A Trump Education for the Right Conservatives who Indulged him Now Claim to be Embarrassed.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-trump-education-for-the-right-1439159611
“It’s the fashion in these circles to celebrate Mr. Trump’s rise in the polls as if rage and insult will defeat Hillary Clinton and implement conservative reforms”
The conservative blogger Erick Erickson caused a media stir this weekend by withdrawing an invitation to Donald Trump to address his RedState gathering. This comes as a revelation because Mr. Erickson is among the media conservatives who have trumpeted the businessman as a political tonic.
This was finally too much for Mr. Erickson, though it’s fair to ask what took him so long. This is what Donald Trump does. As recently as July 24, Mr. Erickson wrote approvingly that, “The number one thing you hear when you ask any Republican about Donald Trump is this—he fights.” On July 22 he wrote that while he wouldn’t vote for him unless Mr. Trump became the GOP nominee, “Donald Trump is a non-traditional candidate who is running a non-traditional campaign and kicking the asses of traditional campaign consultants.”
Other contributors to RedState.com have been more discerning, but Mr. Erickson represents a strain on the right that has put Trumpian bluster above political reality and conservative ideas. It’s the fashion in these circles to celebrate Mr. Trump’s rise in the polls as if rage and insult will defeat Hillary Clinton and implement conservative reforms. Some of this is pure commercial self-interest, an attempt to boost Arbitron ratings or Web clicks. But whatever the motive, it doesn’t serve the country or the principles they claim to support.
Thursday’s debate showed that the Republican Party has several accomplished conservatives who would be formidable candidates in 2016. Unlike Mr. Trump, they know something about the world and economic policy. They can make a political argument beyond calling everything “terrific” or “stupid.” They even look and act presidential. Yet with Donald Trump dominating media coverage, they aren’t getting the hearing they deserve. And Mr. Trump would guarantee GOP defeat next year if he runs as a third-party spoiler.
Having helped to create Trumpism, Mr. Erickson and his angry enablers now claim to be embarrassed by its namesake. It would have been better had they not indulged him in the first place.
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