As an Independent and former Republican voter, I applaud the courage of Republican legislators who have pushed back on the US president’s dog whistle racist comments. It takes courage to call your leader on the carpet for his remarks. But, I find of interest the many condemnations from abroad who are calling out the president’s remarks. Here are two: *
“Trump’s racism is sickening. Any European politician who fails to condemn this has questions to answer & should be ashamed of themselves.” – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician and member of the European Parliament.
“The President of the United States telling elected politicians — or any other Americans for that matter — to ‘go back’ to other countries is not OK, and diplomatic politeness should not stop us saying so, loudly and clearly.” – Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland
The dog whistle reference is important as the president refuses to apologize and says his remarks are not racist. This is old school racism where someone can use code words that have racist intent. But, don’t take my word for it, Michael Cohen, the president’s long time attorney and fixer said the following under oath. “Donald Trump is a racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.” And, if that were not enough, Trump settled two court cases where he admitted to discriminatory rental practices against African-Americans. Unfortunately, the president has a history of racist comments and practices.
Our leaders must honor our ideals and condemn these racist remarks. Each of us carries that responsibility as well. But, we need our leaders to be our better angels, not our worst. When we are being critical of actions, we need to focus on actions, not traits. One can be critical of actions by Israel without being anti-Semitic, just as people can be critical of actions by America without being anti-American.
* Note: I want to give Jill Dennison a shout out as the source of the two quotes.
musingsofanoldfart 
I think Theresa May also called out Trump. Not that I am a May fan, but it is worth noting that the UK is one half of the “special relationship.”
Brendan, she did indeed. I wanted to use two other voices to add seasoning. What many Republican legislators worry about is what will we have to rationalize tomorrow? I have asked several a number of times “is this the person you want to spend your dear reputation on?” Keith
Yes, I know you’ve asked that question. Most people are still saying “yes” but a small number of people (Justin Amash, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mark Sanford, to name a few) have said no.
Brendan, I was hoping more GOP Congress reps would have voted to condemn Trump’s racist remarks. Four did including former CIA agent Will Hurd of Texas. I am presuming Amash waa the 5th non-Democrat vote.
I did send a variation of the above to about 25 GOP Senators, including my two as well as several newspapers and news networks. To me, the GOP legislators need to summon moral courage and vote publicly what they say privately. Of course, this president is racist.
I was hoping for that as well.
I assume Amash was the 5th non-Dem vote. There is one independent in the House currently (Amash), and he voted in favor of the resolution.
I agree that there needs to be more courage on this one. I think a lot of Republicans are spooked by what happened to some past Trump opponents (like Mark Sanford, who was primaried and lost even though he is quite conservative overall).
Brendan, it was confirmed to be Amash this morning. Doing the right thing seems harder with the threats of this president. The question is to ask what they will have to defend next week and the week after that? Keith
Note to Readers: In a mixed poll result, two trends emerged regarding the president’s remarks:
– his favorability with Republicans increased by 5 points since last week, a very disturbing trend
– his favorability with Independents decreased by ten points and low ratings with Democrats fell by two points
This is why it is so important for more Republican legislators to find the courage to condemn the president’s racist remarks.