Every day, I wake up and check the news. Every day, there’s another bold headline proclaiming the latest and greatest in Republican party idiocy. Personally, I identify with the GOP. No, not just because I was raised in the south, like so many people assume, but because I genuinely believe that conservative values could lead to a bright future for our country.
However, as much as I believe in the republican principles, my confidence in the party’s candidates is circling the drain. The party’s constant infighting, name calling and disrespect towards each other speaks to their lack of focus, intelligence, and, quite frankly, their maturity.
GOP, you are making it so difficult to be a proud Republican supporter. Here are just a few of the cringe-worthy highlights...
Donald Trump attacks Megyn Kelly
During Fox News’ first Republican presidential debate, Megyn Kelly, an accomplished and well-respected female journalist, questioned Trump’s history of referring to women he doesn’t care for as “fat pigs,” “dogs,” or “slobs.” Let me remind you that as a journalist, it is Kelly’s job to ask questions. Following the debate, Trump tweeted throughout the night about the mistreatment from Kelly and even retweeted fans who referred to her as a “bimbo.” In the following weeks, Trump continues to attack Kelly’s career via Twitter by calling her unprofessional and criticizing her (quite successful) show, "The Kelly File."
Oh Trump, what a deep hole that unfiltered mouth of yours has dug. How do you, Trump, expect to earn any respect when you do not show respect? The words Kelly asked about came from your mouth. They were not fabricated and they were posed in a fair question. You made your bed, now you must lie in it.
Ted Cruz supporters and Donald Trump bring wives into the fight
The shoddy behavior of the Republican party can’t always be pinned on the candidates. Prior to the Utah primary, an anti-Trump super PAC released an ad aimed towards swaying conservative, Mormon voters from Trump to Cruz. The ad featured a very racy picture of Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s wife, with the caption: “Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” Convinced the ad was released by the Cruz campaign, Trump tweeted (of course) threatening to “spill the beans on your wife” (whatever that means). Trump then retweeted a fan's post containing an unflattering photo of Ted Cruz’s wife side by side a glamour shot of Melania Trump and captioned, “No need to ‘spill the beans,’ the images are worth a thousand words.”
Up until this point, Melania Trump has been pretty quiet on the campaign trail. Unlike most spouses in the presidential race, Melania has kept to herself, so why do some feel the need to drag the poor girl into this mess? I understand it may be too much to ask presidential candidates and supporters to garner votes with integrity and honesty but subjecting the wives to such dirty attacks hits way too far below the belt. And Donald Trump, really? Again with the tweets? Don’t you have someone that can edit those for you?
Honestly, the entire Republican primary election has played out like a really long season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and as a GOP supporter, I am embarrassed. By the way the campaigns look right now, I might just have to “eeny meeny miney mo” my ballot. The most upsetting part of all this nonsense, is that I genuinely see potential in the candidates we have, especially when they elaborate on their policies. I am still hanging onto a glimmer of hope that this Republican lineup can get their act together and maybe act presidential for once, because the thought of going with any candidate across the aisle is even more disturbing. But that’s a whole other issue for another time.
