October 8, 2016

Pussygate Might Be the Final Straw For Donald Trump

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OK, let’s get back to the latest evidence that Donald Trump is a loutish jackass. In the Pussygate tape, Trump basically admits that he routinely gropes and harasses women because he’s a big star and can do whatever he wants. Ever since the tape went public, Republicans have been fleeing en masse. Without exception, they’ve either issued statements unequivocally condemning him or else shut off their phones and gone into hiding. Hell, a couple of insider reports indicate that even Mike Pence is so disgusted and angry that he’d probably quit the ticket given half a chance.

In a way, this is weird. Surely no one ever doubted for a second that Trump talks like this in private? I mean, he comes damn close to talking like this in public. And yet everyone is acting shocked now that there’s actual tape. Funny how life works, isn’t it?

Anyway, here are two random points about this whole affair:

  • This sure goes to show the importance of vetting, doesn’t it? Everyone keeps wondering if some big scandal will finally bring down Hillary Clinton, but the odds are way against it. She’s probably been vetted more than any human being on earth over the past 25 years. There’s just no chance that there are any big secrets left to discover. Trump, on the other hand, is an oppo researcher’s dream.
     
  • The entire Republican Party has been balancing on a cusp lately, trying to decide if they should stick with Trump or dump him like a piece of rotting fish. If he has a chance of winning, they’ll stick. Lately, though, that’s looked pretty unlikely, and all the downticket Republicans are starting to wonder if they should jump ship and save their own jobs. This episode might start a stampede. It’s almost sure to start one if Trump implodes again in the debate on Sunday. If that happens, Trump is toast.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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