I'm skeptical of the notion that other Republican candidates are trying to match the crudity of Donald Trump, but I see where said notion comes from. After Trump's rise in the polls, and with other candidates getting desperate at the thought of missing the cut for the debates, we're seeing this stuff:
Rick Perry responded to the movie theater shooting in Lafayette by saying we need more guns in movie theaters. Right, because all those action-hero-wannabes will spin around, pick out the right target, and hit the target, maybe all in the dark. Meanwhile, police will identify the shooter among the wannabes by ... mind reading?
Ted Cruz called the Senate majority leader, whose caucus Cruz is ostensibly a part of, a liar --- while speaking on the Senate floor. Democrats may detest Cruz, but Republicans have to put up with the guy face to face. If any of his colleagues have endorsed him, I can't find the evidence of it.
Mike Huckabee said the nuclear deal with Iran is like marching Israelis toward the door to the oven. Or, as a former ambassador to Israel put it, "There are serious issues to be debated here but for anybody to equate what the president’s doing to what Adolph Hitler did in World War II is just extraordinary. And in some ways it’s a form of incitement, and we've seen the results of that 20 years ago in Israel. There was the same kind of incitement against Yitzhak Rabin and that led to a tragic outcome." I wish I could feign surprise, but whenever peace is made, the people who want war go nuts, sometimes including acting out violently. Here's hoping Nazi comparisons are as bad as the craziness gets. If you don't want to be labeled crazy, here's what I do when making Nazi comparisons: stop talking. It's better to appear dumbstruck for a moment, because the Nazis were so unique, that if you compare anything to them, pretty much guaranteed, you will look nuts; or at least grossly ignorant of history.
Of course, Trump himself kept it up, responding to an attack from a Scott Walker fundraiser by saying, "...they projected a $1 billion surplus and it turns out to be a deficit of $2.2 billion. And money all over the place. The schools are a disaster, and they're fighting like crazy because there's no money for the schools. The hospitals and education is a disaster."
Hang on. Trump is right about that. Bad example.
Anyway, I'm not actually convinced they're trying to out-Trump Trump. After all, Nazi comparisons are pretty much Mike HUckabee's stump speech. Weird to think I used to consider him the reasonable conservative. He had the only watchable program on Fox News, at least early on until he decided to go first class on the crazy train.
And Cruz didn't just get obnoxious on Sunday. Being insulting to everyone who isn't an ideologically pure conservative --- which is everyone except him, just ask him --- is pretty much his whole platform. Breaking decorum while seeking opportunities to be a jerk is to Cruz like Nazi comparisons are to Huckabee.
And Perry, much as he wants to call Trump a "cancer", is the some blustering fool who thought he could get elected in 2012 but giving credence to Texas secessionists and implying that Ben Bernanke should be lynched for monetary stimulus.
So attribute provocative statements to trying to keep up with Trump if you want, but frankly, that's just who these guys are. Trump is merely the best at it. Anybody have a bus? Even clowns have trouble squeezing this many into a car.
One last note: that last paragraph is not a call to ignore Trump and just focus on the other candidates.Trump is still the Republicans' albatross. If you don't want to take it from me, then see what a Republican says. Each of you who clicks that Politico link tells Politico that Trump stories will generate traffic. Every media organization tracks which stories get clicked on, and considers that in deciding what to publish, which means you helped keep the GOP's Trump problem going. So click away.
#ThisGuyWantsToBePresident
cross-posted at MN Progressive Project