Donald Trump is now officially the Code Pink Republican. Or maybe he's the Daily Kos or Huffington Post Republican. How about the Debbie Wasserman Schultz Republican? I think that fits. Heck, we all saw it and we all heard it. Trump went full left loon on George W. Bush and 9/11, sounding like the most impassioned truther from the left. Did Maxine Waters do his debate prep?
Trump snarked childishly that Bush did not keep us safe on 9/11. Apparently Mr. Trump is not intellectually very curious about history. If he were, he would know that 9/11 was dreamed up, contemplated, financed, planned, and practiced on Bill Clinton's watch. This planning and practicing continued during the days of the hanging chads in Florida.
This is not to defend George W. Bush and his neocon nation-building fantasies and his capitulation to unions regarding the TSA and so on. I've been critical of Bush and Karl Rove since 2001 on these and many other issues.
But the truth matters.
And the truth is that the single biggest failure by the American intelligence community was foisted onto the CIA and the FBI by Clinton appointee Jamie Gorelick with her infamous "wall of separation" between the two agencies. They had their hands tied behind their backs -- thanks to a Clinton appointee.
Seriously Donald, is a cheap shot at lowly Jeb worth the worst kind of leftist revisionist history that will no doubt harm the Republican nominee in the fall? Apparently it is. This was simply shameful, not to mention contextually not true.
But? Will it matter to his botlike followers? It should, but it probably won't. If it bothers you, you are not a bot. If it doesn't, you are. Period. This was a devastating and unforgivable mistake. It was a colossal screwup. Why? Because this kind of thing is guaranteeing a Democrat win in 2016 however -- something millions are not situationally aware enough to understand. More on that later.
First, let's remember that for a long time Trump has been the Chuck Schumer Republican -- and the Nancy Pelosi Republican -- two titles he again gladly claimed just recently. He is also the 'blame business for ObamaCare' Republican and let us not forget that he is still apparently the Planned Parenthood Republican.
Because they do good work, you know.
Those two realities alone should shame and embarrass anyone who has been on Team Trump -- but Trump nation is a universe seemingly immune to reality and reason when they point to the conclusion that maybe the Donald is not a good choice.
And the ObamaCare absurdities that the long time universal care advocate is holding onto are frightening -- if one would but consider the ramifications. Alas, ramifications are understood only in the context of reality and logic. Oh well.
And the signs are everywhere, though to listen to most talk radio hosts, one would think none of this is happening. If Red State or National Review accurately quotes Trump, the problem is Red State and National Review -- not Trump. Hell, how can he lose? How can you argue with that?
In Iowa, Trump was the pro ethanol "outsider" Republican, an atrocity futher magnified by Governor Terry Branstad and his crony lobbyist son -- who were harassing the lone candidate bold enough to stand up against the corn scam all across Iowa. Anybody but Cruz, they whined.
If Trump were the alpha male his drones claim, he'd put that corn product in his jet and see if it would even generate thrust. He says it's "terrific" after all.
Trump then called any Republican against the corn scam "in the pocket of big oil." Talk about another Daily Kos talking point. Do you like ethanol subsidies? Are you in big oil's pocket. I wish I were. I just happen to like net positive energy that is not propped up by lobbyists and green energy wackos and despicable cronies.
Oh, and let's not forget -- speaking of Iowa -- that late in the Iowa campaign Trump was the "Scalia is a racist" Republican. Nice touch, Donald, in light of Scalia's untimely passing. Sorry to remind you.
Meanwhile, Trump has long been the Bernie Sanders Republican, agreeing with the avowed Socialist nut case in his final appeals across New Hampshire on almost everything. It was such a joke that many independent voters were trying to decide between Sanders and Trump.
And to top it off, he came out recently and doubled down on being the crony capitalist Republican -- a title he's held for a long time -- by reiterating his support for confiscatory eminent domain even for private projects. Donald has never met a winner or loser he wasn't happy for government to pick.
And all of this is fine with his adoring fans. This is problematic, because we are not a nation who should ever adore our politicians in this way. It's unhealthy, it's un-American and it's profoundly nonconservative. More to my first point, however, is the fact that this will guarantee a Democrat win in November.
If we cede that Bush was at fault for 9/11 -- and Trump just absolutely proclaimed it -- we cannot win. If we cede that it was Bush, and not Fannie and Freddie and not the EPA and not Chris Dodds and Barney Frank (and Jamie Gorelick) at fault, then we cannot win. Trump did this a few months ago, stating categorically that "I don't think the Democrats would have done that."
Uh... earth to Donald -- it was the Democrats who did that. How did this escape this supposedly macro-economically gifted mind? Maybe -- just maybe -- being born wealthy and then running rent-controlled apartments and strip clubs and reality TV shows and beauty pageants and casinos is not quite the same as understanding the entire economy and how it works. If being rich were proof of having the right prescriptions for the macro economy, then George Soros and the Michael Bloomberg are far more qualified to be president than Trump. From where I sit, they both started out much poorer than Trump, have not declared four bankruptcies, and are now much richer than Trump.
I only say this because A: Trump supporters point to his wealth as proof of his economic genius without any circumspection and B: he did just say some ridiculously idiotic things about the macro economy. He said it. Not me. Him! He was wrong, and being rich doesn't change the fact that he was and is totally wrong about this.
No Republican can win the White House if Bush, or any other Republican, or Republicanism or conservatism, is blamed for 9/11 and for 2008. Not gonna happen. If Trump continues down this road, this is the danger. This is why the Karl Rove/Bush strategy of never contesting anything from the bully pulpit for eight years still haunts us today. Now Donald is doubling down on it.
To take the 9/11 truther stance simply to score a few cheap points against Jeb is petty and vindictive and childish -- not to mention inaccurate and infinitely damaging. Barack Obama ran against George Bush twice -- practically ignoring John McCain and Mitt Romney. He won, as a Democrat.
If Trump wants to run against W, perhaps he should do it as a Democrat. Trump-Sheehan 2016. Or as his sophomoric fans would say, GO TRUMP!!!!!!!!
Edmund Wright is a contributor to American Thinker, Newsmax TV, Breitbart, Talk Radio Network -- and author of the Amazon bestselling election book WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost…Again.
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