George Will, and Won’t

George Will has written a savage take-down of Trump and the Republican Senators who have supported him. You have probably seen it. But, on the slim chance you haven’t, it is here: “Trump must be removed. So must his congressional enablers.” 

In it, the eloquent Mr. Will trains his verbal artillery on Trump and the GOP, and leaves no Republican stronghold unblasted. Trump, he says, is less than garbage. The Congressmen and -women who support him worse. 

It is all marvelous stuff...good and hot...and particularly coming as it does from a man who was and is the dean of conservative intellectuals. It is no wonder that his column has gone viral and all right-thinking liberals, socialists, and never-Trump conservatives have spread it far and wide.

But there’s the rub. Will it do any good?

On one level, I’m pretty sure it won’t. That’s because the people who vote for Trump are not the ones who are going to read this piece and be convinced. I mean, let’s face it, even if...somehow...they saw the column, they wouldn’t understand it or care to. (Mr. Will ends his piece with an extensive quote from T.S. Elliot’s “The Hollow Men.” Brilliant. But think about the people screaming at police and abusing reporters at the recent anti-quarantine protests. Do you think they’ve read T.S. Elliot? Or, if they have, do they care about Hollow Men? Even as they are themselves empty?)

Am I being elitist? Yes, I am. But I also think I’m right. The Deporables really are deplorable. The poorly educated that Trump says he loves, are truly poorly educated. They are voting for him out of the fear and ignorance that comes from never having had civics in high school.

How Often Does He Read Poetry?

Which means that Mr. Will’s column will be read chiefly by those who already despise Trump, and plan to vote against him. Thus, maybe, he is simply preaching to the choir. (Which is not to be superior. I am guilty of the same sin. If you are reading this, you are probably planning on voting blue, no matter who, in 2020.)

Yet, on another level, I am guessing that Mr. Will’s column will be valuable. That’s because, first, it will give liberals, like myself, a bit of boost. We will see that even our more ancient and eloquent enemies are coming around to our side. We may not always be able to count on their friendship, but at least we know they are...in the matter of Trump...with us.

Second, it will remind conservatives that they can and should vote against Trump and, indeed, the whole of the GOP. It will remind them that the Republican party is no longer theirs, and that to cast their ballots against it is no shame.

And, finally…

It will remind the Senate Republicans who now support Trump...albeit out of fear and opportunism...that change is coming. 

And if they wish their careers survive it…

Then they must take a stand, and discover, somewhere, the backbone which seems that, up to now,  they have misplaced…