# Should the republicans distance themselves from the current president? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276 "2018-06-17T18:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/41 "2018-06-20T18:53:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Nah. Mussolini made the trains run on time. Trump can’t even make the Oval Office run on time. Well, about that… > **[Mussolini and On-Time Trains](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/loco-motive/)** > > Did Mussolini make the trains run on time? > [@](#): > > Well, not quite. The Italian railway system had fallen into a rather sad state during World War I, and it did improve a good deal during the 1920s, but Mussolini was disingenuous in taking credit for the changes: much of the repair work had been performed before Mussolini and the fascists came to power in 1922. More importantly (to the claim at hand), those who actually lived in Italy during the Mussolini era have borne testimony that the Italian railway’s legendary adherence to timetables was far more myth than reality. > > The myth of Mussolini’s punctual trains lives on, albeit with a different slant: rather than serving as a fictitious symbol of the benefits of fascism, it is now offered as a sardonic example that something good can result even from the worst of circumstances. As Montagu and Darling wrote: > > > [@](#): > > > > Mussolini may have done many brutal and tyrannical things; he may have destroyed human freedom in Italy; he may have murdered and tortured citizens whose only crime was to oppose Mussolini; but ‘one had to admit’ one thing about the Dictator: he ‘made the trains run on time.’ > > No, thanks. I’d rather walk. So there are more similarities with Trump than less. Much of the economy was set on the right course with the reforms made on the Obama administration and Trump now claims it as his own. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/42 "2018-06-20T19:41:31Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Try America-hating fuckstick. Trump doesn’t hate America. He just considers it a useful disposable commodity for self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement, like the Trump University scam and his mail-order trophy wives, respectively. To answer the OP, of course they should, but the interesting thing about the entire situation is it’s kind of a litmus test to see if Republicans have any integrity whatsoever, any shred of decency or concern about the fate of their nation. So far the answer is mostly “no, they don’t”. I have nothing to add to the quotes below. I just quoted them because, well, they needed to be quoted, in case anyone missed them the first time. 🙂 > [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I’d suggest that a child-molesting, kitten strangling, goat felcher distance himself from the current president to avoid being tainted by association. > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Anybody can have an airline. They even let Donald Trump have one, which he immediately renamed after himself, as is his usual classy practice despite the fact that “Trump” sounds like the noise emitted by livestock with gastric disorders (“Stand back, Earl! That cow’s starting to Trump!”). > > — Dave Barry ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/43 "2018-06-20T19:58:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m so glad folks are taking this subject seriously. 😕 Sorry. I’d answer your question _ **but it’s ambiguous.** _ “Should the republicans distance themselves from the current president?” That depends on whose interest we want them to serve. Is their goal is to win re-election so they can continue to serve their whore-masters? Or to do what’s in the public interest? The public interest is best served if these whores fully embrace Trump and thereby hasten the complete destruction of the Republican Party. I certainly agree that America would be better off with two political parties than one, but anyone who thinks the Republican Party still has any claim to be one of the two parties, has not been paying attention. And that’s as serious as a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/44 "2018-06-20T20:09:12Z")
Former McCain and Bush advisor Steve Schmidt thinks so – > **[‘Today I renounce my membership’: Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/today-i-renounce-my-membership-longtime-gop-strategist-steve-schmidt-announces-hes-leaving-his-party/2018/06/20/5918d7ee-747d-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.0661b75c49ae)** > > The former senior adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign said it has become “fully the party of Trump.” > [@@SteveSchmidtSES on Twitter](#): > > 29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump. > > It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party’s greatest leaders. This child separation policy is connected to the worst abuses of > > Humanity in our history. It is connected by the same evil that separated families during slavery and dislocated tribes and broke up Native American families. It is immoral and must be repudiated. Our country is in trouble. Our politics are badly broken. The first step to a > > Season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities. I do not say this as an advocate of a progressive agenda. I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency. > > On Ronald Reagan’s grave are these words. “ I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” He would be ashamed of McConnell and Ryan and all the rest while this corrupt government > > Establishes internment camps for babies. Everyone of these complicit leaders will carry this shame through history. There legacies will be ones of well earned ignominy. They have disgraced their country and brought dishonor to the Party of Lincoln. > > I have spent much of my life working in GOP politics. I have always believed that both parties were two of the most important institutions to the advancement of human freedom and dignity in the history of the world. Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and values. > > This Independent voter will be aligned with the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies. That party is the Democratic Party. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/45 "2018-06-20T21:32:20Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 😕 Sorry. I’d answer your question _ **but it’s ambiguous.