I am old enough to remember when the Grand Old Party was respected, and its members were serious politicians who cared about our nation and our people. That seems like a very long time ago. During the 2016 primary season I referred to the 17 Republican presidential wannabees as a passengers in a ‘clown car.’ The truth is that the entire Republican Party resides in a clown factory. They cannot be taken seriously; they lie constantly, and support the ultimate buffoon in the White House, while ignoring the majority of the American people.

The fact that Roy Moore was a Republican candidate for the senate is not laughable; it’s pitiful. A child molester, and a convict who challenged a federal judge, and lost, actually believed that he should be a member of our nation’s government. But that’s not the worst; your illegitimate president supported this fellow white supremacist.

In Arizona Joe Arpaio, a convicted felon, a murderer, a man who tortured the prisoners in his jail, and was guilty of dereliction of duty is attempting to win the Republican nomination for the senate. Don’t forget; Trump pardoned this disreputable old man.

One more; his name is Don Blankenship. Blankenship wants to be a senator. Here are his credentials. He made his fortune as the owner of coal mines; primarily in West Virginia. In 2010 an explosion occurred in his ‘Upper Big Branch Mine.’ The cause of the disaster was deemed a choice by Blankenship to ignore safety regulations. The result was the death of 29 miners. He was found guilty of criminal negligence, and served one year, that’s correct, one year in prison. But that’s not the end of the story.

We have watched for years as Republicans used a single campaign tactic; wage personal attacks against your opponents. They cannot run on the issues because their ambitions oppose the majority of Americans. Blankenship has taken a slightly different tact; he is attacking members of his own party. His primary target is Mitch McConnell. If you have read any of my articles previously, you know that I believe that McConnell is the worst Senate Majority Leader in history, and a traitor to the American people. However, I am not running for office under the Republican flag.

This is a part of a 30 second commercial: “Swamp Captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people. While doing so, Mitch has gotten rich,” Blankenship says in the ad. “In fact, his China family has given him 10s of millions of dollars.”

Blankenship didn’t stop there. He also attacked McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who is currently Trump’s Secretary of Transportation.

Blankenship’s campaign staff offered a statement describing an alleged ‘cocaine bust’ discovered on a ship owned by Chao’s father, James Chao.

“The company was implicated recently in smuggling cocaine from Colombia to Europe. Hidden aboard a company ship carrying foreign coal was $7 million of cocaine and that is why we’ve deemed him ‘Cocaine Mitch,'” the Blankenship campaign said in a statement.

I would be ashamed to be a member of this Republican Party in name only. It is without principles or morals, and consistently offers its supporters the worst possible candidates.

Let’s look back and be honest. Trump was one of 17 presidential hopefuls in 2016. After too many debates it became clear that not only was Trump unqualified to lead our nation, the other 16 were equally poor choices. Not a single issue, important to our nation’s people, was debated during these side shows. They were nothing more than venues to allow personal attacks and name calling. This is not the party I once respected. I don’t know what to call this group, but they are ugly and an embarrassment to our nation.

Op-ed by James Turnage

SOURCE

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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