‘Everything Trump touches dies’

[struggle4progress]

By Philip Rucker
October 9 at 2:29 PM

ST. LOUIS — Donald Trump trashed his wife and suggested his father was involved in John F. Kennedy’s assassination, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz still endorsed him. Trump mocked his cotton mouth and slight stature, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio still got in line. Trump turned his mentor and former running mate Mitt Romney into a personal whipping post, but House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) still hopped aboard the Trump train.

These were not the only Republican luminaries to link arms with Trump. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker testified to his leadership strength. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and party chairman Reince Priebus, who once committed themselves to diversifying the GOP coalition, flew around on Trump’s luxury jet and defended his racially charged, nationalistic rhetoric. And the special guest celebrated by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst at her “Hogs and Harleys” political festival? Yes, it was Trump ...

“There is nobody who holds any position of responsibility who in private conversations views Donald Trump as equipped mentally, morally and intellectually to be the president of the United States,” said Steve Schmidt, a veteran GOP strategist. “But scores of Republican leaders have failed a fundamental test of moral courage and political leadership in not speaking truth to the American people about what is so obvious” ...

John Weaver, a longtime strategist and Kasich adviser, likened the situation to going back in time and offering Republican office-holders a ticket on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. “They bought the ticket knowing there wouldn’t be enough life rafts once the ship hit the iceberg,” Weaver said ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-generation-of-gop-stars-may-be-diminished-everything-trump-touches-dies/2016/10/09/890a5074-8e2c-11e6-9c85-ac42097b8cc0_story.html

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

1. Yup, they are re-arranging the deck chairs while the ship sinks. eom

[SCliberal91294]

2. Popcorn

It keeps coming

[geek tragedy]

3. Kasich and the NeverTrump Senators (Lee, Sasse, Flake) are the only ones

emerging from this trainwreck with any credibility on the GOP side.

If I'm a smart GOP donor, I start laying the ground for either a 2020 or a 2024 Jeff Flake run for President.

[Chemisse]

4. This part resonates: "they failed a fundamental test of moral courage and political leadership . .

This needs to haunt them - and I expect it will. It will be worse than voting for the Iraq war.

[thesquanderer]

5. re: "It will be worse than voting for the Iraq war."

I think only on the off-chance that he wins (and it is the disaster we all expect). Assuming he loses, by 4 years from now, nobody will care about who supported Trump and who didn't.

[Chemisse]

7. You really think so?

I picture lots of doctoral theses written about this election cycle.

Well, I guess time will tell.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

6. K&R nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. "A generation of GOP stars stands diminished: "--- first part of the headline really irks me

These so-called GOP stars aren't diminished.
They suck and they always have.

It's just that heir core values are finally on display, out from behind the black-out curtain of out corporate-conservative monopolized media.