"Today, Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review (the flagship conservative magazine founded by William F. Buckley Jr.), published an article claiming that Donald Trump could win the 2024 election 'on character.'”

No, really."

~Tom Nichols

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/1

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/08/the-conservatives-who-sold-their-souls-for-trump/679623/

The conservatives who sold their souls for Trump

The rage and shame of the anti-anti-Trumpers is getting worse.

The Atlantic

"Lowry and others are intelligent people who know better, but their decision to bend the knee to Trump—even if only with a very small curtsy—requires them to take to the pages of America’s national newspapers and say that Trump might be terrible but Democrats are worse. ...

The anti-anti-Trumpers must now define Harris—and all Democrats—as evil beyond words. Otherwise, how would they explain the ghastly compromises they’ve made?"

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values
/2

"Principles are sometimes burdensome things; that’s part of what makes them principles. The behavior of the anti-anti-Trumpers continues to be an inexcusable betrayal of the values they once claimed to hold. Many of them spoke, even passionately, against Trump—and then they shuffled into line. And for what? One more federal judge? A few billion more dollars in the account of a donor?"

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/3

"It’s one thing to sell your soul cheaply. It’s another to keep taking out second and third mortgages on it until all that’s left is debt and shame."

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/4

"As of Monday, August 26, 2024, we can safely say that the NYTimes is an 'unserious newspaper.'

The NYT’s Monday edition included a guest essay by Rich Lowry entitled, Trump Can Win on Character. ...

When the Times opens its editorial pages to opinions that are objectively, demonstrably false and misleading, the Times should be viewed as approving of those opinions."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/5

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/harris-walz-campaign-goes-on-offense

Harris-Walz campaign goes on offense

August 27, 2024

Today's Edition Newsletter

"No responsible editorial board would platform such views unless it believed they were held in good faith and belonged within the realm of public discourse."

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/6

"Trump has done what no Democrat—not Bill or Hillary Clinton, not Mario Cuomo or John Kerry, not Joe Biden or Barack Obama, not any Democrat—could have done. He has, at the national level, made the Republican Party de facto pro-choice."

~ Peter Wehner

#Trump #abortion #Republicans #ProLife #ProChoice
/7

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/trump-betrays-pro-life-movement/679622/

Trump’s Evangelical Supporters Just Lost Their Best Excuse

The pro-life justification for supporting the former president has now collapsed.

The Atlantic

"Who in the pro-life movement—Al Mohler, Mike Huckabee, Franklin Graham, Eric Metaxas, Marjorie Dannenfelser, Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, Robert Jeffress, and countless others—will speak out, publicly and forcefully and relentlessly, against Trump’s about-face?"

#Trump #abortion #Republicans #ProLife #ProChoice
/8

"Will they tell the full truth, which is that abortions increased during the Trump presidency, that the pro-life movement is weaker than at almost any time in its history, and that, when it comes to making the Republican Party the home of the pro-life cause, Trump is doing unprecedented damage?

Will they now say of Trump what they say of liberal Democrats, that he supports the murder of innocent unborn children?"

#Trump #abortion #Republicans #ProLife #ProChoice
/9

"Once the strategic, logistical, and ideological concerns are resolved, there’s only one thing left to explain the lack of anti-Trump Republican support for Kamala.

These people are chickenshit. ...

To all the GOP politicians who, deep in their heart, know that Trump is too grave a risk."

~ Tim Miller

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles
/10

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/republicans-who-served-with-trump-and-saw-the-crazy-should-endorse-kamala-harris

They Served With Trump and Saw the Crazy. They Should Endorse Harris.

Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.

The Bulwark

"To the seventeen Republicans who voted to impeach and convict him. To the vice president he would’ve happily left for dead.

Say it loud and proud: Kamala Harris for president.

I promise you it will be a relief to get it off your chest. Because doing the right thing is never the wrong thing."

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles
/11

"After over a year in this job, I cannot understand Putin’s hold on Trump.”

~ Retired Army Gen. H.R. McMaster

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles #Putin
/12

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hr-mcmaster-struggled-understand-putins-hold-trump-rcna168176

H.R. McMaster struggled to understand ‘Putin’s hold on Trump’

Donald Trump was so weak toward Russia that former national security adviser H.R. McMaster told his wife, "I cannot understand Putin’s hold on Trump.”

MSNBC

"So the sun was out and shining as this third-generation draft dodger pretended to care about the soldiers who were suckers and losers enough to get killed during the United States' withdrawal from its Afghanistan adventure. How in the hell this was allowed to happen is beyond me."

~ Charles Pierce

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles #veterans
/13

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a61975583/trump-arlington-cemetery-visit/

How The Hell Was Trump Allowed To Use Arlington National Cemetery As A Campaign Prop?

This is an insult to the over 400 Medal of Honor awardees buried there.

Esquire

"Arlington is the country's 'most hallowed ground.' (Just ask the tour guides.) Arlington is profaned by his presence on just an average day. But to allow itself to be used for the purpose propping up one of the Republican Party's most noxious half-truths—as promulgated by its most noxious elements personified by its most noxious candidate—is an insult to the over 400 Medal of Honor awardees buried there."

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles #veterans
/14

"As a citizen of the United States, and therefore someone with a stake in places like Arlington, I choose to look upon his presence there as obscene."

#Trump #Republicans #character #values #morality #principles #veterans
/15

"Donald Trump has dominated in polling of people who pay little attention to political news. What do they have to say?"

In a "Letter from the South," Charles Bethea looks at "low-information" voters and hoooboy, if you can bring yourself to read his report, you can just about imagine the nonsense that fills their heads and causes them love them some Trump.

"Education rates are low, and mainstream news does not easily take root."

#Trump #LowInformationVoters
/16

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/among-americas-low-information-voters

Among America’s “Low-Information Voters”

Charles Bethea speaks with low-information voters—people who pay little attention to political news—about their perspective on the political race and why many of them favor Donald Trump.

The New Yorker

"How truly stupid can it get: Trump, RFK, and American decline? One loser creep endorsed another loser creep. It's all meaningless drivel, but telling. …

Cue one of the dumbest moments in a remarkably dumb time."

~ Jared Yates Sexton

#Trump #Republicans #principles #values #morality #RFKJr
/17

https://jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/how-truly-stupid-can-it-get-trump

How Truly Stupid Can It Get: Trump, RFK, and American Decline

One loser creep endorsed another loser creep. It's all meaningless drivel, but telling.

Dispatches From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

Marlon Weems lives in North Carolina, in a well-heeled community that's not full of diners but pubs and wine bars. But that well-heeled community contains Trump supporters galore, though many of them prefer to pretend that they're "civilized" and "sophisticated" Trump voters, not the common lot. He writes,

"Without fail, these individuals present themselves as pre-2016 conservatives."

#Trump #Republicans
/18

https://thejourneyman.substack.com/p/nothing-to-see-here-just-another

Nothing To See Here, Just Another MAGA Republican Headed to the Big House

The Journeyman.

The Journeyman.

"They attempt to convince me, to the point of desperation, that while they voted for Trump once or perhaps even twice, they do not subscribe to his brand of politics. Their unspoken message is that they will not vote for Trump again. But given that Trump is their party’s nominee for the third time in a row, this is as statistically unlikely as happening upon an Asian unicorn."

#Trump #Republicans
/19

"Like the cloth coat and Rockefeller Republicans before them, the non-MAGA species of their party is all but extinct. So of course they will vote for him.

Even though I know they are lying to my face, I give a bit of grace to Republicans who engage in this deception. After all, discussing one’s support for a candidate surrounded by concentric circles of criminal activity can be an embarrassing conversation outside the safety of a Trump rally."

#Trump #Republicans
/20

"Why did they publish this piece [by Rich Lowry]?

Lowry’s essay isn’t aimed at Times readers. He is not explaining reality. His op-ed does not add any value for the NYT audience.

The piece is little more than a memo to the Trump campaign."

~ Jonathan V. Last

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/21

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/why-did-the-new-york-times-let-itself

Why Did the New York Times Let Itself Be Used as a Mule?

Rich Lowry got the Gray Lady to bend over so Daddy Trump would see his genius idea.

The Bulwark

"Lowry thinks he has an insight into how Trump could attack Harris, but because no one at the campaign cares what Rich has to say, he convinced the Times op-ed page to mule his ideas directly to Trump.

Why would America’s paper of record consent to be used like this by a conservative sad-sack?"

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/22

"The Times isn’t trying to serve its readers by giving them the best factual understanding of reality.

Instead, the Times is trying to serve the op-ed writer, by giving him as much rhetorical leeway as it can countenance. Even if it means that he’s doing sleight of hand with its audience."

#Trump #Republicans #NewYorkTimes #character #values #morality #principles
/23

@wdlindsy No longer “America’s Neespaper”…democracy dies in the dark- wait no, the NYT has killed democracy.

@wdlindsy

This is not the first time that AG Sulzberger's New York Times has allowed itself to used to project ultra-right wing messaging.

Recall this infamous Tom Cotton op-ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

And the NYT's subsequent justification following the outrage it generated:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/tom-cotton-op-ed.html

Opinion | Tom Cotton: Send In the Military

The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.

The New York Times
@mastodonmigration Absolutely. The case of Tom Cotton is an excellent one to remind us of here. Tom Cotton, who is owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Koch brothers….