** _ > “Should the republicans distance themselves from the current president?” > That depends on whose interest we want them to serve. Is their goal is to win re-election so they can continue to serve their whore-masters? Or to do what’s in the public interest? > > The public interest is best served if these whores fully embrace Trump and thereby hasten the complete destruction of the Republican Party. I certainly agree that America would be better off with two political parties than one, but anyone who thinks the Republican Party still has any claim to be one of the two parties, has not been paying attention. > > And that’s as serious as a heart attack. I really don’t care if they distance themselves now. I don’t care if they openly rebel against Adolf Trumpler at this point. THEY enable him, they backed his play, they cashed in wherever they could. If they “pivot” now, rest assured it is only to save their own asses. I plan to vote NOT Republican. I don’t care if it’s a Democrat, Libertarian, Green, or Beer Party candidate. just as long as there is no (R). 1. Remember family separation 2. Remember DACA 3. Remember Puerto Rico 4. Remember Parkland 5. Remember Charlottesville 6. Remember Obamacare sabotage 7. Remember the Paris Climate Accord 8. Remember the Iran Nuclear Deal 9. Remember “shithole countries” 10. Remember the travel ban 11. Remember the tax scam 12. Remember Roy Moore 13. Remember Joe Arpaio 14. Remember the baiting — and then praising — of Kim Jong Un 15. Remember the erosion of our best alliances 16. Remember Russian collusion 17. Remember the attacks on the rule of law 18. Remember Stormy Daniels 19. Remember the Keystone Pipeline 20. Remember “clean coal” 21. Remember Scott Pruitt 22. Remember Betsy DeVos 23. Remember our transgender soldiers 24. Remember the national anthem protests and our shitgibbon’s response This latest and worst outrage (but only so far, who knows what tomorrow will bring), stealing babies and using them as “bargaining chips” comes from the so called Family Values party. Sure, Trump did it, but they LET him do it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/46 "2018-06-20T21:56:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Taking the parody OP seriously for a second: if they want to be reelected, probably not. Speaking their consciences cost Jeff Flake any chance of reelection, and seems to have dulled the reelection hopes of others such as Bob Corker. Morally? Sure, but who the hell remembers politicians who lost elections because they took moral stands? I have to wonder if a large chunk of them are straddling that fence and trying to determine when and if to jump. I can’t figure that most of them are really on board with this stuff any further than it takes to be a Republican in good standing. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/47 "2018-06-20T22:30:01Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Well, about that… > > [Mussolini and On-Time Trains | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/loco-motive/) > So there are more similarities with Trump than less. Much of the economy was set on the right course with the reforms made on the Obama administration and Trump now claims it as his own. Shit, you just can’t believe in anything any more. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/48 "2018-06-20T22:48:42Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I have to wonder if a large chunk of them are straddling that fence and trying to determine when and if to jump. I can’t figure that most of them are really on board with this stuff any further than it takes to be a Republican in good standing. I can believe that many of them are on board - I think that the Republican party has been implicitly and explicitly filtering out its decent members for decades - ever since Clinton. It is entirely plausible to me that a significant percentage of them are actual for-real shitstains that I wouldn’t associate with even if you paid me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/49 "2018-06-20T23:34:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Trump doesn’t hate America. He just considers it a useful disposable commodity for self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement, like the Trump University scam and his mail-order trophy wives, respectively. I agree. He loves America like he loves a piggy bank. And remember, you have to break the piggy bank to get the $$ out! > [@septimus](#): > > 😕 Sorry. I’d answer your question _ **but it’s ambiguous.** _ > > “Should the republicans distance themselves from the current president?” I thought the link I provided in the OP would address any ambiguities that might arise. Perhaps not, though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/50 "2018-06-21T05:04:57Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I plan to vote NOT Republican. I don’t care if it’s a Democrat, Libertarian, Green, or Beer Party candidate. just as long as there is no (R). No, this isn’t the time to throw a vote away on a symbolic gesture. We need to get the Republicans out of office. And voting for Democrats is the only way to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/51 "2018-06-21T05:12:23Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > First you would have to find some principled republicans. Good luck! The republican party has been manipulating angry, racist white people to pass plutocratic economic policies for decades. No modern republican can rise to prominence without being ok with that. So I assume that is why so few Republican politicians have principles. To rise to prominence you have to be OK with manipulating angry, hateful racist people to pass laws that take away their ability to earn a living wage or retire securely. In that kind of system, would moral people survive? I doubt it. Being a republican politician is a pre-selector against morality and principles. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/52 "2018-06-21T05:20:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In the light of Donald Trrmp’s anti-FBI rant a few Republicans have gone on record saying such acts basically hand the country over to the Democrats. > > [So I’d like to ask. Should republicans distance themselves from the current president?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=856976) > > This was also brought up with his campaign mess when he talked about grabbing women by their pussies. > > Quite frankly, when I see outbursts like Tru Mp made and the audience all giving him a standing ovation I have to ask - do I really want such people running my country? No. Republicans are stuck. If they abandon trump they lose the angry, resentful, authoritarian white nationalists. They make up about half the gop. Half the democrats are liberals. Imagine if a democratic politician could tell them to hate a democratic politician and they’d happily do it. If democrats turned on that politician, they lose the liberal vote. Good luck winning an election with half your voters gone. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/53 "2018-06-21T05:34:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by kaylasdad99 > Try America-hating fuckstick. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Trump doesn’t hate America. He just considers it a useful disposable commodity for self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement, like the Trump University scam and his mail-order trophy wives, respectively. He hates the idea that, as a nation and as a people, America aspires to be MORE than that, so I’m sticking with my characterization. ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/54 "2018-06-21T06:23:00Z")
