Donald Trump has "many sides" none of them is leadership

Heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of the young demonstrator who was deliberately killed by the pro-Nazi white supremacists , on August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville VA, during heinous KuKluxKlan riots.  

Charlottesville Virginia is the area where Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello is located.

Obviously, the KuKluxKlan targeted one of the iconic symbols of the US Constitution, because Jefferson wrote most of it.

Charged with the murder was Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, who was arrested on one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count of hit and run attended failure to stop with injury.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is blaming "many sides" for the tragedy, although it was the racist side that caused the death and injuries. 

Rather than demonstrate compassionate leadership, Donald Trump read an ambiguous statement and then retreated to his Bedminister New Jersey luxury hide out.  Honestly, "ambiguity" was never a problem for Donald Trump in the past, even as recently as when he publicly criticized Attorney General Sessions or Senate President Mitch McConnell.  But when publicly addressing racism in Charlottesville, Donald Trump accused "many sides" of being complicit in the loss of life and the injuries caused by the demonstrations. I'm accusing Donald Trump of having many leadership weaknesses, because he criticizes anybody he apparently wants when projecting blame for his own shortcomings, but won't condemn the evils rooted in racism.

Violence erupted in Charlottesville, when hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members — planning to stage what they described as their largest rally in decades to “take America back” — clashed with counter-protesters in the streets and a car plowed into crowds, killing one young person and injuring more than a dozen others.

In his late and tepid response to the incident, Donald Trump called on the "many sides" of the deadly incident to stop the violence.
Rather than condemn racism, Trump made a "many sides" tacit attempt to neutralize the the root cause of the tragedy.

If Donald Trump really cared about this incident and wanted to bring peace, his "many sides" response would've been to acknowledge the compassionate leadership of Virginia's Governor Terry McAuliffe. In fact, the Virginia Governor responded differently and appropriately to the racist incidents. 

In anticipation of escalating violence, McAuliffe had already called for a state of emergency, even before the deliberate killing of the innocent counter-protester. Moreover, as any competent leader would do, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will attend churches in Charlottesville, VA, on Sunday morning, where he will speak about Saturday’s chaos and violence that turned to tragedy, leaving one person dead and 19 others injured.

Rather than to give emotional support to Governor McAulliffe, instead, Donald Trump is hiding in one of his "many places". This time, he's holding up at a golf resort he owns in Bedminister, New Jersey.

In one of the "many responses" to Donald Trump's statement about the August 12, racism riot, the former KKK leader David Duke caustically reminded the "hiding in many (golf resort) places" president that,  "It was white Americans who put you in the presidency'.

Thankfully, many other responses to the Charlottesville tragedy came from leaders who bravely identified racism as the root cause of the incident.

Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia

Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, who was a Vice Presidential candidate in 2016, wrote:

"Virginia has come so far in recent decades to put division behind us. Both Anne and I are so proud of this progress. It's sickening to see the displays of violence and bigotry that were brought to Charlottesville by white nationalists over the last 24 hours, which tragically led to injuries and at least one death today. This is not who we are. Charlottesville is a vibrant community that recognizes the deep scars from our past and has rejected hatred in favor of inclusion.

"The fact that people like David Duke cited the President to justify their views is a disturbing reminder that divisive rhetoric has sadly contributed to a climate where individuals who espouse hate feel emboldened. As they seek publicity through their hateful tactics, let's pull together--regardless of party, race or religion--to reject hatred in no uncertain terms and stand together. I'm encouraged by the words of leaders on both sides of the aisle who have spoken out forcefully against what has occurred today, and it's critical that we follow up those words with action that builds a more inclusive future. We call ourselves a Commonwealth because the word signifies community. It's who we are and we won't go backwards."

Donald Trump's many racism and anti-patriotic sides (ie #TrumpRussia_gate), also includes an inability to demonstrate compassionate leadership.

He should not be learning "many sides" leadership from Governor McAuliffe and Senator Tom Kaine. Rather, Trump must condemn racism and denounce the KuKluxKlan leader, the evil David Duke.

If it fits in the basket of deplorables, they must admit: Truth isn't pretty

Let's encourage Donald Trump to waste $2million in his meager campaign money to exploit his own "deplorable" followers, as he did in his recent pol-ad buy, where his "brilliant" videographers highlight the fascinating part of Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" speech. (Reported in Daily Kos).

[Hillary speaking]: “You could put half of Trump supporters into what I’d call a basket of ‘deplorables’...the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic...you name it.”

UPDATE: BREAKING: Trump releases anti-Trump ad- by "Brainwrap".

Racist Trumponians belong in the basket of deplorables.

In summary, no place in the Trumponian ad provides a voice over to counter Hillary Clinton's description of those who she puts in the "deplorables basket".  

