Breaking: “CatholicVote.org” and other GOP Elites say Goodbye to Trump

Breaking: “CatholicVote.org” and other GOP Elites say Goodbye to Trump October 8, 2016

Join Keith Michael Estrada on Facebook …


 
5440394763_14a86b1695_b
As if Donald were waving Goodbye! “Donald Trump at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C.” by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. (CC BY-SA 2.0)

“CatholicVote.org” and other GOP Elites are asking Donald Trump to step down after the latest discovery of his decades-long commodification of women.

“CatholicVote”‘s statement reads:

“Newly released comments by Donald Trump leaked from an audio recording in 2005 are disgusting and simply indefensible. In the recording, he brags about sexually assaulting women. Christians should not waste their breath defending them. The mere fact that this conversation is occurring in the context of a presidential campaign impoverishes us all.

“While CatholicVote.org has not endorsed Donald Trump, we have publicly defended his proposals on school choice and parental leave, his pledges on judicial nominations, and his recent commitment to defend and protect religious liberty. We have likewise called attention to the enormous threats posed by Hillary Clinton’s policies if she were to become president, while criticizing the cowardice and scandal of Tim Kaine’s exploitation of Catholicism. Our goal has been simple: secure as much good as possible from a terribly difficult presidential contest among two extraordinarily flawed candidates.

“Catholic voters rightly will be unnerved by these developments. In our opinion, the viability of Donald Trump’s candidacy is now in question. Furthermore, the good many hoped to achieve, in spite of Trump’s many well-known flaws, is also now in doubt. If Donald Trump is unwilling to step aside, the Republican National Committee must act soon out of basic decency and self-preservation.”

Join Keith Michael Estrada on Facebook …

 

Senator John Thune (R-SD), third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leadership, tweeted: “Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.”

Additionally, Senator John McCain of Arizona issued a statement withdrawing support of Donald Trump. Beyond withdrawing support of Trump, Mr. and Mrs. McCain are choosing to write-in the name of some unspecified “qualified” conservative candidate. From Senator McCain’s statement:

“But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me in this.

“Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President.”

All of this is taking place within a few day’s worth of campaign-terminating media reporting on Trump. Learn more about it here.

Good for “CatholicVote.org” to rebuke Trump ever so firmly – however late the rebuke might be. (I wonder, though, if the decision is actually out of respect for the dignity of women, marriage, and family and not to cover their own tails.)

Now we need members from Trump’s Catholic Roundtable to condemn the words – and deeds? – of Mr. Trump and withdraw their support, as well – then let’s organize for a decent candidate that Republicans don’t have to feel gross and guilty in voting for them. (Hopefully Democrats can do the same.)

UPDATE: USA Today has an updated list of Republicans who are stepping away from Trump (here).

Until next time,

Keith Michael Estrada


Browse Our Archives