Enough said.
Posted on 02/24/2016 2:01:38 PM PST by MeanWestTexan
Donald Trump, the undoubted Republican front-runner after winning the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, is — there is no way to sugarcoat this — a liar, an ignoramus, and a moral abomination. I have never previously described any presidential candidates in such harsh terms — not even close — but there is no other way to accurately describe him. There simply isn't. This past week, the week culminating in his big South Carolina win, provided yet more evidence, as if any were needed, of the validity of all these words to describe him.
Start with the lying. Trump has consistently claimed that he was the "only" Republican candidate who opposed the Iraq War from the start. Until recently, commentators could do no more than note there was no evidence of his opposition. Now we can go further because, thanks to the ground-breaking work of BuzzFeed reporter Andrew Kaczyinski, we know that Trump actually supported the invasion.
On September 11, 2002, Trump told Howard Stern "yeah I guess so" when asked if he supported an invasion of Iraq. Why his hesitation? Only because he thought it should have happened sooner. As he said: "I wish the first time it was done correctly," suggesting, as he had previously written, that George H.W. Bush should have toppled Saddam in 1991.
After the invasion started, on March 21, 2003, Trump called it a "tremendous success from a military standpoint." He did not come out in bull-blown opposition until April, 2004, calling it a "terrible mistake," by which time the Abu Ghraib excesses had been revealed and the U.S. was suffering battlefield reverses in Fallujah and elsewhere.
Asked now to explain his quotations from 2002-2003, Trump can only say: "I really don’t even know what I mean." That's a pretty weak way to explain away a blatant lie, and one that has been at the core of his claim to possess the kind of foreign policy judgment we need in a president.
It should be added that this is hardly only lie that Trump has brazenly peddled. Other doozies include his claim that "thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey cheered 9/11 and that he had no idea that a reporter whose disability he ridiculed was actually disabled — he claimed to have no memory of meeting him (which he had done many times). Ironically Trump’s greatest lie of all is his claim to have "the world’s greatest memory."
But wait, as they say on late-night TV, there is more. Trump's ignorance was revealed yet again this past week with his bizarre praise of General John J. Pershing whose supposed example he cited as a model in the war on terror. Here is what Trump said:
"General Pershing was a rough guy, He caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage…and he took the 50 terrorists and he took 50 men and dipped 50 bullets in pig’s blood. You heard about that? He took 50 bullets and dipped them in pig's blood [which is considered haram]. And he has his men load up their rifles and he lined up the 50 people and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said, you go back to your people and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years there wasn't a problem. We've got to start getting tough and we’ve got to start being vigilant and we've got to start using our heads or we’re not gonna have a country, folks."
There’s only one problem with Trump's inspirational tale: There is no evidence it ever happened. Snopes.com describes this as a common urban legend. It is actually far removed from the way that Captain Pershing dealt with the Moros, the Muslims in the Philippines, in the early years of the 20th century. As I wrote in my book The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power, "Captain Pershing preferred to win over the Moros with outstretched hand rather than mailed fist. So successful was his campaign that he was made a datto, or chieftain."
In other words, Pershing's approach was the very opposite of what Trump claimed. Although Pershing was not afraid to use force if necessary, he understood that the Moros could not simply be terrorized into acquiescence to American rule and that excessive brutality could backfire.
It is offensive that Trump is praising Pershing for war crimes he didn't commit and simply gobsmacking that Trump thinks that Pershing could have ended the Moro insurrection for 25 years simply by executing 49 prisoners. In fact, while Pershing did help to quell the Moro uprising using a balanced counterinsurgency approach, it never truly ended; the Muslim insurrection in the Philippines continues to this day, a fact of which Trump is undoubtedly unaware.
The larger point is that Trump is wrong to claim that we can defeat ISIS and al-Qaeda by emulating their tactics. The more likely outcome is to create more enemies than we eliminate. Even the Nazis couldn’t pacify the Balkans in World War II by using scorched-earth tactics.
It is hard to think of another major party presidential candidate in our history as ignorant, mendacious, and offensive as Trump. And yet a significant share of the GOP electorate, amounting to roughly a third of early state voters, has been supporting him in no small part because they think he is telling it "like it is." No, he isn't. What he is saying bears no relation to basic truth or common decency.
This is what it is all about in my opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aimgwzV-77U
Please read this:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/ted-cruz-donald-trump-border-wall-mexico-217372
Then consider what you say and what you believe. Because you’re accepting spin that is not true.
I know it won’t make a difference but am so tired of the BS that is spewed in the national media and unfortunately here as well.
You got that right!
I have to say that I cannot blame Trump for saying what he did. The first time I ever heard Cruz talk about a wall/fence was in late 2015. He may have said it long before then but I was not aware of it. I guess I could have researched it but I think Cruz should probably have communicated his message better.
Not if you look at the dates the papers were put out. Cruz copied a lot of stuff Trump said first, but it was all good stuff.