Two simple observations:

1. At no point in the ad does either the voiceover or the visuals bother trying to claim that any of Hillary’s claims are false. I mean, the crowd shots do include a shot of a black guy, women, and one shot of someone holding a “Veterans for Trump” sign as counters to the attacks...but they all flip by so quickly I’m not sure anyone will get that. Oh, and they make sure to include a quick shot of Trump handing out play-doh, which isn’t exactly a winning argument.

2. In addition, the ad is targeted not at independents or squishy Hillary-leaners, but specifically at those already supporting Trump. This might make sense if he held a narrow lead and was just trying to shore up his base, but he’s the one who needs to win over undecideds.

Anyway, that’s my take.

So, typical of Donald Trump, he's wasting his money targeting his supporters while, at the same time, reinforcing Hillary's message.

Indeed, those who believe David Duke is worth electing to office, or those who want to vote for Donald Trump because the racist David Duke supports him, are who they are and belong in the "basket of deplorables"  Go Hillary!

If the deplorables fit inside the basket, then they they must admit to who they are and the deplorable racism they represent. Truth isn't pretty.

Anti-Trump drumbeat may not crecendo on time for Super Tuesday

Republican are now freaking out because Donald Trump may be the political equivalent of the Titanic, or a doomed luxury liner style campaign. In other words, Trump lives the boisterous high life, but he's about to take the Republican party into the deep six.

John Oliver takes down Donald Trump 

Now, "super Tuesday" primary elections scheduled for March 1st, will likely be a sweep for Trump's campaign. He'll march to the Republican national convention and the could eventually (unbelievably) be the party's presidential nominee! Unless, of course, he's stopped. Maybe. the onslaught of bad Trump publicity will miraculously block the Southern "super Tuesday" extremists from voting for a candidate who is supported by the previous Ku Klux Klan racist leader, David Duke.

What took the Republican so long to wake up?
John Oliver devoted his entire 30-minute show on Sunday to Donald Trump, comparing the GOP presidential frontrunner to a mole that can no longer be ignored.

Oliver criticized Trump's portrayal of himself as a successful businessman while argued the Republican is thin-skinned, a liar and inconsistent with his public positions. 

"I get that the character of Donald Trump is entertaining, and that he says things that people want to hear," Oliver said. "And I know that his very name is powerful."

But Oliver argued that Trump isn't what he seems. 

Here are some of the qualities many supporters have listed about Trump — and Oliver's counterpoints:
"He tells it like it is": "Does he? Because the website PolitiFact checked 77 of his statements, and rated 76 percent of them as varying degrees of false."

"He is truly independent and not beholden to anyone": "While it is true that he hasn't taken corporate money, the implication that he has personally spent $20 to $25 million is a bit of a stretch, because what he's actually done is loaned his own campaign $17.5 million and has just personally given just $250,000. And that's important, because up until the convention he can pay himself back for the loan with campaign funds."

"He's tough": "For a tough guy, he has incredibly thin skin. Back in 1988, Spy magazine called him a short-fingered vulgarian. And ever since, the editor Graydon Carter says he receives envelopes from Trump, always with a photo on which he circled his hand to highlight the length of his fingers, usually with a note reading, 'See, not so short!'"

"His success": "While yes, he has made more money than most of us will make in a lifetime, not only did he get a multimillion-dollar inheritance from his father, but he's also lost a huge amount."

Oliver then played a clip of Trump's daughter saying, "I remember once my father and I were walking down Fifth Avenue and there was a homeless person sitting right outside of Trump Tower. And I remember my father pointing to him and saying, 'You know, that guy has $8 billion more than me.' Because he was in such extreme debt at that point."

Oliver also noted one other issue with Trump: He's wildly inconsistent. "He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for and against assault weapon bans, in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees and deporting them out of the country."

Or take Trump's inconsistent statements on former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke's endorsement of Trump. To CNN, Trump said, "I don't know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists."

Oliver was not having it, pointing to Trump's past remarks to journalists: "Really? That's your best answer there? Because you definitely know who he is — partly because you called him 'a bigot' and 'a racist' in the past."

Oliver concluded that the best way to take down Trump is to uncouple him from his brand — his name. And it turns out that the Trump family's name was once Drumpf. Oliver explained how this could work:

If you are thinking of voting for Donald Trump, the charismatic guy promising to make America great again, stop and take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you just met a guy named Donald Drumpf, a litigious serial liar with a string of broken business ventures and the support of a former Klan leader who he can't decide whether or not to condemn. Would you think he would make a good president, or is the spell now somewhat broken?

"That is why tonight I am asking America to make Donald Drumpf again," Oliver added.

Oliver then announced the launch of the #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain and the website DonaldJDrumpf.com, where anyone can download a browser extension that replaces Trump's name with Drumpf.

"We cannot keep getting blinded by the magic of his name," Oliver said. "So please, don't think of him as Donald Trump. Think of him as something else."

As a matter of fact, Maine Writer has thought of Donald Trump as a "Chump," for a long long time. It's impossible for me to think of the racist, extremist, egotist, narcissistic Drumpf as the leader of the free world.