History Has Its Eyes on You
Yesterday, prominent Florida Republican strategist and longtime Jeb Bush advisor Sally Bradshaw joined a growing chorus of GOP leaders in rescinding her support of Donald Trump. Today, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) became the first Republican elected official to publicly support Secretary Clinton.
While it may have been a tough choice to cross party lines, considering the latest remarks by Donald Trump, it was clearly necessary.
“As much as I don’t want another four years of (President Barack) Obama’s policies, I can’t look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump,” Bradshaw explained. “I can’t tell them to love their neighbor and treat others the way they wanted to be treated, and then vote for Donald Trump. I won’t do it.”
Apparently, Sen. Marco Rubio can – Florida’s junior senator leaned into his endorsement of the man that many, including Bradshaw, have called a narcissist, a misogynist and a bigot. “We have got to come together as a party; we cannot lose to Hillary Clinton,” Rubio told supporters over the weekend. “We cannot lose the White House. We have to make sure that Donald wins this election.”
When it comes to Senator Rubio, it’s clear that he prioritizes party over patriotism. Which begs the question, what more does he need to hear from his party’s nominee to withdraw his support?
Below, we present some of the recent and eloquent Republican and conservative calls for fellow GOP leaders to stand up and reject Trump:
Sally Bradshaw, Republican strategist: Bradshaw, a close advisor to Jeb Bush, told CNN yesterday that she is leaving the Republican Party and is planning to vote for Hillary Clinton. Bradshaw said that the Republican Party is “at a crossroads and have nominated a total narcissist — a misogynist — a bigot … This is a time when country has to take priority over political parties. Donald Trump cannot be elected president … This election cycle is a test … As much as I don’t want another four years of (President Barack) Obama’s policies, I can’t look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump. I can’t tell them to love their neighbor and treat others the way they wanted to be treated, and then vote for Donald Trump. I won’t do it.”
Rep. Richard Hanna, Republican congressman: Rep. Hanna (R-NY), a three-term Republican congressman representing upstate New York, became the first sitting Republican Member of Congress or Senator to announce support for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Rep. Hanna saidthat Trump’s attacks on the Khan family made him feel “incensed … I was stunned by the callousness of his comments,” and noted, “I think Trump is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?” Rep. Hanna further explained, “Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he’s proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country … I can’t look back in my life when I leave this job and know that I didn’t speak the truth when it was important to do so.”
Michael Gerson, conservative columnist and former Republican speechwriter: Gerson’s latest column calls on Republicans to withdraw support for Trump, putting his call for opposition into important historical and moral context: “Leaders who support Trump — members of Congress, conservative thinkers, figures of the religious right — do so for a variety of reasons. But whatever their motivations, they are encouraging an alternate and degraded version of the American story. In Trump’s telling, this is a nation that was once great but is now besieged and infiltrated by threats to its identity….And Trump’s America is defined as the familiar nation of decades past, which was largely white and Christian….Those who support Trump are setting the Republican Party at odds with the American story told by Lincoln and King: a nationalism defined by striving toward unifying ideals of freedom and human dignity. Is this what the speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader, the chairman of the Republican Party and so many other good people intended when they entered politics? Is this how they define their soul’s high purpose? In his last public address, the night before his murder, King mused on mortality, saying that he would die ‘happy’ and ‘not fearing any man’ because he was sure of his life’s mission, which included ‘standing up for the best in the American dream.’ Which Republican leaders can now rest in that confidence? It is not too late to repudiate.”
Peter Wehner, former Reagan and Bush staffer and conservative author: Wehner tweeted, “Memo to Trump supporters: He’s a man of sadistic cruelty. With him there’s no bottom. Now go ahead & defend him.”
According to Elbert Garcia, Director of Florida’s Voice, “Time and time again, Donald Trump proves that he is unfit to unite the country and serve as President. And yet, Senator Rubio stands by his endorsement. If he won’t stand up to the racist rhetoric of Trump now, what makes Floridians think that he has the courage to be the leader that they deserve? The longer he waits to do the right thing and pull his endorsement, the more he proves how far he is willing to go to make Trump’s divisive and limited vision of America a reality.”
