… A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump Evangelical voices have argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of sins, featuring especially spectacular displays of the seven deadlys. …
(Evangelicals) have no illusions about Trump. They have no expectations of religious uplift. What he offers them is not spirit but “muscle” (to borrow a word from the notorious former professor Melissa Click, of the University of Missouri). …
What Trump promises is to stand outside the churchyard gates and protect the faithful inside. He’s the Roman centurion standing between them and both barbarians abroad and aggressive secularists at home. …
The message is clear: I may not be one of you. I can’t recite or even correctly cite Scripture. But I will patrol the borders of Christendom on your behalf. After all, who do you want out there — a choir boy or a tough guy with a loaded gun and a kick-ass demeanor? Evangelicals answered resoundingly. They went for Trump in a rout.
The essence of Trump’s appeal everywhere, far beyond Evangelicals, is precisely the same: “I’m tough, I will protect you.” That’s why he remains so bulletproof. His lack of policy, the contradictory nature of his pronouncements that pass as policy — especially their capricious eruption and summary abandonment — have turned out to be an irrelevance. …
___________________________________
I’m interested in where we are. I think we are seeing a great political party shatter before our eyes. I’m not sure I see a way around or through. I said so on TV the other night and got a lot of responses on social media. They said: Good. They said, “They are corrupt,” and “I am through.” Good riddance to bad rubbish. Next.
I am not experiencing it that way. For me the Republican Party was always the vehicle of a philosophy, conservative political thought—no more, no less. I have the past 10 years been its critic on wars and immigration, on the establishment’s self-seeking and failures of imagination. And yet at the prospect of the party’s shattering I feel somewhat shattered too. So many lives, so much effort went into its making. …
No one knows where this goes. The top of the party and the bottom have split. They disagree on the essentials.
Donald Trump won big Tuesday night, carrying seven states. As others have noted, if it were someone else he’d be called unassailable, the victor—“time to get in line.”
If trends continue—and political trends tend to—Mr. Trump will win or come very close to winning by the convention in July. If party forces succeed in finagling him out of the nomination his supporters will bolt, which will break the party. And it’s hard to see what kind of special sauce, what enduring loyalty would make them come back in the future.
If, on the other hand, Mr. Trump is given the crown in Cleveland, party political figures, operatives, loyalists, journalists and intellectuals, not to mention sophisticated suburbanites and, God knows, donors will themselves bolt. That is a smaller but not insignificant group. And again it’s hard to imagine the special sauce—the shared interests, the basic worldview—that would allow them to reconcile with Trump supporters down the road.
It’s no longer clear what shared principles endure. Everything got stretched to the breaking point the past 15 years. …
_____________________________
Ben Carson. Though Cruz and Rubio did a bit better last night. Why they don’t just agree to have Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich talk, using each other’s names rather than the mouth, I don’t know. They could discuss their policies and get some info out. They only have an hour.
LBJ and the Vietnam war led to lunatics (McGovern and his people) briefly taking over the Democrat party. Eventually, centrists (Carter and Clinton) returned to power.
The Bushes and the Romneys and the Boehners have led to a point where a lunatic and his followers may take over the Republican Party. I don’t think it will last forever.
Stephen Hayes wrote a column explaining why he can’t vote for Trump (or for Hillary, obviously) and he mentioned that since he’s in Maryland, a solidly blue state, his lack of a vote would be of little consequence (with regard to the electoral college). So that made me feel better as California also will assuredly go to the Democrat.
He said he might vote for a decent third option if one is offered by then and on the “down” ballot.Or he won’t vote for president at all.
Apparently there are rumbles that Bill Kristol may be part of a movement to field someone should Trump get the GOP nomination.
I also feel bad for Mumsee. She must feel as bad as I feel when I read about Gettysburg or Appamattox or when the Thunder drop six out of 8 games coming out of the All Star Break.
I don’t feel bad for me. I feel bad for our country. I knew he was not going to win, it is just sad to see that the Kardashians get more mileage in the news. Our country, as a whole, seems to have lost its way. There are individuals who are still on course. Yes, probably similar. Except for maybe the Thunders part.
Sorry mumsee — but I like the project he intends to start on a Christian voting group. We’ll need that this year, for sure!
People have got to be getting tired of Trump’s schtick by now, right?? I keep thinking someone else will get the nomination … Not that it solves the broken party problem; but it might preserve our dignity enough to at least get through this mess (& maybe even beat Hillary??) and figure out where this coalition goes from there.
Wandering Views 
Interesting piece by Krauthammer on what may be part of Trump’s appeal to evangelicals (and definitely is appealing to others who support him).
