'O tempora, o mores!' Said Marcus Tullius Cicero, senator and Consul of Rome, in about 60 B.C.
'Oh the times, Oh the customs!'.
It is a plaint often repeated down the ages, when confronted by the stupidity, the vulgarity and the corruption of an age. Cicero continued (in his First Oration of Marcus Tullius Cicero Against Lucius Catalina):
Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? Quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia?
When will you cease abusing our patience, Catiline? How long, in your madness, wll you mock us? When will there be an end to your boastful and unbridled audacity?
Much the same has been said, albeit far less elegantly, over the last month or so by the quacking derp-meisters that make up the conservative gasbag-a-tariat. The fulminations against Donald Trump--from Charles Cabbage-Hammer to Michael Gerson, from David Brooks to Ross Douthat--have been impressive in both their acrimony and their failure to grasp the Trump phenomenon.
While the gasbags plead with some mythical and occulted GOP--presumably biding its time and keeping its powder dry--to 'rid us of this turbulent pest' ( to paraphrase Henry II), Trump merrily connects with the actual GOP.
You know, the goobers, clucks and knuckleheads who wouldn't know George Will from George of The Jungle.
Meanwhile, George Will tears out his synthetic hair in frustration and Charles Cabbage-Hammer (who has never been mistaken for a little ray of sunshine) melts into a puddle of bile and broken dreams.
Is all hope for the GOP lost, then?
Not according to deranged 'entertainment lawyer' Jennifer Rubin, who is busily vying with William Kristol for the 'Full-Spectrum Wrongness' crown. In Rubin's latest yawn-fest, her fatal eye has fallen on Sen. Marco Rubio, poor fellow. His doom must shortly follow, as night follows day.
Consider Rubin's record of lethal support. When Sen. Grandpa Comb-Over and The Snowshoe Grifter hove into view, Rubin could barely contain her excitement:
Palin has taken the GOP faithful by storm, captured the attention of the largest audience ever to watch a VP acceptance speech, and potentially created an entirely new presidential race. If the Obama camp seems flummoxed and floundering, alternating between horrid insults and praise for the new Republican VP nominee, it is easy to see why: she has completely shaken up the race.
...the Republican base is now energized and enthusiastic like never before in this race. If the Obama team was betting on a "turnout race" and a depressed conservative turnout, they may need to reconsider...
...Palin has helped revived McCain's maverick, outside the Beltway message. Get ready to hear more about her record of taking on GOP corruption and her disdain for the old boy network.
...Palin will help McCain keep the energy issue front and center and pound home the message that the GOP is in favor of an all-out, multi-front effort to develop domestic sources of energy including oil and natural gas. She is an expert on the issue...
...and so, tediously, on Rubin drooled, smitten by the Tundra Twit's moose-killing talent:
She and McCain now present a pro-gun, pro-property rights, pro-drilling duo of westerners in contrast to the urban duo of Obama-Biden. I don't imagine the Democrats will even try the ritual hunting expedition which has become a mainstay in presidential races. (Better not to compete against a gal who slays moose.)
Their fate was sealed: Rubin's endorsement ensured that Angry Grandpa and Moose-alini would be handed their asses in a bag.
RIP John McCain/Sarah Palin
Next up, the MittBot 2.0. Once again, The Fatal Eye of Rubin alighted, and once alighted, all became desolation and ashes.
First, Rubin assured the world that Romney would not be the GOP nominee. Inevitably, he was.
Then Rubin saw the light and The Mittbot and his vapid bag-carrier Ryan were dead men walking:
...now time and momentum are on Romney’s side. He appears to a plurality of voters to be not just an alternative to Obama but a good one. Unless that changes and changes fast (remember early voting is ongoing), Romney will win.
RIP Romney/Ryan.
More recently, Rubin's Eye of Campaign Death fell on Gov. Rick Perry and those of us in-the-know started measuring him for a wooden-box. And so it proved.
RIP Gov. Rick Perry.
Then it was Gov. Scott Walker's turn. He could run but he couldn't hide from The Rubin Gaze of Grief. Rubin chooses, the candidate loses. There's no escape.
RIP Gov. Scott Walker.
And now, desperate to find a savior, a candidate who can make the GOP seem--oh, I don't know...marginally sane?--The Lethal Eye of Rubin has fallen on Sen. Marco Rubio--The Thirsty Anchor Baby, as some cruel wit labeled him.
So, it's over for Rubio. The Death Watch Beetle has taken up residence in his campaign and Rubio now has one foot in the grave and the other foot on a banana skin.
If Rubin really wants to help the GOP, she should immediately announce her support for Donald Trump. It wouldn't be as quick as shooting him in the head but by God, it would be just as certain.