Trump and the white supremacists: Watch your smugness, resistance

Surely, you think, Donald Trump has finally gone too far by defending Nazis and the Lost Cause against those who oppose bigotry.

I don’t think so. He trashed a war hero; trashed a family that lost a son fighting for the U.S.; trashed a disabled reporter; boasted of grabbing pussy; lied repeatedly; cheated people in business. Still he was elected. Still his favorable ratings hover around a solid 40 percent, higher even in places like Arkansas.

You think lauding Confederate flag wavers will get him in trouble? It won’t get him in trouble with his base, well-represented by the Republican majority in Arkansas. There’s NOTHING so odious he can do that will cause them, finally, to desert him. My proof?

Check this op-ed written last year by former Republican Rep. John Burris, now a lobbyist. He’s been Twittering up a storm lately, asserting among others that the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court alone will cover ANYTHING Trump does with his base  thanks to his Clarence Thomas-affirming political outlook on the bench. This is what Burris wrote in 2016 in defense of his own indefensible actions, directly relevant to the Charlottesville disaster today:

“In 2012, as the former House Republican Leader and then campaign chairman for the caucus, I spent the weekend before the November election going door-to-door in Garland County for Rep. Loy Mauch, a nice man but a Confederate defender. In between doors, I was fielding phone calls defending Rep. Jon Hubbard, despite his idiotic remarks on slavery. I even defended Charlie Fuqua, challenging a friendly Democratic incumbent, who advocated for stoning children for disobedience. All three men lost, as did countless other Republicans we thought would win, probably in part because of bad candidates tarnishing a good brand.

But at the time, I defended them all. Not because I believed in them, but because I believed a Republican majority in the Arkansas legislature could do great things. The damage an individual member could do on their own was limited, but the impact of their vote on team objectives was critical. That’s why politics is a team-sport.”

There you have it. Some scattered remarks of criticism notwithstanding, Republican leadership will back people who support slavery, stoning of children and the notion that Abraham Lincoln was a traitor. Anything to advance the GOP agenda. I think the more accurate commentators are those who are saying about Trump, “You think you’ve seen the worst? You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

And don’t forget: Her e-mails.

Hat tip to Jacob Kauffmann at KUAR for his good memory of the Burris op-ed.