Religion is the opiate of the people-----it’s not a direct quote but close enough. My mother and sister support separating families. They claim to be “family values” voters. But that really means anti-gay. My brother doesn’t vote because, “They’re all the same.” But we jam on Sundays at 5:00. If you can figure a way to engage them, let me know. There are a lot more of these folk than you think. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/55 "2018-06-21T06:33:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I thought the link I provided in the OP would address any ambiguities that might arise. Perhaps not, though. If there was a relevant sentence at that link, you could copy-paste it. On my laptop, I hold down a mouse-button while sweeping across the sentence I want to copy. I guess it is harder on a smart-phone. If you think we’re all going to click a link you can’t be bothered to summarize, then, I’m afraid, you have an inflated sense of self-worth. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/56 "2018-06-22T14:51:36Z")
> [@fervour](#): > > Religion is the opiate of the people-----it’s not a direct quote but close enough. My mother and sister support separating families. They claim to be “family values” voters. But that really means anti-gay. My brother doesn’t vote because, “They’re all the same.” But we jam on Sundays at 5:00. If you can figure a way to engage them, let me know. There are a lot more of these folk than you think. I think you’re on to something here; I suspect most voters are probably one to three note voters, meaning that they have one to three issues they seriously care about, and they’re usually the hot-button issues- LGBTQ treatment, guns, abortion, poverty, race, drugs, law & order, and religion. The problem as I see it is that when you’re a 1-3 issue voter, you are going to select one party or the other by default, and NEVER deviate unless they change their tune on their 1-3 issues. I know lots of people who are in most ways more akin to Democrats than Republicans, but they have religious issues with LGBTQ stuff and abortion, so they vote Republican. Similarly I have known a lot of people who are probably more conservative in practice, but vote Democrat because they are anti-gun or pro-choice. I’m not sure how you engage them exactly; the parties have essentially bisected each issue, so there’s usually a clear choice on each issue to be made. As something of a centrist, it’s usually a very hard call which candidate to choose- there are definitely aspects of both parties that I actively dislike, and parts that I really like. But I suspect for 1-3 issue voters, the choice is much easier. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/57 "2018-06-23T17:36:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, this isn’t the time to throw a vote away on a symbolic gesture. We need to get the Republicans out of office. And voting for Democrats is the only way to do that. I agree… My point was I’ll vote for Communists and Anarchists before I vote for a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/58 "2018-06-23T17:43:46Z")
> [@fervour](#): > > Religion is the opiate of the people-----it’s not a direct quote but close enough. My mother and sister support separating families. They claim to be “family values” voters. But that really means anti-gay. My brother doesn’t vote because, “They’re all the same.” But we jam on Sundays at 5:00. If you can figure a way to engage them, let me know. There are a lot more of these folk than you think. They are OK with wiping out all social programs and safety nets. They are OK with families being ripped apart and the children “rendered” to concentration camps (don’t try to sugar coat it). They are apparently OK with a president who cozies up to racists and nazis (“fine people on both sides”). They are OK with having a draft dodging war monger in charge. They are OK with a serial liar. They probably eat shellfish and pork too. The probably mix threads in their clothing. But they thump their bibles and LIE about fucking “values”. Fuck 'em. I’ve already cut off a metric shit ton of assholes. Fuck 'em. > **[Keep Calm and Carry On](https://afit.co/keep-calm?utm_source=kc&utm_medium=redirect)** > > On closing the Keep Calm-o-Matic. ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276/59 "2018-06-23T17:50:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think you’re on to something here; I suspect most voters are probably one to three note voters, meaning that they have one to three issues they seriously care about, and they’re usually the hot-button issues- LGBTQ treatment, guns, abortion, poverty, race, drugs, law & order, and religion. > > The problem as I see it is that when you’re a 1-3 issue voter, you are going to select one party or the other by default, and NEVER deviate unless they change their tune on their 1-3 issues. > > I know lots of people who are in most ways more akin to Democrats than Republicans, but they have religious issues with LGBTQ stuff and abortion, so they vote Republican. Similarly I have known a lot of people who are probably more conservative in practice, but vote Democrat because they are anti-gun or pro-choice. > > I’m not sure how you engage them exactly; the parties have essentially bisected each issue, so there’s usually a clear choice on each issue to be made. > > As something of a centrist, it’s usually a very hard call which candidate to choose- there are definitely aspects of both parties that I actively dislike, and parts that I really like. > > But I suspect for 1-3 issue voters, the choice is much easier. I think you are right. I try to humanize the “other”. I don’t think violence is the answer. But I understand that feeling when African Americans are treated so badly in the US judicial system. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-republicans-distance-themselves-from-the-current-president/816276.md?page=2)