Since making my atypical political post last week, we’ve seen Trump be Trump yet again.

This time, however, in a leaked recording from 2005 bragging about what is essentially sexual assault, he seems to have finally crossed a line with some of his supporters. I applauded the leadership of many Republicans who have gone out of their way to not back him in the past—putting their country and their principles ahead of their party, which had clearly made a mistake. But we’ve reached a point now where this is no longer a demonstration of leadership. Even Ted Cruz, whose policies I mostly disagree with, showed a small degree of leadership at the Republican convention, only to cast aside his pride and principles to go ahead later and support Trump (and boy, must he feel stupid now). Those who are just now rushing to distance themselves are instead followers, demonstrating only that they were willing to compromise their presumed principles just up to a certain point.

The problem is that the ones coming late to the party have already shown themselves to be willing to tolerate racism, sexism, bigotry, pathological lying, bullying, hating, narcissism, inciting violence, advocating torture and nuclear proliferation, and other deplorable values (see a list here)—as long as it advanced the party. That shit sticks to you. I am glad so many are turning back from the edge of the cliff now, but they are a smelly crowd. It was obvious the man was toxic since Day 1, but so many stuck with him in spite of this.

Almost everyone is redeemable (most sentences are not for life). We all make mistakes. But those who’ve stuck hard with Donald Trump until now, and those who remain sticking, are going to have to go out of their way to demonstrate that the exceedingly long list of Trump’s negative values (e.g., racism, sexism, bigotry, pathological lying, bullying, hating, narcissism, inciting violence, advocating torture and nuclear proliferation, etc.) are not their values as well. And don’t get me started on “supporting but not endorsing.” That’s grabbing hold of a totally shit-covered stick from what you’d like to think is the clean end. It’s not. When you support someone with those values, you strongly infer that those are also your values. Those are not the values of our country, and I’d like to think not the values of most of our country’s people. The world would be a much better place if those “leaders” who have until recently supported Trump bent over backwards to help us all move away from that long list of negative values (in other words, no more lip service).

What is astonishing to me is that so many of those calling for Trump to step aside a) had previously supported him despite his so many blatant demonstrations of being unfit for the presidency, and b) are calling for Mike Pence to be raised up instead. This compounds the forfeiture of what we usually consider U.S. values with stupidity bordering on incompetence. Mike Pence did not run for president, and by the Republicans’ own rules could not step in now and do so. I actually looked up the rules to be sure (it’s Rule 9). It’s complicated. Here is an article suggesting that only Trump’s quitting could open the door to the states’ members of the RNC to vote on a new nominee. I am not an expert, but I would guess that the fur would fly if Pence were considered ahead of someone who, you know, actually ran a presidential campaign this cycle (but wound up being trounced by the “tiny fingered, Cheeto-faced, ferret wearing shitgibbon”). And news reports indicate now that Pence himself may quit the Trump train to try to preserve his own political future (Ha! Sorry, he grabbed the shit stick from both ends, like it was a popsicle).

An apt comment on sexism today (http://farcornercafe.blogspot.com/2016/10/his-brand-of-sexism-isnt-our-brand-of.html )

Anyway, despite the gravity of the flaws of Trump, there are loads of funny and educational things emerging from his latest Trumpism. Here are two—an educational cartoon of the nuances of sexism and set theory, and a pointed comment on the body language of the women who know him best, his family members.

He asked for this one. https://www.facebook.com/RightOffACliff/photos/a.361900107160877.108530.300857333265155/1604924619525080/?type=3

Finally, however, on a very serious note, Trump’s recorded statements about sexual assault have triggered a high-volume outpouring of womens’ personal experiences with sexual assault and harassment. Fully 9.7 million so far (night of 8 October) in response to just one tweet. See Twitter @kellyoxford. Those who are trying to shrug this off need to join the 21st century. It is indeed time for the nation’s first woman president.