The Trump factor

The Donald show is becoming so outlandish — this week’s developments
include Trump claiming he is tight with “the blacks” — that even
nonpartisan observers of the GOP 2012 primary race are beginning to feel
sorry for legitimate contenders like former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.)
and Tim Pawlenty (Minn.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Charlie Cook, author of The Cook Political Report, wrote this week
that Trump’s rising poll numbers are due to his high name
identification and that “anyone assuming that the reality-show host’s
interest in running for president is just another one of his publicity
stunts would not likely be wrong.” But Cook notes Trump’s very presence
in the discussion, as well as his ample poll support thus far, is
demoralizing to the other “highly qualified Republicans thinking of
running for president.” And that begs the question of whether any other
flirters who have appeared to demur — namely Indiana Gov. Mitch
Daniels, the favorite establishment pick who doesn’t seem interested —
could conclude that Trump is the final nail in the coffin, a deciding
factor in ruling a run out rather than in.

Cook asks, “But what does it say about the Republican Party or, for that matter, the American people, that this guy gets a second chance? Could a ‘Jersey Shore’ personality be far behind?” A good question. Surely the leaderless, divided GOP is so afraid to offend the influential Tea Party movement that it refuses to take aim at foolishness and destructive forces within its ranks. But Trump has the potential to seriously harm the opportunity for the Republican Party to win the White House back, simply by dominating the headlines with his sideshow while potential rival candidates and key power players in the party stay silent about how embarrassing he truly is.

Peter Wehner, who worked in the George W. Bush administration, has called upon his party to stand up to Trump’s focus on the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate and ultimately his citizenship. Joining with the Birthers, as these helpful Americans are known, has done more than turn Trump into a circus act. But “if responsible Republicans don’t speak out immediately against Mr. Trump’s gambit, it will do substantial damage both to the party and to American politics,” Wehner argues in The Wall Street Journal. Wehner notes that numerous media outlets including the conservative National Review have stated that Obama’s birth certificate is genuine and legitimate.

Instead of an elder statesman dismissing Trump’s shtick, there are other influential voices in the party who are encouraging him. Sarah Palin, notes Wehner, jumped in with both feet, saying, “More power to him. He’s not just throwing stones from the sidelines, he’s digging in — he’s paying for researchers to find out why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate.” Wehner also notes that Palin has refused to answer questions from the press about this mysterious $2 million claim of hers.

Republicans, be warned. Wehner is right. “When prominent figures in the party play footsie with peddlers of paranoia, the party suffers an erosion of credibility. While certain corners of a party’s base might be energized by conspiracy theories, the majority of the electorate will be turned off by them. People are generally uneasy about political institutions that give a home to cranks,” he wrote.
 
Trump tied with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for first place in the GOP presidential field in the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll. The slow start to the Republican primary contest has given him the perfect vacuum in which to play the contest clown. Many people think he’s just a joke, but real candidates who want to win should stop laughing.
 

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