The LA Times Editorial Board Just Went Nuclear On President Trump
As if to cap off the special Donald Trump edition of “Worst Week Ever”, The Los Angeles Times has just published a scathing editorial entitled “Enough is Enough.”
A fierce and relentless indictment of the Trump presidency, the editorial begins:
“These are not normal times.
The man in the White House is reckless and unmanageable, a danger to the Constitution, a threat to our democratic institutions.“
No mincing words here in the seventh installment of a continuing series of editorials pillorying the president and his administration.
The article continues by illuminating some of the reasons that The Times Editorial Board reached such a damning conclusion:
“Last week some of his worst qualities were on display: his moral vacuity and his disregard for the truth, as well as his stubborn resistance to sensible advice. As ever, he lashed out at imaginary enemies and scapegoated others for his own failings. Most important, his reluctance to offer a simple and decisive condemnation of racism and Nazism astounded and appalled observers around the world.”
With a vacuum of intellect and principles at the summit of our nation’s leadership, The Times goes on to recommend that Americans not remain silent in the face of such affronts to our common values:
“With such a glaring failure of moral leadership at the top, it is desperately important that others stand up and speak out to defend American principles and values. This is no time for neutrality, equivocation or silence. Leaders across America — and especially those in the president’s own party — must summon their reserves of political courage to challenge President Trump publicly, loudly and unambiguously.”
The Times continues by praising the corporate CEO’s who took principled stands and resigned in protest from Trump’s advisory councils and the military leaders who immediately ignored their commander-in-chief’s bigoted rhetoric to issue an immediate condemnation of hatred and bigotry.
While The Times acknowledges that some conservative intellectuals and some Congressional Republicans, most notably Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), have broken ranks with Trump, they wisely ask the question left hanging in the minds of all decent American citizens:
“But where are the rest?
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) are the two most-powerful men in Congress. Both have fired off the occasional potshot but for the most part have stood firmly behind this wildly flawed president, despite the taunts and insults Trump hurled at them from his Twitter redoubt.
“What holds them back? Craven, self-serving political calculations designed to protect their careers, and dwindling hope that the president, despite everything, will help them move their long-delayed legislative agenda.
“Their silence is shameful.“
The editorial concludes with a forceful call to action:
“Men and women of conscience can no longer withhold judgment. Trump’s erratic nature and his impulsive, demagogic style endanger us all.
“Republicans and conservatives around the country should be just as concerned as Democrats about Trump’s conflicts of interest, his campaign’s relationship with the Russians and whether he engaged in obstruction of justice. They should call him out when he sows division, when he dog-whistles, when he emboldens bigots. They should stand up for global human rights, for constructive engagement with the rest of the world and for other shared American values that transcend party allegiances.
“Rejecting the president of one’s own party could mean alienating friends, crossing allies, damaging one’s chances of advancement or risking one’s career altogether for a matter of principle. But that’s the very definition of leadership.
“No one can sit on the sidelines now. It’s time for Republicans to show some spine.”
Without explicitly calling for it, The Los Angeles Times has presented an important and well-reasoned argument for the impeachment of President Trump that is difficult to disagree with. Enough is enough, indeed!