Cruz has always been tough on illegal immigration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrG0I7x5KkQ
Max Boot is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He has been a prominent advocate for American power. He once described his ideas as “American might to promote American ideals.” Wikipedia
Born: September 12, 1969 (age 46), Moscow, Russia
Education: Yale University, University of California, Berkeley
It is to laugh. :)
Another freeper reported that she was making calls in South Carolina for Trump.
How many delegates did Trump win in South Carolina, again? :)
Yeah, but to get a balance, the neocon was educated at Berkeley... LOL! :)
Sarah Palin
11 hrs
Trump Smashes Records, Again; Democrat Turnout Declines, Again; Media Ignores the Reason, Again
Hat trick! Three in a row with a “yuuuge” Trump victory in Nevada last night. The ‪‎TrumpTrain‬ rolls on, full steam ahead to Super Tuesday.
To all GOP beltway bellyachers crying (literally) this marks the “end of the GOP” or the people’s vote for Trump is “bad for democracy,” how about you try something new this morning: use your noggin and examine the facts.
The fact is, Trump’s independence, commonsense conservatism, experience, success, and refreshing candidness attracts voters. But most significantly, his message INSPIRES AMERICANS! We CAN win again! Trump’s building a new, broad coalition - bringing the GOP new, hardworking patriots who love America as much as he does. This is how he wins this fall.
- In the four states already voting (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada) each saw a record GOP turnout, smashing previous records.
- Nevada was so big, it’s record-setting number equaled that of 2008 and 2012 turnouts COMBINED! Meanwhile, turnout for the democrat caucus declined by 33% - yikes! http://thehill.com/…/270555-gop-race-drives-record-turnout-…;
- GOP turnout in South Carolina DOUBLED that of 2008, and grew another 130,000 new voters in 2016. Any bets on what happens Saturday when it’s the democrats’ turn? http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/south-carolina-…/…/2583786
- Records broke in New Hampshire; again the GOP trajectory UP, democrats DOWN. Liberals lost thousands in their hot contest. http://www.npr.org/…/new-hampshire-turnout-breaks-records-b…;
- Iowa GOP caucus ranks grew by 60,000. On the other side? A strange, tight race was decided by only 0.3%...? Dems lost voters.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/…/caucus-turnout…/79626128/
Wake up, Old Establishment. You’re the last to open your eyes to what is happening in this country. Donald Trump has awakened the electorate and exposed the self-serving political machine in a way no other could. The rest of us welcome new voters into what you’ve claimed to want - the “big tent” - even as you practice your disparaging elitism, trying to discourage us all. Your true colors show. As I said in Iowa, you don’t care WHO wins elections as long as you keep your perks, crony capital favors, and inner-circle money-centric power. This is merely a BUSINESS for you. You’re in it for a season, not a reason. So obvious is your agenda, trying to destroy anyone who’d go rogue and not get sucked into your schemes, that when we find the candidate in the perfect position to bust up your cabal, you’ve gone into overdrive. Meanwhile we’ll keep on winning, and encouraging all these new voters to bring family and friends along!
What is happening that the Permanent Political Class can’t see? For our solvency and sovereignty, lovers of America knew the status quo had to go. We knew we needed a revolution. We found a revolutionary.
- Sarah Palin
Enough said.
It’s an impressive if not ornate structure. So, are we to chase the guy with the tallest building who is bereft of essential Constitutional principles? I think not. Especially when the man who ordered it built is a pathological liar who thinks that PP does wonderful things.
Dead Cruz former candidate.
EVEN if every one of these items were Cruz Lies, which they are not, the fact is that Banana Don tells more lies before he digests breakfast than all the pseudo-”lies” cited here.
“Max Boot was BORN IN RUSSIA (look it up). Should we believe anything he says regarding our elections?”
Yeah, and he is a filthy Joooooo, too!
(sarcasm, for Trump supporters and people from Rio Linda)
“As far as the amnesty issue goes. One guy (Trump) is saying they get a round trip ticket and another guy (Cruz) says they go period. The other guy (Rubio) is saying the illegals can stay.....I will wager that those Trump voters did not know that Trump has taken that position. Or knows his position on Ethanol and other government subsidies and mandates.”
They don’t know. Turnip supporters are too busy screaming “LIAAR” at anyone who dares state Turnip’s positions.
Trump copied Cruz.
You presumably know this, and it can be easily found with one quick Google search.
But don’t let that stop you from repeating Trump’s lie in this regard; people are catching on and small lies like this of Trump are adding up.
I like how you attack the author and don’t dispute the facts.
It’s very impressively liberal tactic, like Trump and Obama.
I now realize that is the case. You do not think that Cruz should have communicated his position better? I was not aware of his being for a wall since 2011 until yesterday. People harp on Trump for being repetitive but it is effective in communicating his position. Counting on people to google your position instead of repeatedly publicizing it at every opportunity is probably a losing proposition. I think it comes down to Trump identifying immigration as one of his main issues and Cruz probably not treating it as such early in the campaign. Trump also talked about securing the border in his 2011 book “Time to Get Tough”, if you care to read it.
I could have attecked Cruz the Luser, but I though that might irk you. :)
Remember - You Cruz, You Lose.
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