Trump’s too many words matter

These are perilous times, especially for Republicans. Donald Trump is loose and not going away. He essentially declared he would run for president again and got cheers from about 250 of the fattest cats that the Republican Party has. Rich, unfortunately, rich doesn’t mean informed or caring

Most political speech writers shoot for 20 or 30 minutes — enough time to appear serious, but short of the squirm threshold. Trump moved his lips for 84 minutes, mixing fantasy with name-calling, dangerous “jokes,” and his standard history of widespread voting fraud. Abraham Lincoln, by the way, took no more than three minutes to deliver the Gettysburg Address. There weren’t three minutes of vision in Trump’s babble.

His ramble was not filled with Republican policy options, or conservative goals, but name calling, self-praise, grandiose claims, and weird excursions into a nether world. Global warming is a hoax, although he didn’t say by whom. He said Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he had been president. He praised Esteemed Leader Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, but called Mitch McConnell, “stupid” and “corrupt.” He eloquently said George Conway, husband of his White House aide Kellyanne, was “full of (expletive).” Mike Pence was a "conveyor belt for corn,” whatever that means. In a creative moment, he labeled Rep. Adam Schiff as a “watermelon head.”

The highpoint of the speech was Trump’s suggestion that Chinese insignia be painted on our planes, that we should “bomb the (expletive)” out of Russia” and watch retribution on the Chinese because the Russians had been duped. Some in the audience laughed as if it was funny. A potential nuclear exchange is hardly a laughing matter among reasonable people, including some Republicans.

Trump was certainly serious as he blathered on about the stolen election and blasted Mike Pence for doing his constitutional duty in accepting what the Electoral College had affirmed. Pence had served Trump as well as one could in his job and was rewarded with disdain.

As partisan as I am, I don’t think that the Trump insanity (and that is really what it is) is the essence of the Republican Party, now or ever. I don’t think it is the Republican Party of Sens. Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, or Gov. Kim Reynolds. They know who and what Trump is. For them to remain silent after this speech, if not before, is not anything but political cowardice, abdication of principle and, at least, for Grassley, an embarrassing departure from conservative beliefs and his own character. When you sell your political soul, at whatever age, you have lost something precious and irreplaceable.

Our senators and our governor are not dumb. They, I hope, understand that a joke about causing a confrontation between Russia and China is not funny. They should find his attacks on McConnell outrageous.

Donald Trump is not a Republican; he is not rational. He lies without shame. Rank and file Republicans, along with their leaders, must say to Trump, “Flush your anticipated acceptance speech down a Mar-a-Lago toilet. That’s your skill.’

And that’s no joke.

Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary.