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The Republican Party has been passing legislation for years that falls in line with what its nominee Donald Trump says. It's anti-Muslim, homophobic, misogynistic, racist and rejects science. He's actually the embodiment of Republican policy.
Now Trump has mocked the pain of the parents of Capt. Humayun Kahn, a Muslim soldier who was killed in the Iraq War. He taunted Mrs. Kahn for not speaking from the stage of the Democratic National Convention. She didn't speak because of her grief, not her religion, as he had not-too-subtlely suggested.
Trump wants to ban Muslims from coming to America. He blamed President Obama and Hillary Clinton for Kahn's death because they changed the rules of engagement. Just one small problem with that. Capt. Kahn was killed in 2004, under President George W. Bush.
Being anti-Muslim isn't new for the party. More than two dozen states "considered measures to restrict judges from consulting Shariah" in 2010 and 2011. All but 16 states had considered such a law by 2013. Some states have run referendums and voted on it. Newt Gingrich, while running for his party ticket in 2012, called Sharia law a "mortal threat" and said America should ban it. Sarah Palin warned us all that if Sharia were adopted it would be the "downfall of America." Hating on Muslims isn't a new thing for this crowd; the fact the fallen soldier is Muslim matters not a whit.
This brings me to the soldier part. Trump was thrilled when a veteran gave him his own Purple Heart this week. See, he always wanted one and getting this one handed to him was "much easier" than getting wounded in combat. The only person I knew who had a Purple Heart when I was a kid was my Great Uncle Harry and he only had one arm when he came home from the Korean War.
[JENNIFER RUBIN: Trump cannot stop himself.]
Oh, the outrage from, well, everyone. No kidding. If you vote for Republicans, your outrage is fake. Just stop. I didn't hear you screaming when the House Appropriations Subcommittee removed more than $1.4 billion from Obama's proposed 2016 budget. The estimate was 70,000 veterans would be hindered in receiving needed medical services.
What about when Republican senators blocked a bill to give fertility counseling and treatment to veterans who had been severely wounded? Oops. No baby for you! Planned Parenthood might be involved. Good grief. Oh, and when Sen. Bernie Sanders' bill to expand health care and education for veterans got hijacked by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who attached sanctions on Iran? Crickets. Save your thoughts and prayers and do something meaningful for our service members.
Trump made fun of a fire marshal who was doing his job. Make America A Fire Hazard Again! The shock! Considering Trump is on the top of a ticket for a party that for years blocked funding health care for 9/11 first responders — it makes his mockery look like the least of their offenses.
As much as climate change should be in the conversation for who will run the country, it's not. When their candidate asked a foreign policy advisor repeatedly, "Why can't we use nuclear weapons?" you have to wonder if that's just a quicker scorched Earth than the ones pushed for the last few decades.
[LEONARD PITTS: How can honorable Republicans support Trump? How?]
The rampant sexism of Trump is backed up with years of political maneuvering by his party. In 2011, of nearly 40,000 laws in 50 states, 1,100 of them were to restrict a woman's right to choose. Why? Because women are so stupid they don't know how their own bodies work, or their finances, so the big brother party decided they'd be great moms if it were just forced upon them. Stop being surprised. This is their normal.
I wonder who is going to get Trump in the breakup of the GOP. It's remarkable to see the Alaska delegation, who say they will "vote for the Republican candidate" no matter what — and then put out press releases on how outraged they are by the latest steaming pile of hate Trump is spewing.
How about this, Dan Sullivan, Don Young and Lisa Murkowski. You don't get it both ways. This is politics, but you don't get to pull a "Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner" position on Trump. I guess it's too important to court the votes of those mouth-breathing troglodytes who cheer for Trump.
Trump is just saying out loud what you and your party have been introducing and voting yea on for years. You don't need to build a wall, you need to build a mirror.
Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.
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