of his followers are “deplorables” was some sort of gift from the political gods. Sure, it annoyed the people who are very enthusiastic about him, people who […]

Trump’s entire economic narrative is hooey

Trumpkins and their defenders have argued that they are victims, understandably enraged because of economic hard times. They don’t favor Donald Trump’s racist and misogynistic outbursts; they are just down on their luck, desperate even. They may need a new narrative. For one thing, FiveThirtyEight and others have figured out that Trump supporters are better off […]

Evan Bayh could be the general election’s Jeb Bush

When Evan Bayh, Indiana’s former senator and governor, announced in mid-July he would enter the race for the Senate against Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) both sides thought the Democrats had drawn an inside straight. A popular governor and senator, a moderate record and high name ID? Against a young, lesser-known congressman who was elected in […]

Deplorables, clingers and birthers

Hillary Clinton says she shouldn’t have said “half” of Donald Trump’s supporters are “deplorables.” Donald Trump and many in the media would have you believe she said all of his supporters are deplorables. Trump running mate Mike Pence on Monday refused to say even David Duke was deplorable, insisting — can you believe it? — he […]

Clinton’s lack of transparency is bad. Trump’s is inexcusable.

Hillary Clinton is getting plenty of criticism for not revealing her pneumonia earlier. Fine — she should have done so. Vice President Joe Biden says he also had walking pneumonia earlier this year. (Did we know?) Clinton’s lack of candor is indicative of her ability to make small, unhelpful stories big and big, unhelpful stories […]

Morning Bits

A silver lining? “Republicans have fought hard and long to stop the ACA. Arguably, the fight was lost once the law was signed by President Obama in 2010. It was more certainly lost when Obama was re-elected in 2012. Should Republicans lose again in 2016, who but the most fanciful can imagine that repeal can […]

Do Gary Johnson’s endorsements matter?

Following the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the editorial board of another prominent regional paper, the Winston-Salem Journal, has endorsed former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson for president. The editorial board members, confessing that they “surprised even ourselves,” wrote: For months, we here at the Journal editorial board wrestled with this endorsement. For most of that time, we looked at […]

Lindsey Graham: Obama only objects to more money when it is for Israel

My colleague Josh Rogin writes, “After long and arduous negotiations, Israel and the Obama administration have agreed on a landmark military aid package that would increase U.S. aid to Israel over the next 10 years. But the White House is reluctant to sign the deal because officials are upset one leading lawmaker won’t go along: Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.).” As […]

Ryan killed off any presidential prospects but can still save the GOP?

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) criticisms of Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric, adulation of Russian president Vladimir Putin and anti-NATO comments have helped set the House Republicans apart from their nominee, but at the expense of  making Ryan’s support for Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy appear hypocritical if not inexplicable. He thereby may have extinguished any presidential ambitions […]

Imagine if Trump had been president on 9/11

The 15th anniversary of 9/11 reminds us how fortunate the United States was to have as president at that time someone of fundamental decency and remarkable empathy. He was called on to lift of a grieving nation, to express both sorrow and determination. Moreover, from the start he reached out to the American Muslim community, […]

Polling takeaways

Plenty of talk about the presidential race “narrowing” race gets bandied about lately, but the bad news for Donald Trump persists: There aren’t enough people who consider him fit to be president. The Post/ABC News polls shows Hillary Clinton leading by 5 percentage points nationally. We can see why: Trump’s 50 percent to 36 percent lead among white […]

Trump’s moral illiteracy would endanger America

Donald Trump’s contempt for American values and human rights is one of many reasons to oppose his candidacy and to reflect on the noxious influence of the right-wing media, which confuses despotism with strength, and military strength with barbarism. Criticism of the Obama administration’s feckless foreign policy — which we have frequently voiced — does […]

Morning Bits

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) tells off Donald Trump at a Human Rights Campaign dinner: “Donald Trump praises Vladimir Putin — a man who persecutes LGBT Russians — for his great leadership. . . . If you do not understand the difference between leadership and dictatorship, you wouldn’t pass a fifth-grade civics exam; you’re no leader, and […]

Ups and downs