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Defending Trump Against Excessive Charges Is Not Selling Out
Townhall.com ^ | May 19, 2017 | David Limbaugh

Posted on 05/19/2017 5:38:01 AM PDT by Kaslin

One thing should be clear, at least to Republicans: The left has had the long knives out for President Donald Trump since before he was inaugurated. It intended to destroy him regardless of his conduct in office.

Liberals and even some conservatives contend that Trump's defenders on the right are tainted, partisan, idolatrous cheerleaders who have sold their souls and principles to defend him against troublesome charges. Some argue that even if former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton engaged in similar activities, two wrongs don't make a right.

Trump supporters, they say, have always insisted they are strict adherents of the rule of law but are showing their true colors in defending Trump. But are they? Why is defending Trump against these excessive charges a betrayal of the rule of law? Just because he's handled some things disappointingly doesn't mean he's committed a crime or an impeachable offense. The rule of law requires that we be discriminating about these matters and not jump on the bandwagon to condemn Trump just because we don't approve of some of his actions or statements.

Without question, the rule of law and all other principles must be given the highest priority, and the Trump presidency doesn't change that. But there's something more involved here than mere Democratic hypocrisy.

We are talking about Democratic and liberal media wrongdoing. Obama, when injecting himself into the investigation concerning Hillary Clinton's emails and saying that no criminal activity had occurred, actually engaged in the very conduct of which Trump is being sloppily accused. The left had no objection. But at this point, it sure doesn't appear that Trump's comments to then-FBI Director James Comey about then-national security adviser Michael Flynn rose to the level of interfering with a proceeding, much less obstruction of justice.

Liberals are also engaged in wrongdoing by conducting this ceaseless witch hunt against Trump for alleged collusion with Russia to interfere with the presidential election when they know there is no evidence of any collusion. It is reprehensible that they are perpetuating this slander to delegitimize Trump and undermine the will of the American people.

So no, two wrongs don't make a right, but there aren't two equal "wrongs" here, and attempts to attribute moral equivalence to these separate sets of conduct are deceitful and scurrilous.

Of course, Trump supporters should not compromise their principles to defend him against legitimate charges, but we shouldn't throw him to the leftist wolves when the Democrats make false, excessive and otherwise unwarranted charges against him. There are a number of things I will criticize Trump for, but I am not going to accede to the Democrats' outrageously over-the-top characterization of these actions as criminal or impeachable just to appear fairer or nonpartisan.

I'm also not about to quit pointing out the monumentally worse behavior of the leftist media and Democratic Party just to avoid the undiscriminating claim that I am a Trump cheerleader.

We have to analyze whether Trump is culpable of those things of which he has been accused, but in no event should such accusations intimidate or deter us from condemning the left for making false charges and trying to wrongfully undermine Trump's presidency.

Put another way, I am not defending Trump because he is being attacked by the left. I am not attacking the left because I am trying to change the subject from legitimate allegations against Trump. If I defend Trump, it is because I believe he deserves defending, and if I criticize the left, it is because I believe it deserves criticism. I am not compromising my principles to attack the left for trying to smear Trump and destroy this country. I am acting in accordance with my principles.

Sure, Trump shoots from the hip on Twitter and in some interviews, but he did this long before the election. The question isn't whether he says things we wish he wouldn't or commits gaffes. The issue that is before us -- and will remain before us for as long as he's in office because the Democrats will see to it, irrespective of Trump's actions -- is whether Trump engaged in serious misconduct on any of these things. So far, it appears he has not -- from the firing of Comey to alleged collusion with Russia to the Comey memo to the alleged sharing of classified information with Russia. So why are some conservatives suggesting Trump just resign? It is neither prudent nor fair to rush to judgment. Let's be guided by the evidence rather than innuendo or some anti-Trump hysteria.

I admit I'm concerned about Trump's apparent flip-flop on Jerusalem, his seeming ambivalence about certain health care issues, the recent budget fiasco, the wall and confusion around tax reform. I just wish Trump would return forthwith to the agenda on which he was elected and the commitments he made to seeing it through.

