Open Letter to the GOP

To: Chairperson of the RNC

Four years ago, I posted a blog requesting the GOP not to nominate Donald Trump. My cry in anguish fell on deaf ears. I really wish you had listened at that time and saved us the embarrassment of the last four years. Now, on the eve of the RNC, I am making a plea once again.

Here is a collage of reasons to be embarrassed of Donald Trump

A few weeks back, I started a collection of "Did he really say that?". This has grown week after week. The latest edition of this collection can be seen here.

Gerald Seib has eloquently written in the WSJ, how Trump has changed the Republicans. To quote Mr. Seib, "He turned Republicans away from four decades of Reagan-style, national greatness conservatism to a new gospel of populism and nationalism". As former President Barack Obama said in his speech at the DNC (from Philadelphia) on Aug 19th, Donald Trump has treated the White House like one more reality show.

I am not a "liberal lifer". If I voted in the Reagan-Mondale elections (in 1984), I would have voted for Reagan. Even in the Bush-Dukakis elections (in 1988), I would have voted for Bush. 

Allow me to spell out the specifics of why Trump should not be re-nominated:

• Russian collusion: Trump is caught up in the uncertainty of the Mueller investigation. The long-awaited report from the Senate Intelligence Committee contains dozens of new findings that appear to show more direct links between Trump associates and Russian intelligence
• Immigration:  Trump's stance on the border wall, child separation policies, and the Muslim ban –have drawn criticism and in some cases, been questioned by the courts
• Foreign Policy: Trump has cozied up to dictators in Russia and North Korea, he has pulled out of international agreements and dismissed our European allies
• Despicable record of arrests: In all, 14 Trump aides, donors and advisers have been indicted or imprisoned since the days when the first-time candidate promised that he would only hire "the best people." Senior members of Trump's campaign staff, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates; first national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y and Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif; the list goes on and on ...

If you love our country, please do not nominate Donald Trump as the GOP candidate for the 2020 elections. Sen. Mitt Romney or Gov. John Kasich are far more worthy candidates. Trump is clearly the wrong choice for the American right.

Do us a favor, GOP - do not nominate Mr. Trump

This is a cry in anguish.

As a nation, we are about to commit a travesty and nominate a racist, egomaniac, misogynist and generally unfit for office, candidate for President. To show that these are not merely "labels", allow me to provide instances that illustrate these traits in Donald Trump. In fact, there are so many outrages that is hard to keep track of all of them, put them in context and list them here.

When Indiana-born U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel was hearing a suit against Trump University, Donald Trump went on a tirade against the respected, federal judge "because he is a Mexican". His bigotry does not stop there. When he saw an African American in one of his rallies, he remarked, "Look at my African-American over here".

Aside from Trump's public, sexist behavior (at the Republican debate) against Fox's Megyn Kelly, he has consistently insulted, stereotyped and belittled women. He has taken the time to insult notable women like Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Middler, Rosie O'Donnell and Cher. In fact, the Telegraph maintains a site that keeps track of all his offensive remarks!

His shocking ignorance of government policy is even more appalling. I think Cheryl Cook-Kallio's We The People students at Irvington High School know more about Government than Donald Trump. He appears to know next to nothing about the issues that would confront him in the job. If you like chilling horror stories, read the transcript of his meeting with the Editorial Board of the Washington Post. It is not as if the editors were trying to play "gotcha" or "trap" him. In response to straightforward questions, Trump's responses are vacuous. On topics ranging from racial disparity to foreign affairs his responses are vague. As Eugene Robinson aptly opined, "How is it conceivable to put a man who knows so little in charge of so much?"

The likes of George Bush (father and son, the 41st and 43rd presidents) and Mitt Romney have shown statesman-like courage and refused to show their support to Trump. In fact, the only living republican president or presidential candidate who will be at the Republican Convention is 92-year old Bob Dole. Even the most ultra conservative republican journalist, George F. Will has written an eloquent, scathing attack on Donald Trump.

I think President Obama summed it best when he said, in six short sentences, everything that is wrong about Donald Trump. This is not party politics playing out. Just a concerned citizen expressing his opinions.

Despite all of this, there are some polls that show Trump ahead of Clinton in the race to the White House. It is too late in the process to find another candidate to represent the Republican Party. So, this is a request to the GOP to sit this one out. Do not endorse Donald Trump. He has indicated that he will run as an independent. That is better than sullying the party of Abraham Lincoln (1861), Theodore Roosevelt (1901), Dwight Eisenhower (1953) and Ronald Reagan(1981). You can have your convention and groom candidates for the 2020 elections. Have the dignity and courage to say that there will not be a representative of the Republican Party in the 2016 elections.

After I published this blog, I came across a video (embedded in the following NY Times article) where David McCollough expresses a similar opinion more eloquently.