Donald Trump’s invective has disrupted the character of US politics. It will be hard to change.. Meanwhile, John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, and ultimate insider, last week said that the US should set up a federal agency to promote Judeo-Christian values. Until Mr Trump, most Republicans rejected the “clash of civilisations” view of the world. Now it is normal.
.. Father Charles Coughlin, the Trump of 1930s America, said: “When we get through with the Jews in America, they’ll think the treatment they received in Germany was nothing.” Mr Trump talks of Syria’s huddled refugees as “Trojan horses” for Isis.
Trump’s Muslim-Registry Blunder
A Muslim registry would suffer from the same flaw. Few if any terrorists would sign up, assuming for argument’s sake that it could be enforced — and just imagine what would happen the first time the Justice Department indicted a Muslim for failing to register.
Newsflash: Jihadists lie whenever lying facilitates the execution of their missions. And they have no compunction about concealing their religion, ideology, or similar personal characteristics. Al-Qaeda, for example, has long sought American, Canadian, and European members because they can freely enter those places. These jihadists may have, say, American or British citizenship and passports, but they are not, in their own minds, Yanks or Brits. They are militant subjects of the ummah who are using a cover to infiltrate and terrorize. On this, the jihadists like to quote their prophet: “War is deceit.”
Therefore, the only people who would end up registering would be law-abiding Muslims, who would be justifiably angry about being coerced in such a lawless and pointless manner.
Why Ben Carson’s Nazi Analogies Matter
In one respect, Mr. Carson is the antithesis of the crude and boisterous Mr. Trump. In tone and style, Mr. Carson comes across as calm, reasonable and agreeable. But in fact he is more rhetorically intemperate than even Mr. Trump.
.. Mr. Carson had expressed concern that if Republicans didn’t win control of the Senate in 2014, “there may be so much anarchy going on” that the 2016 elections couldn’t be held.
.. As a result, the usual ways voters judge a candidate — experience, governing achievements, mastery of issues — have been devalued. People are looking for candidates not only to give voice to their anger but to amplify it. Reason has given way to demagogy. In a political context, Mr. Trump and Mr. Carson represent the id rather than the superego, not just in what they say but in how they perceive the world around them.
Trump Is the Poison His Party Concocted
“All of our veterans, particularly P.O.W.s, deserve our respect and admiration,” said Jeb Bush. The Republican National Committee was quick to lay down a similar principle, saying, “There is no place in our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”
No place except a presidential campaign, that being the 2004 attempt to destroy the honorable Vietnam service of candidate John Kerry. Where was Bush’s “respect and admiration” when his brother was benefiting from a multimillion-dollar smear of a Navy veteran with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart?