Four Words: We have no Choice
Of all the words that Donald J. Trump flings into the world, the four most Trumpian are “We have no choice.” It’s a favorite phrase, and one that he used last week in response to the attack at Pulse, a gay dance club in Orlando,
.. The phrase is a dismissal of rational discussion and an intimation of the doom that awaits if Trump is not heeded.
He apparently meant that America cannot endure as a nation of immigrants, or as one that respects the rights of immigrants or even those of their American-born children.
.. Ryan certainly did not believe that helping Hillary Clinton win was an option.
.. The idea that there is no choice has always been an alibi for those who in some sense have given up on democracy—whether to justify a decision to declare a state of emergency or to just stay home from the polls—or on the rule of law.