I believe that if he would redouble his efforts to clarify his legislative priorities and present strong, viable proposals on all these issues and exercise leadership to advance them, he would unite a majority around him sufficient to pass them. As long as he rededicates himself to his campaign promises, his base will not abandon him, even with his occasional gaffes.

In the meantime, let's recognize that the left is at war with us and is relentless in pursuing it. We must fight back as hard as the left is attacking if we expect our ideas to prevail. And we can do that without compromising our principles, so let's get to work.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: davidlimbaugh; leftiststrategies; scandal; second100days; trump45; trumpadministration

1 posted on 05/19/2017 5:38:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

What concerns me is the tit-for-tat that we are engaging in with the left. When we get a Democratic president, I am so mad now at the Left that I just want to pull similar moves to get that president. I am sick of Republicans being such polite and decent opponents, especially those in Congress.

This is not a healthy development with our democracy. How can we cut a break for our president and get him away from the Leftist knives for a while, enough time so that he can institute his agenda? Of course, the Left is terrified of that agenda, and even more terrified of it proving to be a good development.

Anyway, it is WONDERFUL to have FR up and going, even if in a limited way for a while. I can’t believe how lost I felt without it. Thank you Jim Robinson!


2 posted on 05/19/2017 5:55:22 AM PDT by Republicanprofessor
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To: Kaslin

Trump is right, the DemocRats are out to get him and I support him 10000%. He is the only person in Washington DC who apparently speaks for me and for America.

The hell with anyone who doesn’t support him too. Too much is riding on the success of his presidency to allow RINOs in the GOP or the Pussy Hat people succeed in flyspecking him.


3 posted on 05/19/2017 5:59:01 AM PDT by ZULU (DUMP THAT POS PAUL RYAN!! HE KILLED OBAMACARE REPEAL AND WILL KILL TAX REFORM!!)
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To: ZULU

Has anyone noticed the juxtaposition of pussy hats proclaiming women lead with their vaginas because that’s what defines them and Trump saying there are women who will let a rich/famous man (not saying himself) grab them by the pussy?

The first taken as being a high minded assertion of who the wearers are and the second being crass beyond belief and disqualifying for membership in the human race? In one case the public is forced to deal with ugly women in nauseating hats; in the other case we have two consenting adults. Ironic...


4 posted on 05/19/2017 6:05:24 AM PDT by JayGalt
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To: JayGalt

Funny thing about this is if Ben Carson won the Presidency, the left would still be acting in this fashion.


5 posted on 05/19/2017 6:15:04 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz ("“In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”" DJT)
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To: Kaslin

It’s not just Trump they are after. It’s what he represents. The crowned heads in DC want to keep the system as closed as possible. Outsiders are not welcome.

As many have said, We are fighting to maintain the two-party system, such as it is. The left was this close to at least 8 years of one party rule.

One thing in our favor, other than the truth, is that the left without fail overplays it’s hand.


6 posted on 05/19/2017 6:19:21 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: Kaslin
What legitimate charges. I keep reading over and over again about Trump's errors and mistakes, acknowledged everywhere as if they are actually occurring.

The amount of question begging on the part of the fakenews crowd and the spineless GOP is astonishing, as if we all know that there is a long list of things that Trump has done wrong.

There is one so far, not cleaning house, doing it early, doing it thoroughly, and doing it as often has required.

7 posted on 05/19/2017 6:32:22 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: GSWarrior

Emphasis on “such as it is.”


8 posted on 05/19/2017 6:33:47 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: Kaslin

There are NO “charges”. All we have here is the media twisting words to fit into their spin - they are openly taking him down.

Trump needs only one thing, a better plan to fight the media. I say he needs to constantly bait them with false leaks and ruin their credibility with the average Joe.


