The World Turned Upside Down

I know I've used this title more than once before, but if it continues to fit......

So, let me get this straight.  I hope I have this right (or do I?).  Mitt Romney just lambasted Don Trump this AM.  OK, that's fair enough, the lambasting is.  But did he really called Trump "dishonest," a phony, a fraud, a bully, and more?  So, where was Romney and his speeches with the Establishment Republicans the last few years?

I'm not at all a Trump guy.  I'm pretty sure, if he wins the nomination, I won't vote for him.  He's wrong on most of the issues:  abortion, foreign policy, immigration, you name it.  He has contributed to the Clinton campaign funds, for goodness sake!  He can't be trusted, having used the courts to gain advantage at the expense of little guys.  His moral character is, well, let's be kind and say questionable.  (Of course in Modern America, moral character doesn't count for much, if anything.)In comparison, I certainly won't vote for Clinton.  And I might actually agree with Romney on his characterization(s) of Trump.  But that's not my point.

What have the Establishment Republicans been over the past 5-6 years if not what Romney calls Trump?  In fact, isn't that why Trump is so popular?  Of course it is.  People are frustrated and angry with the dishonesty, phoniness, fraud, bullying, and what-not of the Establishment Republicans.  Some of you may recall I have questioned if many of these same politicians can be sued for fraud, for deliberately lying to get elected--fully knowing what they were doing.

What is it we call people who embrace the Tea Party stands to win primaries and elections, then, by design, abandon those embraces?  Liars and frauds immediately come to mind.  What is is we call people (the Establishment) who immediately marginalize, ignore, or even politically punish those Tea Party candidates who actually try to live up to their campaign promises?

The Republican Establishment asked for a majority in the House to stop Obama and his Democrat friends.  It happened.  The Rep Est asked for a majority in the Senate to stop Obama and his Democrat friends.  It happened.  Oh, the majorities happened.  The stopping didn't.

Imagine any Republican Speaker of the House, with supposed credentials like Paul Ryan, pushing forth the budget just passed by the Establishment.  Right, I can't think of any other than Ryan and Boehner and......  Yep, just name the recent Speakers.

The Establishment has given us Dole (an honorable man, but not of Presidential stock), W Bush, McCain, and Romney.  "We have to unite," it said.  "Hold your noses and vote for the sake of party unity."  "To stop the Democrats, we must unify."  Now, it seems the shoe is on the other foot.  Maybe it's the Establishment that should "hold its collective nose" to unify to defeat Clinton.  Or does "unify" only work one way?  Of course it does.  Where I worked, stupid stuff was thrown at us, but we were asked to be "team players" and just go along.  But when something we wanted came up, the concept of "team" disappeared.  (It's funny how the microcosms show up all of the time!)  Here we are again, on the national stage.

The Establishment still doesn't get it.  Are those people that stupid?   Voters don't want Establishment candidates!!!!!!  We don't trust them.  They are deserving of our scorn.  And they seem intent on self-destructing.

No, I am done "holding my nose" and voting.  No, it's not my fault Obama was elected.  It's the Republican Establishment's fault for giving us such lousy candidates!  No, I won't vote for Clinton--ever.  But I also am very unlikely to vote for Trump or some other Establishment candidate who might be pulled out of a last-minute hat.

And if Clinton gets elected, no, it won't be my fault.  Isn't that pathetic?  A woman like Hillary Clinton might well become President of the United States.  Talk about dishonest, phoniness, fraud, bullying......