Jennifer Rubin says it Best

from The Washington Post

September 20, 2024

by Jennifer Rubin

What caught my eye Former president Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), refuse to apologize for their lies targeting Haitian immigrantsin Springfield, Ohio, (who are there legally). After these attacks, a bomb threat that used “hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians” forced hospitals to close, schools to evacuate and civic events to cancel. The list of affected entities grows daily. In a CNN interview, Vance essentially admitted the claims against Haitian immigrants are manufactured. State and local politicians have condemned and debunked the attacks. Yet, Trump and Vance continue their dehumanizing rhetoric. Should anyone be injured or killed because of the havoc Trump and Vance have caused, they will be morally — if not legally — responsible. Now, Trump vows to deportlegal immigrants working hard in their communities . But there is no indication Trump and his sidekick have any concern for the people they imperil. As Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) put in on MSNBC, “He said he will lie to get attention. … If it hurts other people, … evidently, JD Vance just doesn’t care. … That’s the kind of thing that tells you who people are.” Innocent, vulnerable people are props for the Trump-Vance ticket, used to spread hate and fan White animosity toward non-White immigrants. And yet, there will still be Republicans who defend this ticket because they care too little for those affected by deliberate, malicious lies. “When we are willing to see children terrorized rather than stop telling lies about their families, we should step back, forget about our dogs and cats for a moment, and ask who abducted our consciences,” Russell Moore, chief editor of cy, wrote for the Atlantic. Such lies are “going to get people hurt,” Moore warned in an appearance on “Morning Joe.” Haitian Americans are not the only ones whom MAGA bullies endanger for political gain. This week, we learned from ProPublicathat, in Georgia, “at least two women have already died after they couldn’t access legal abortions and timely medical care. … There are almost certainly others.” The report continued: Doctors warned state legislators women would die if medical procedures sometimes needed to save lives became illegal. Though Republican lawmakers who voted for state bans on abortion say the laws have exceptions to protect the “life of the mother,” medical experts cautioned that the language is not rooted in science and ignores the fast-moving realities of medicine. Amber Thurman, a 28-year-old mother, died, thanks to an abortion ban that Trump made possible, the Supreme Court welcomed (leave it to the states!) and state lawmakers passed. She left behind a 6-year-old son. “Amber Thurman’s death was not a tragic mistake,” Leah Greenberg, co-director of progressive activist group Indivisible, tweeted. “It is the logical outcome of the Georgia abortion ban working exactly as intended by horifically punishing women who try to access abortion care.” Perpetuating bans in the face of evidence of their harm makes ban advocates morally responsible for the consequences. If a car company puts on the road a vehicle that it knows has faulty breaks, it is accountable for the deaths that ensue. Abortion bans, in essence, are defective legislative products known to endanger lives. The longer the bans remain, the more women are harmed. Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who nearly died from sepsis and now can no longer have children, joined 19 other formerly pregnant woman and two doctors to contest Texas’s severe abortion ban. The Texas Supreme Court rejected their case. Pregnant women remain at risk in Texas and more than 20 other states. Knowing these laws threaten the health and lives of women has not deterred the MAGA presidential ticket, their supporters or their state allies. Trump said the abortion bans are a “beautiful thing.” That’s how little he thinks of American women. Trump and MAGA followers claim to be “pro-life,” but it is hard to see this moniker as anything but a perverse masquerade designed to conceal their willingness to put others in harm’s way. Rarely have we seen politicians, let alone candidates running for president and vice president, so brazenly display their contempt for human life.

Distinguished persons of the week

Seventeen Reagan administration veterans wrote a public letterendorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. “President Ronald Reagan famously spoke about a ‘Time for Choosing.’ While he is not here to experience the current moment, we who worked for him in the White House, in the administration, in campaigns and on his personal staff, know he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket,” the letter began. The Reagan alumni continued: “The choice between truth and lies demands support for Harris-Walz. The choice between freedom and suppression of freedoms means support for Harris-Walz. The choice between serving the people and serving the few leads us to support Harris-Walz.” While acknowledging their statement is “less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy,” they gave a shout out to alumni of the George W. Bush administration and of the McCain and Romney presidential campaigns who previously endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket. The Reagan alumni concluded: “It’s our hope that this letter will signal to other Republicans and former Republicans that supporting the Democratic ticket this year is the only path forward toward an America that is strong and viable for our children and grandchildren for years to come.” Public statements from batches of Republicans — as well as individual endorsements from Republicans such as former Illinois congressmen Adam Kinzinger and former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney — help us track the list of decent Republicans who might create a responsible, center-right, post-MAGA party. They will have their work cut out for them given the overwhelming number of elected Republicans and right-wing pundits whose moral cowardice and twisted priorities prompt them to stick with Trump, even in the wake of Trump’s defamation against Haitians.

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If there are any tRump supporters reading this blog, how can you in good conscience still support this man and think he will serve your interests if he is elected?