Milwaukee newspaper: "Say No to Donald Trump"

[Message to readers.   I truly apologize for writing so much about Donald Trump, especially after blaming the media for doing exactly that and falling into his plan for grabbing all the attention.  In truth, you simply cannot talk about the presidential race without talking about Trump.   It was a clever ploy by the Huffington Post, at the start, to say they would only cover him in the Entertainment section of their web site.   But that couldn't last.   He does make the news -- which is both his strength and his fatal flaw.   He makes the news, not by his policy ideas, not by his achievements, but by the outrageous things he says.  That is not what we need in a president.] 

Wisconsin is the big primary coming up on Tuesday.   The latest poll shows Cruz ahead of Trump by 10%, with Kasich in third.   Gov. Scott Walker has endorsed Cruz.   And the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal printed this "No to Donald Trump" editorial, which I quote here in part:

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"No to Donald Trump.  No to his bigotry.  No to his contempt for women and minorities. No to his vague, clueless bluster about the problems facing the nation.

"No to Trumpism, which runs counter to the ideals of this nation of immigrants, to the notion that by working together under the rule of law, we can protect freedom, promote inclusion and fair play.

"Wisconsin Republicans: Reject this un-American candidate . . .
 
"And consider these facts:
    ■Trump has stoked the smoldering fears of immigrants long latent in American political culture. . . .

   ■Trump's blustering anti-Muslim rhetoric is helping to recruit new terrorists. . . .

   ■Trump has belittled women for decades. . . .  he had an astounding 70% unfavorable rating among women overall, which makes him unelectable in a general election. . . .

   ■Trump has incited violence at his rallies with heated rhetoric aimed at firing up supporters while portraying himself as a tough guy. . . .

   ■Trump has displayed contempt for the press and freedom of speech, calling reporters 'the world's most dishonest people' . . . . 

"Trump's crudity and spinning moral compass are merely the most obvious problems with his candidacy.   His policy ideas, such as they can be divined, show a man with no political center who has given the hardest problems facing the nation no more than a passing glance. . . . 

"If any good arises from the Trump candidacy, it will be that more attention is paid to people marooned by both parties, which have catered relentlessly to the interests of high-roller campaign donors. Like, say, in the past, Donald J. Trump. . . . 

"But though Trump, like Bernie Sanders of the Democrats, has tapped into a wide vein of voter anger that demands to be heard, he is the wrong standard-bearer for voter concerns.  Trump is temperamentally impulsive, . . .  Trump's standard operating procedure: Say something outrageous, wait for cable news channels to amplify it, then for critics to express horror, then demand someone else apologize or threaten to sue. It has turned out to be a brilliant strategy for dominating the attention of the broadcast and cable programs . . . . It would be a disastrous strategy for running the federal government and representing the American people. . . . 

"Trump claims he can harness his big mouth, that his over-the-top rhetoric is part of the 'art of the deal' as he pursues his biggest deal yet, a contract with the American people to be their president. But Trump isn't capable of changing. A Trump presidency would float down a river polluted by hyperbole and misstatement, tacking left to right, right to left, claiming up is down, white is black, night is day. A reality TV Wonderland.

"Only we live in the real world, where the words and choices of presidents can have momentous consequences — war and peace, feast or famine, freedom or tyranny, life or death. . . .

"We can't tell what is at the core of Trump's beliefs. Perhaps beneath the persona of @realDonald Trump there is a real person and not a cartoon character. Perhaps.  What we do know is what he has said and done, and, based on that evidence, it's clear that this presidential campaign is about Donald Trump, the wealthy real estate tycoon, the casino operator, the celebrity, the brand.  It's not about the citizens.

"Wisconsin can be the beginning of the end of all this reality television nonsense. Voters can do the nation a huge service on April 5.  They can say 'no' to Donald Trump."

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Events on Friday reinforced the global importance of what American presidents -- and presidential candidates -- say.   President Obama hosted a meeting of the Nuclear Security Summit, with representatives of 50 nations.   He told reporters afterward that these nuclear arms experts from around the world say there is great concern about remarks from Donald Trump, such as wanting to withdraw our troops from Japan and South Korea and have them develop their own nuclear weapons and not depend on ours protecting them;   and such as his remark in the Chris Matthews interview that he would not take the nuclear option off the table in negotiating in the Middle East or even in Europe.

This is highly irresponsible of a candidate -- and especially one who advocates sweeping change and, at the same time, reveals that he obviously doesn't understand global politics and diplomacy, or even the simple basics of how our alliances work and how important they are.  In fact, he doesn't seem to understand how our government works, with three branches that each have their responsibilities and authority based on the Constitution.   He speaks as though he expects to have the powers of an emperor who tells everyone what to do -- with the power to fire them (or worse) if they don't obey.

Now that journalists are pushing him more on policy questions, he is revealing how little thought he has given to major issues facing our nation.   The world looks to the U.S. to be a rock, to show restraint, and looks to the U.S. President to lead the world from a position of understanding complex issues, including the historic, geopolitical, economic, ethnic, and religious factors of major world conflicts.   Donald Trump is not conceivably ready to be president -- nor does he have the temperament or the background that could allow a novice with good advisers to quickly master it all.    And, even beyond that, he doesn't seem to be turning to top people to advise him -- or maybe he's trying and can't find any who want to be associated with him.

Ralph