Trump Supporters Need to be Held Accountable
Enough with the sore winners pity party already. I and many other columnists, commentators, and speakers have been accused of being a sore loser a few thousand times on this and other sites -- and for the sake of argument I'll admit those charges might have merit.
But keep in mind, a sore loser is one thing, but a sore winner is something else altogether.
Consider: In his first American Thinker column (5/5/16) -- "The War on Trump Supporters Must Be Stopped" -- John Kudla closes with the passive aggressive sarcastic pout that "clearly, I just do not understand because I am too low information, too foolish, too emotional, and too stupid. After all, I am just a hick."
I do not know Mr. Kudla, nor have I read anything else from him. So all I can do is use his own words yesterday to indicate that indeed he does not understand the conservative opposition to Trump at all. Keep in mind that I am at least doing Kudla the courtesy of reading his piece before countering it and actually addressing his points. None of the nearly four thousand posts to my articles this week involved either exercise.
Think about that in context of your complaint.
Kudla's article seems to indicate that he thinks all opposition to Trump is from the establishment/elitist/liberal point of view. None of those words make you a hick or stupid, but I would argue that they indicate a lack of information if not low information. They also indicate emotion over logic. And there's no war on you anyway. It's called debate.
Now about some of your other specific assertions:
You are all hicks and worse! You are hicks because you want decent good paying jobs, and you are sick of American companies moving overseas.
No one has ever claimed that, but it's true that you have no idea how to keep American companies from moving overseas. You do that by rolling government back, not by threatening them, Stalin-style. So please sir, enough with the hick stuff. No one is using that word. And quit thinking you are the only people on the planet in favor of good jobs. It's simply a matter of how to achieve this. You don't own the sentiment.
You are hicks because you want a wall on the border and illegal immigration stopped.
You need to stop seeing Lindsey Graham or John McCain under every rock. First, many conservative opponents of Trump agree with him largely on immigration. Second, most conservative opposition to Trump has nothing to do with the wall or continued immigration, but with the realities and nuances of his deportation plans. There are others who doubt Trump's commitment to his deportation rhetoric, questioning his "touch back" plan and his interview with the NY Times. But to your point, there is little or no pushback against Trump supporters on the general idea of a secure border. None.
You are all hicks because you like your doctor and you want to keep your doctor.
But is Trump committed to that? Maybe some think you are a hick because you ignore Trump's statements on health care. The vast majority of the conservative opposition to Trump has to do with the fact that he's favored the idea of universal care most of his long long life, and to this day utters words that sound dangerously statist on health care. Trump was for ObamaCare before he was against it. To try and take the high road on healthcare in defense of Trump is, as some hicks say, bass ackwards.
You are hicks because you want your kids to learn something in school besides which bathroom to use and why they should hate America.
Another red herring. Trump is incoherent on public education in the area of state versus Federal control, but most conservatives were way ahead of Trump on Common Core. Most were warning against it while Trump was donating to Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Thus it's beyond absurd to try and paint him as a leader on this topic.
And in case you haven't heard, Trump fumbled and bumbled the bathroom answer regarding North Carolina. (Along with inviting "Caitlin" Jenner to use the ladie's room in Trump Tower.) You are, at a minimum, misguided on this point.
You are hicks because you think military veterans are less likely to die in combat than they are standing in line at the VA.
No one has ever said any such thing. You must be thinking of another candidate and another set of opposition than the one in today's reality.
You are hicks because you think the Bill of Rights actually means something.
No, but it’s your man Trump who never mentions the Bill of Rights. He rarely mentions the Constitution. He never mentions limited government or liberty. Another alternate reality assertion.
Since early March, Trump voters have endured some of the most insulting malicious attacks ever in the print, online and social media, except this time the charge is not being led by the left-wing media or the Democrats, but by other Republicans.
Early March? Trump and his supporters coarsened the flavor of the debate in August of last year. Yes, you dragged everyone into the gutter with you, but you and your candidate were there many months before anyone else. I know you won't agree, so we'll have to agree to disagree on this - but the record of history is crystal clear.
The attackers have been supporters of the #NeverTrump movement and of the remaining Republican challengers, most notably supporters of Senator Ted Cruz.
That is true on the surface, but much of the #NeverTrump movement (and that does not include me) are people who have been in the trenches fighting government and fighting for liberty long before you have been. The internet indicates this is all very new to you. I submit Mark Levin, Andrew McCarthy, David Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Brent Bozell and many more have impeccable anti-Washington anti-establishment anti-liberal credibility. As for yours truly, I’ve been in this fight since 1992. My anti-establishment work has even earned me a personal insult from Karl Rove.
You are nothing but an inconvenience to the politicians who want lifetime employment offering their services to the highest bidders. You are nothing but a campaign problem to the billionaires who want to fatten their wallets at your expense.
You mean an inconvenience to those like Donald J. Trump? Wow.
Why don’t you keep in your place and do what you are told? Who do you think runs this country? How dare you threaten the powers that be?
Again, most conservatives were fighting the establishment when Trump was donating to them. We simply reject your argument here totally.
It was not long ago we knew who our enemies were.
I would submit maybe you never did know. At a minimum, you are confused on this now. You lump people with extraordinary conservative and anti-establishment credentials and histories with establishment hacks, big donors and liberal Democrats. Your assumption that my problem with Trump is the same as Jeb Bush's or Rachel Maddow's or Lindsay Graham’s is just totally inane.
Look, I'm sorry you think there's a war on Trump supporters. I'll probably pull the lever for your boy ultimately -- I live in a purple state -- but I will continue to expose the incoherence and dishonesty of much of his support and the man himself. The best I can hope for now is that those of us who opposed the man can somehow install some guard rails lest he fly way off the left side of the road.
Edmund Wright is contributor to American Thinker, Breitbart, Newsmax TV, Talk Radio Network and author of a bestselling anti-establishment book.