The end is near. That’s the warning that former editor-in-chief of RedState and prominent Never Trumper, Erick Erickson tweeted out in a lengthy screed on Twitter, where he said that a Clinton renaissance is upon us, and how he can’t wrap his head around the Republicans who are voting for Hillary Clinton. It’s a sharp tear into both camps.
He noted that he understands why some GOP voters are supporting Trump because they fear a Clinton presidency. He gets that—but argues that both are terrible. This harkens back to the Charles Spurgeon quote Erickson embraced when it became clear that Clinton and Trump were going to be the nominees this year: Of two evils, choose neither. Still, Erickson asked pro-Clinton Republicans that if Trump doesn’t deserve your vote, why does Clinton?
As for the GOP voters still planning on pulling the lever for Trump in November, he reminded them that he’s not going to win, he’s only spending $800,000 on ads in swing states to Hillary’s $98 million, and that they should admit that Trump is an immoral person, even though they still plan to vote for him.
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It’s a brutal indictment of the entire 2016 cycle, of Trump, of Clinton, of the party establishments, but alas here we are. Of course, pro-Trump supporters will probably go apoplectic over his prediction that Trump will be utterly annihilated come November, but his remarks about the Khan family after the Democratic National Convention has some prominent Republicans hitting the panic button on a man who has not made a shift to a more presidential tone.
Newt Gingrich added that Trump is being nothing more than self-destructive, only boosting Hillary’s chances by making him look “more unacceptable than she is.” Guy noted that post-DNC; Clinton is now ahead by double-digits over Trump 49/39. She’s almost at majority support. And given his latest antics, I fear that that lead is only going to grow if Trump doesn’t get his act together. He can potentially become the next president of the United States. He needs to understand that there are a lot of people that are going to hate him, say nasty things about him, and he needs to get over it. He can’t sue these people. That’s beneath the office. He has to bear and grin it and just carry on, which is what he should’ve done with the Khans.
Turning a year that should have been favorable to the GOP into a year in which Clinton is winning by 10 points in Fox polls is . . . wow.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) August 3, 2016
Now, we’re in the quicksand and it’s dubious whether he can get out. A lot is going to hinge on the debates, which is one area where he could make up some lost ground, but there’s also the immense ground game that’s involved with running a national campaign that hasn’t really materialized. You need volunteers to be poll workers, you need the poll watching certificates from the various boards of elections that dot the country, runners to check on the volunteers at the polls stations, giving them water and snacks, and other aspects of rapid response. I;m only touching the surface of this immense operation. In 2012, some poll watchers did not have those certificates, which meant they weren’t able to accurately gauge turnout, or get a rough estimate of who’s breaking for which candidate for rough exit polls; information critical to any victory office. We could have a replay of that—except it’ll be much more ugly.
In all, this is pretty much what Erickson, and others, are saying about this whole election cycle [Warning: mild language]:
In the meantime, other conservatives are trying to do what many, including myself, have advocated for since it became inevitable that Trump will become the nominee: Attack Clinton. The problem is that Trump has decided to pick another silly fight, besides the Khans, in refusing to endorse Paul Ryan (though he probably doesn’t need it) or help out John McCain. It’s a proverbial bull in a china closet moment—and it’s difficult to stomach.
The #NeverTrump pile on @realdonaldtrump right now verges on exercise in self-congratulation, damaging down ballot GOP races. Focus on HRC
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) August 4, 2016
Are we heading for total disaster in November? Well, there was a roadmap for Trump to get to 270, even with all of the nonsense he’s dabbled in prior, which is incredible. It's dubious whether that will hold up after this disaster of a week. It's a mess. Yes, if he keeps this up, I fear slaughter is upon us.
1. If you will please, follow along with this series of tweets. I'll try to keep it short.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
2. I totally get it and am sympathetic to the idea that you have concluded Trump is better than Hillary so you will vote for him. I get it.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
3. I disagree with you. I think they are equally terrible. But I do not hold it against anyone for coming to the opposite conclusion.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
4. For the life of me, however, I do not understand any Republican voting for Hillary Clinton.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
5. If Trump does not deserve your vote, Hillary Clinton sure as hell does not deserve your vote.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
6. You do not have to vote for either one of these clowns. You have a right not to pick between either awful candidate.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
7. But for you Republicans who are supporting Trump, please understand he is not going to win. Console yourself with close polling.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
8. But understand force of personality only gets you so far. Right now Clinton is spending $98 million to Trump's $800K in swing state ads
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
9. And yes, we know the media is biased against Trump as the media is against every Republican, but not all of them give so much material.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
10. At some point, for integrity and character's sake, I hope you'll at least go on record that Trump is an immoral person.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
11. Character must still count and if you haven't noticed, Trump is breaking apart the GOP and turning people to their worst selves.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
13. But when it collapses, those who cheered on Trump to the bitter end will be without much credibility to help rebuild the party.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
14. And if I'm really honest, at this point I think Trump should not be replaced even if it were possible.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
15. The GOP elite, @Reince, the RNC, etc. need to own this defeat in all its glory. They could have stopped him, but they served him.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
16. I pity my children's future because of a Clinton presidency, but I think it is inevitable now.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
17. And i pity some of you who will have in your political obituary the words "Water carrier for Trump."
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
18. The truth is, I plan on never again supporting any cause or candidate who hires anyone who went to work for Trump before May 2016.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
19. Those people aided and abetted Hillary Clinton's rise and fostered a collapse of civic discourse in America.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016
20. And now we will watch this unfold like a 97 day moving train wreck. God help us all and I really do mean that.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2016