Perhaps you will say to yourself when reading this that you already know this. It’s not “news” to you.
But it is a litmus test regarding just where we are here in the devolution of democracy, law and order. Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin condemned the Trump White House on MSNBC’s Deadline, telling Nicolle Wallace they are “soulless people working for a soulless president.”
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Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post explained why the White House seems more upset over the leak than the insult to Republican Senator John McCain.
Rubin answered:
“These are soulless people working for a soulless president. The President Of The United States doesn’t have a purpose higher than himself and therefore the people who work for him do not have a higher purpose. They don’t see themselves as custodians of the public good.”
“They are there to advance their own careers to, as you say, settle scores. It’s all about a me-me-me philosophy.”
“So the notion you should rise above the day to day requirements of this president who never apologizes for anything because he can never be wrong is something completely alien to them. They do not think that you ever apologize for anything no matter how egregious in any other White House, this would never have occurred.”
“George Bush would have never hired someone of such low character. Secondly, they would have been profusely apologizing, falling all over themselves. But this White House is unlike any other White House. It does not have a public purpose. It has a private agenda. And Trump is loyal to Trump and so his aides and advisors are loyal to no one but themselves.”
Lawrence Tribe pointed out that there is no other administration that could have provoked such a verdict from a serious journalist:
The thoughtful and talented @JRubinBlogger just told the awesome @NicolleDWallace: “These are soulless people working for a soulless president.†Can you magine any other administration that could even arguably have provoked that verdict from a serious journalist? I can’t.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) May 14, 2018
Nicolle Wallace worked on the McCain Palin campaign. So here we have two conservative women discussing this White House and agreeing that it is indeed soulless.
To condemn the President of the United States as soulless is heavy criticism, and it is from the few serious Republicans left at the table that we hear the most unapologetic criticisms. It carries more weight coming from their own “side” of the aisle, rightly or wrongly, and it illustrates the incredible divide in this country among those who have values and those who do not.
Donald Trump and his administration do not stand for anything but selfishness, greed, and self-dealing. They don’t care who they hurt, who dies – literally – they do not care who dies or is dying, they do not care to put on even the most cursory pretense of civility. They can’t be bothered, it does not matter to them. They do not care that they mocked a dying member of their own party.
But then, why should they. They work for the man who mocks disabled people, provokes racial violence, incites hatred toward the media and aligns himself with people who slide the word “media” over to “Jew”, assaults women, and has been married three times and never once faithful. This is the man the evangelical right has aligned itself with, losing all credibility in their causes like their alleged “pro-life” stance. A person can’t ignore what this White House is doing and think they can still claim any “righteousness” on any position.
Image: Screengrab via MSNBC
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