Things Finally Get Dicey for Donald John Trump

It would appear things are finally getting a tad dicey for Donald John Trump.

Yesterday he inserted his rather large foot into his even more expansive mouth during a televised town hall style event. When Chris Matthews grilled him about abortion, El Donald, after some serious prodding, said if abortion is made illegal, which he now favors, women seeking the procedure should face, "some form of punishment."

After the shit hit the fan on all fronts, Trump quickly clarified his position, issuing a statement which read, if abortion is outlawed, "The doctor, or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman." Today a spokesperson for his campaign went on CNN and said it was a simple case of the candidate, "misspeaking."

Trump, who loves to play a mutant version of Popeye--you know--"I yam what I yam and to hell with political correctness," has now held three distinct positions on the right of women to control their bodies. In a 1999 interview he described himself as, "very pro choice." The New York Times reports there is nothing on record of him changing his view until 2011. In February of that year he addressed a meeting of conservative hot shots as he began floating the idea of a presidential run in 2012.

In 2016 he is not only adamantly in favor of criminalizing abortion, but for about five, or six hours yesterday felt it would be proper to jail pregnant women who attempted to secure one. As of today he says he believes only the doctors, or providers should be hit with charges if and when it becomes illegal.

So what brought him to this supreme oops moment? Well he might have taken a look at a couple of those polls he is so fond of.

A recent NY Times/CBS poll shows that in a head to head contest against Hillary Clinton, women prefer the former Secretary of State over him 55% to 35%.

Then it gets worse. A new Washington Post/ABC polls shows 75% of all women view him unfavorably. In fact 67% of everybody sees him the same way. That includes 80% of young adults, 85% of Hispanics, and just under 50% of republicans and republican leaning independents.

Speculation is Trump's grotesque tweet comparing his wife's airbrushed photo to an unflattering one of Heidi Cruz might be, at least partially, behind his sinking numbers in Wisconsin. A Marquette Law School sponsored poll shows Ted Cruz leading in the state a week before its primary by a full 10 points, 40% to 30%. John Kasich, as usual, is third at 21%. The survey was released right before Trump started flip flopping around like a boated tuna on abortion yesterday.

Meanwhile the jockeying continues as the GOP braces itself for the nightmare of a brokered convention. Reports are Marco Rubio is refusing to release any of the delegates he can hang onto in an attempt to either squeeze back into the race, or put himself into the position of king maker when all hell breaks loose in Cleveland.

Cruz is running around busily quoting party rule number 40. It was amended four years ago by the Romney people in the face of Ron Paul's candidacy. It specifies that a candidate must win at least eight states before the convention can even consider him, or her. If the rules committee doesn't change it, John Kasich's name can't be placed in nomination, because that poor sap is never going to get there.

To show how ugly it has gotten Trump, Cruz, and Kasich have all gone back on their written pledges to support whoever wins the republican nomination. Cruz went so far as to tell Jimmy Kimmel if Trump was in his rear view mirror while he was backing up his car, he would have a hard time deciding which pedal to hit with his foot.

This after Trump darkly predicted there would be riots if he wasn't the nominee.

Of course Brother Trump still has the inside track when it comes to reaching the magical number of 1,237 delegates. And in truth, a wild melee in Cleveland might be more a nocturnal fantasy of the media than an actual reality. There are 19 republican primaries left and as of today, Trump is a mere 501 delegates away from the promised land.

The only thing certain at the moment is the republican party looks to be coming apart at the seams right before our eyes. Whether it can heal itself after Trump, or someone else wins the nomination is a question which won't be answered until August and beyond.


sic vita est


3-31-16