9 posted on 05/19/2017 6:34:24 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: EQAndyBuzz

Oh yes. I think anyone other than a Uniparty President would see the knives out. Its about pay to play and hidden skeletons staying hidden.


10 posted on 05/19/2017 6:42:11 AM PDT by JayGalt
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To: GSWarrior

It’s not just Trump they are after. It’s what he represents. The crowned heads in DC want to keep the system as closed as possible. Outsiders are not welcome.

As many have said, We are fighting to maintain the two-party system, such as it is. The left was this close to at least 8 years of one party rule.


Very close. We are fighting to *get* to a two party system. We have been ruled by essentially a one party system, controlled by the Establishment Media for 50 years.

Reagan was an minor exception. He fought the Establishment to a draw, won the cold war, and got significant tax cuts. But he lost the war on immigration and amnesty, so we lost California and New York to permanent leftist control.

New York and California have more than 25% foreign born residents.


11 posted on 05/19/2017 7:04:21 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: 1Old Pro
There are NO “charges”. All we have here is the media twisting words to fit into their spin - they are openly taking him down.

And yet, 4 months into his presidency, we have a special prosecuter? How the hell did that happen? Fast and Furious, Banghazi, IRS, massive fraud in every cabinet, at State, with Hillary, a unauthorized private server, and no special counsel, how did this happen? I am soooooo pissed.

12 posted on 05/19/2017 8:07:20 AM PDT by thirst4truth (America, What difference does it make?)
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To: GSWarrior

Totally correct


13 posted on 05/19/2017 8:16:13 AM PDT by ZULU (DUMP THAT POS PAUL RYAN!! HE KILLED OBAMACARE REPEAL AND WILL KILL TAX REFORM!!)
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To: Republicanprofessor

Anyway, it is WONDERFUL to have FR up and going, even if in a limited way for a while. I can’t believe how lost I felt without it. Thank you Jim Robinson!

You betcha!!!

Thank God and Jim Robinson!!!!!


14 posted on 05/19/2017 8:18:04 AM PDT by ZULU (DUMP THAT POS PAUL RYAN!! HE KILLED OBAMACARE REPEAL AND WILL KILL TAX REFORM!!)
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To: Kaslin

The left wants us to join them in their delusional psychoses about Trump. We can’t let them set the parameters of the discussion when their claims and framing are so out there in la-la land and riddled with hypocrisy.


15 posted on 05/19/2017 9:10:20 AM PDT by FenwickBabbitt
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To: Kaslin

My take is that the naming of a Special Counsel caught the Dems totally by surprise. Although they called for one, I don’t think they ever expected it to happen, and were caught totally off-guard. Now they’ve clammed up, because they know that this investigation will be more in-depth, and extend much further than what they ever wanted. The biggest whiners on both sides of the aisle are suddenly silent. Now they have to worry about covering their own behinds. The ones with the biggest mouths have their own secrets to protect. That includes McCain. I hope he’s sweating bullets now.


16 posted on 05/19/2017 10:57:15 AM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: Kaslin; Republicanprofessor; EQAndyBuzz; GSWarrior; AndyJackson; 1Old Pro; JayGalt; marktwain; ...
Trump supporters, they say, have always insisted they are strict adherents of the rule of law but are showing their true colors in defending Trump. But are they? Why is defending Trump against these excessive charges a betrayal of the rule of law? Just because he's handled some things disappointingly doesn't mean he's committed a crime or an impeachable offense. The rule of law requires that we be discriminating about these matters and not jump on the bandwagon to condemn Trump just because we don't approve of some of his actions or statements.

"There is no law in McMinn County."

So said one of the WWII veterans at the Battle of Athens, Tennessee in 1946, to one of the corrupt sheriff's deputies inside the besieged jail.

As we've all seen - "there is no law in Washington, DC".

Just remember that if they "get" President Trump, they'll be coming after a lot of us with the IRS and other government agencies - just like they did to the Tea Party.

Think about it.

17 posted on 05/19/2017 12:11:53 PM PDT by kiryandil (Americ)
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