2015 0 09

I am at ground zero for the GOP civil war at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead, Atlanta. The Redstate Gathering of Erick Erickson. I am not attending the event, I am here with Debbie celebrating our anniversary. We have tickets to see Steeley Dan at Chastain Park tonight. Elvis Costello is opening.

The big event was Erick disinviting Donald Trump because of a comment he made about Megyn Kelly, insinuating (or so he was accused, it was not clear. It was probably just a thoughtless string of words.) she was having menstrual cramps. There are a lot of Red State attendees pissed at Erick’s decision. Some of them may have been attracted to the event to see the front runner. But this is Erick’s gig and he is willing to play judge, jury and executioner at his event.

If The Trumper did not mean the phrase to be as insulting and sexist as it seemed, and I would give him the benefit of the doubt, then one should at least recognize that his unrestrained style leads people to assume the worst. If he has to constantly explain what he meant then he is just not ready for the prime time stage in politics and, god forbid, you do not want someone who is careless with words negotiating on behalf of the most powerful nation on earth.

I think it was a bad move on his part. First, he should be checking everyone’s rocks at the door of his glass house. Erick, a significant force in conservative politics, has crossed the line a few times. His most notorius breach was his reference to Judge Souter as a “goat-fucking child molester”, a line that lingers long after the apology.

Second, trying to marginalize Trump only empowers him. If his schtick is to be an outsider, then Erick is pushing him further outside. Dick Armey once noted, “you should not waste time killing someone who is busy committing suicide.” If he is shunned by every wing of the party it would only encourage hime to split off from the party. Lyndon Johnson would advise that you would rather have him on the inside of the tent pissing out than on the outside pissing in.

I am not a fan of Trump as a candidate. If you are going to be negative and combative then Megyn’s questions were fair game. The reason they were addressed to The Trump was because The Trump was the one who made the comments in question.

There is a difference between rejecting the victimization of the politically correct, and embracing rudeness as a political strategy. There is always 20% of the block who are perpetually pissed about everything all the time. We should not be surprised that Donald is their lightening rod de jour. The Democrats should be more concerned that the ethical vacuum of Hillary has a far greater percent of her party’s support.

Erick and the other Republicans should let The Trump lift and ultimately collapse under his own weight, and trust the voters to reach their own conclusion.

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