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/432317/donald-trump-evangelical-voter-promise-ill-protect-you
__________________________________
… A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump Evangelical voices have argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of sins, featuring especially spectacular displays of the seven deadlys. …
(Evangelicals) have no illusions about Trump. They have no expectations of religious uplift. What he offers them is not spirit but “muscle” (to borrow a word from the notorious former professor Melissa Click, of the University of Missouri). …
What Trump promises is to stand outside the churchyard gates and protect the faithful inside. He’s the Roman centurion standing between them and both barbarians abroad and aggressive secularists at home. …
The message is clear: I may not be one of you. I can’t recite or even correctly cite Scripture. But I will patrol the borders of Christendom on your behalf. After all, who do you want out there — a choir boy or a tough guy with a loaded gun and a kick-ass demeanor? Evangelicals answered resoundingly. They went for Trump in a rout.
The essence of Trump’s appeal everywhere, far beyond Evangelicals, is precisely the same: “I’m tough, I will protect you.” That’s why he remains so bulletproof. His lack of policy, the contradictory nature of his pronouncements that pass as policy — especially their capricious eruption and summary abandonment — have turned out to be an irrelevance. …
___________________________________
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Former Attorney General gives detailed synopsis of Hillary’s problems:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/2001378
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Noonan on the ‘shattering’ of the Republican party:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-republican-party-is-shattering-1457050017
____________________________
I’m interested in where we are. I think we are seeing a great political party shatter before our eyes. I’m not sure I see a way around or through. I said so on TV the other night and got a lot of responses on social media. They said: Good. They said, “They are corrupt,” and “I am through.” Good riddance to bad rubbish. Next.
I am not experiencing it that way. For me the Republican Party was always the vehicle of a philosophy, conservative political thought—no more, no less. I have the past 10 years been its critic on wars and immigration, on the establishment’s self-seeking and failures of imagination. And yet at the prospect of the party’s shattering I feel somewhat shattered too. So many lives, so much effort went into its making. …
No one knows where this goes. The top of the party and the bottom have split. They disagree on the essentials.
Donald Trump won big Tuesday night, carrying seven states. As others have noted, if it were someone else he’d be called unassailable, the victor—“time to get in line.”
If trends continue—and political trends tend to—Mr. Trump will win or come very close to winning by the convention in July. If party forces succeed in finagling him out of the nomination his supporters will bolt, which will break the party. And it’s hard to see what kind of special sauce, what enduring loyalty would make them come back in the future.
If, on the other hand, Mr. Trump is given the crown in Cleveland, party political figures, operatives, loyalists, journalists and intellectuals, not to mention sophisticated suburbanites and, God knows, donors will themselves bolt. That is a smaller but not insignificant group. And again it’s hard to imagine the special sauce—the shared interests, the basic worldview—that would allow them to reconcile with Trump supporters down the road.
It’s no longer clear what shared principles endure. Everything got stretched to the breaking point the past 15 years. …
_____________________________
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Will a lunatic centurion protect us?
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No.
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Ben Carson. Though Cruz and Rubio did a bit better last night. Why they don’t just agree to have Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich talk, using each other’s names rather than the mouth, I don’t know. They could discuss their policies and get some info out. They only have an hour.
LikeLike
LBJ and the Vietnam war led to lunatics (McGovern and his people) briefly taking over the Democrat party. Eventually, centrists (Carter and Clinton) returned to power.
The Bushes and the Romneys and the Boehners have led to a point where a lunatic and his followers may take over the Republican Party. I don’t think it will last forever.
LikeLike
Stephen Hayes wrote a column explaining why he can’t vote for Trump (or for Hillary, obviously) and he mentioned that since he’s in Maryland, a solidly blue state, his lack of a vote would be of little consequence (with regard to the electoral college). So that made me feel better as California also will assuredly go to the Democrat.
He said he might vote for a decent third option if one is offered by then and on the “down” ballot.Or he won’t vote for president at all.
Apparently there are rumbles that Bill Kristol may be part of a movement to field someone should Trump get the GOP nomination.
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I’ll have to listen to this later, but it’s the first of many such discussions in the Christian community, no doubt:
http://www.worldmag.com/2016/03/how_now_shall_we_vote
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It is a sad day for America.
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Mumsee – I thought of you when I read that Ben Carson has dropped out of the race.
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I also feel bad for Mumsee. She must feel as bad as I feel when I read about Gettysburg or Appamattox or when the Thunder drop six out of 8 games coming out of the All Star Break.
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I don’t feel bad for me. I feel bad for our country. I knew he was not going to win, it is just sad to see that the Kardashians get more mileage in the news. Our country, as a whole, seems to have lost its way. There are individuals who are still on course. Yes, probably similar. Except for maybe the Thunders part.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Sorry mumsee — but I like the project he intends to start on a Christian voting group. We’ll need that this year, for sure!
People have got to be getting tired of Trump’s schtick by now, right?? I keep thinking someone else will get the nomination … Not that it solves the broken party problem; but it might preserve our dignity enough to at least get through this mess (& maybe even beat Hillary??) and figure out where this coalition goes from there.
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