The transformation of the Republican Party into the Trumpublican Party continues.
Each day, GOPers who were once (correctly) warning other Republicans that Donald Trump — with his xenophobia, comments about minorities, characterizing Mexicans as “rapists,” talk about banning Muslims from entering the United States, call for mass deportation of undocumented workers, pattern of repeated verbal attacks on women, conspiracy theories, vulgar language and name calling — was not just a break from Republicanism but from from America’s political norms. But now the line in supporting him is: he’s not Hillary Clinton. The latest to jump aboard the Trump political bandqfon and distance themselves from the party’s previous history and branding as The Party of Lincoln is veteran GOP strategist Alex Castellanos. And his reasoning is now (sigh) familiar:
A new “super PAC” supporting Donald J. Trump and backed by one of his close friends has hired the strategist Alex Castellanos to cut advertisements and work on strategy.
Mr. Castellanos, who advised Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential race, confirmed in an interview that he is guiding the group, Rebuilding America Now, which was filed late last week. It is being supported by Tom Barrack, a financier and real estate investor and an old friend of Mr. Trump.
“I’m worried that we don’t have four or eight more years to wait to change direction,” Mr. Castellanos said, explaining his decision to join the group. “This is not about whether the Republican wins or loses the White House. This is about whether we can afford to go in the same direction, and because I’m concerned if we go too much farther we won’t be able to turn back.”
The main focus of the group will be countering the effect of a $90 million advertising offensive planned by Priorities USA Action, the super PAC backing Hillary Clinton. Priorities USA has released two ads, both focused on women, that eviscerate Mr. Trump, including one that uses his own statements against him.
Mr. Castellanos’s involvement is notable for his previous criticism of Mr. Trump. He had quietly explored the possibilities of creating a “Stop Trump” effort last fall, and he has long urged the Republican Party to change its tone and focus in order to appeal to a broader coalition of voters.
Mr. Castellanos was blunt about what had changed for him. “My choice is now binary. Either I support her, or I support him,” he said. “And the certainty of more of the same in Hillary Clinton is much more dangerous to this country than the uncertainty and disruptive change of Donald Trump.”
Rebuilding America Now has not been officially blessed by the campaign, but Mr. Barrack is friends with both Mr. Trump and Paul Manafort, the campaign’s chief strategist. And it is behind the first ad in support of Mr. Trump in the general election from any group, including his own campaign.
The bottom line is: Trump is a major break from not just Republican traditions but American political norms.
He isn’t your father’s Republican candidate, your grandfather’s or — I bet — Abraham Lincoln’s or Dwight Eisenhower’s or (as Michael Reagan has noted) Ronald Reagan’s. Even some Republicans warn about his authoritarian tendencies.
But, hey, he isn’t Hillary Clinton.
Which I suspect many voters are increasingly noticing, as her poll numbers go up.
FOOTNOTE: It’s worth noting here what the Huffington Post’s Editor Arianna Huffington now puts as a tag line under all posts that refer to Trump:
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
But, hey, he isn’t Hillary Clinton.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.