10-08-2016, 10:27 AM
(10-08-2016, 06:13 AM)Duchess Wrote:
So...I read Republicans & Evangelicals are sickened by Trump's remarks yet some of both are still making excuses for him. Hahaha! How do you not have a backbone to stand up for what you believe in? How? Ryan, Preibus and McCain still support him, their condemnation is meaningless posture, one GOP chairman blamed Bill Clinton for Trump's remarks and prominent Evangelicals still back him.
See me smirking.
I see that smirk!!
Trump had a hard time winning over some evangelical politicians and the constituencies they represent.
But, after Ted Cruz's defeat and Trump's bit of time when he was acting more presidential, he won over a sizable portion of the evangelical vote and got some key endorsements. I think many of those politicians must be kicking themselves in the asses right about now as they try to figure out how to best protect their seats in next year's re-elections and still seem like torch-bearers for the religious right and champions of family values.
However, last night, some evangelical leaders acted swiftly and made it clear that they've dumped Trump. He's now lost his Utah GOP evangelical support. On the record publicly unendorsing and/or calling for Trump to step down:
-Representative Jason Chaffetz told media outlets that he withdraws his endorsement. He said he can't look his wife and daughters in the eyes and say he supports this man.
-Senator Mike Lee posted a video on Facebook saying that Trump is a "distraction" and that "it's time for him to step aside."
-Governor Gary Herbert made a statement declaring that he absolutely "will not vote for Trump".
-2012 Presidential Candidate and former governor Jon Huntsman told the Salt Lake City Tribune that "the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket." He'd finally endorsed Trump only last week.
It'll be very interesting to see if evangelicals outside of the Utah/Mormon camps also dump Trump claiming 'moral grounds' if Trump doesn't do better in tomorrow's Town Hall debate than he did the first one and it thus becomes politically convenient to do so.