@mastodonmigration @wdlindsy

Are you referring to the NYT that has relentlessly provided a platform for anti-transgender conservatives over the last several years?

@Frances_Larina @wdlindsy

Yes, the very same. AG Sulzberger's New York Times.

@wdlindsy Thank you for the link. I held my nose and read to the bottom. Great journalism, hard truths. The awful thing is the nonsense is spreading around the world, largely via YouTube. So here in Aotearoa New Zealand we have 20% of a poll, who given the chance would vote for Trump.... they quote his talking points (lies) verbatim.
@RobynNuthall I'm glad you found it helpful. It amazes me how social media have made it possible for people around the globe to "discover" and even admire Donald Trump. My Canadian friends, especially those living in the conservative western provinces, tell me something similar is happening there. Much of this is being driven by a furious male backlash, increasingly among younger men, to women's acquisition of rights. Lots of educational work to be done!

@wdlindsy

Took a closer look, and sure enough you are right about the gender split...

To quote the NZ poll coverage:

"Digging deeper into the Talbot Mills data, some 50% of men preferred Harris, compared with 31% who backed Trump.

The margin is much wider when it comes to women: 61% supported Harris, just 11% supported Trump."

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/us-election-exclusive-poll-shows-new-zealanders-back-kamala-harris-over-donald-trump-for-next-president/3ZDNOOS2PVEOVL3DEW3LVARQXY/

US election: Exclusive poll shows New Zealanders back Kamala Harris over Donald Trump for next President

Kamala Harris will speak at the DNC later today: Do Kiwis back her over Trump?

NZ Herald
@RobynNuthall Yes, that seems to be a key factor in all sorts of areas of the globe, and I think it has much to do with toxic social media and the likes of Andrew Tate.
@wdlindsy I choose to look at his presence anywhere as obscene but, yes, the Arlington thumbs up takes it to a whole new level.
@zemsgram Exactly. A thumbs up gesture posing next to a tombstone of someone killed in battle? What kind of human being behaves that way?

@wdlindsy

If a former President wants to lay a wreath at the national cemetery, really, what can anyone say.

@the5thColumnist I think anyone can say anything she or he wants — as Charles Pierce does here with his usual eloquence. He recognizes, of course, that the claiom this is simply a former president laying a wreath at a national cemetery is entirely mendacious and dishonest, and he speaks, as he says, as an American citizen outraged at this use of a cemetery for those who died defending the US as a stage prop for that person.

@wdlindsy On top of everything else, the "ceremony" was to honor those killed three years ago during the bombing near Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

Which TFG set up before he got voted out. (Biden had to honor the agreement.)

@the5thColumnist

@wdlindsy

But if your an official at Arlington it's likely protocol comes before rationality.

@the5thColumnist Protocol? I wonder if that's what got Trump an open door to have a photo-op in a nationally celebrated cemetery for veterans in which he preened and posed as he made thumbs-up signs next to tombstones.
@wdlindsy
I've always thought the deference such as keeping the title and Secret Service agents that former presidents receive was a bit weird but then I'm not an American.
@the5thColumnist The only real point I can see to the Secret Service detachment is for security reasons. I'm not inclined, too, to keep calling out-of-office presidents by that title.

@wdlindsy

I stand corrected the Trumpites apparently did NOT follow protocol.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5091154/trump-arlington-cemetery

@the5thColumnist No, they didn't, unless protocol means literally shoving aside an official who told them they were doing what is not legally permitted.
@wdlindsy
Most of his business came from Russians who needed to launder money through his real estate.
He had been groomed for decades.
@Tom_Joad Yes, absolutely. And I'd hope McMaster is aware of that.

@wdlindsy
#Harris2024 is the #NewWayForward !!

Republicans who know the dangers of the MAGA cult need to speak up for freedom and #EndorseDems

#BlueTrifecta2024

@wdlindsy "If George W. Bush had indeed been, as some people breathlessly speculated on social media, the much-rumored special guest on Thursday, it’s possible that he would have been greeted by a chorus of boos, or that enough Democrats would make a stink that his appearance would have overshadowed the themes of joy and unity the planners wanted to project during the week."

Or then, they already had a full quota of war criminals.

@wdlindsy That picture is of four racist, misogynistic white men. Not one of them will be publically supportive or vote for a black woman. Let’s all say it out loud. They prefer the white male dictator every day of the week.

@wdlindsy I don't think most of the anti-abortion crowd want fewer abortions. If they did, they would pump money into programs that would support mothers and children, removing as many obstacles to having children as possible.

Since they don't, clearly they don't want less abortions. They want to *ban* abortions, regardless of whether it's successful. They just want religious laws on the books. That's it.

@cherold Yes, I think the bottom line for the "pro-life" movement is control of women.