Peeling Off

In 1980, "Reagan Democrats" crossed party lines, rejected the incumbent Jimmy Carter, and the rest was history, legend, and lore.  When the Iran hostages were released right after Reagan took the oath of office, it was due to Carter administration negotiations, but never mind the facts.  Reagan got the credit as he did for the collapse of the whole Soviet bloc after he told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall.

This time around, however, it is Republicans walking away from their own ticket.  As always, it is not the second slot that disturbs. It is the top of the ticket.  Back in February, Christine Todd Whitman admitted her dilemma at the prospect of a Trump candidacy. Last week, Eleanor Clift updated her list of fallen-away Republicans.

Today we have the first sitting GOP member of Congress not just walking across the aisle but endorsing Hillary Clinton.

First Republican Member of Congress Just Announced He’s Voting for Hillary Clinton

Tom Cahill | August 2, 2016
Hillary Clinton just got her first endorsement from a sitting Republican member of Congress.
Three-term Congressional Representative Richard Hanna, who represents eight counties in upstate New York, became the first Republican to cross party lines and endorse the former Secretary of State, citing Donald Trump’s insulting remarks directed at a Gold Star family as the last straw. Hanna outlined his disgust for Trump in an op-ed published in the Syracuse Post-Standard:

Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he’s proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country.

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In addition, two GOP advisers broke ranks with the party.

First on CNN: Ex-top Christie aide backs Clinton over Trump

By Eric Bradner, CNN

Tue August 2, 2016

(CNN)  Longtime Chris Christie aide Maria Comella says she plans to vote for Hillary Clinton -- saying that after Donald Trump's nomination, Republicans are "at a moment where silence isn't an option."

Comella is breaking from the governor she helped elevate into the national political limelight. Her decision, announced in an email interview with CNN's Jamie Gangel, comes the day after a top Jeb Bush aide said she was leaving the Republican Party.

Comella blasted Trump over his attack on the Muslim parents of an American soldier killed in combat, calling it emblematic of the rhetoric that has led her to reject her own party's nominee.

SNIP

...Comella -- like longtime Jeb Bush adviser Sally Bradshaw, who told CNN on Monday that she's left the GOP over Trump's nomination -- said party members can't stay silent amid Trump's inflammatory rhetoric.

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Meanwhile Trump has escalated his complaints that the debate schedule is rigged to claiming that the whole election is rigged. (Somehow we feel that Jimmy Carter organizing poll watches for him will do nothing to alleviate his misgivings.)  He also adopted his surrogate, Ben Carson's theory that Hillary is in league with  ... could it be ... Satan???? (A favorite witch hunt claim.)

More to follow ... more Republicans snapping out of their torpor as the nominee continues to endorse their primary opponents and more info here.

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BREAKING!!!  (As promised) 10:28 EDT According to MSNBC via Lawrence O'Donnell:

Meg Whitman just broke ranks and will vote and WORK for Hillary Clinton.

Holy Moly! (Reminder: The is NOT The Onion.)

Meg Whitman, Calling Donald Trump a ‘Demagogue,’ Will Support Hillary Clinton for President

By JONATHAN MARTIN AUG. 2, 2016

Meg Whitman, a Hewlett Packard executive and Republican fund-raiser, said Tuesday that she would support Hillary Clinton for president and give a “substantial” contribution to her campaign in order to stop Donald J. Trump, whom she berated as a threat to American democracy.

“I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her,” Ms. Whitman said in a telephone interview.

She revealed that Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had reached out to her in a phone call about a month ago, one of the first indications that Mrs. Clinton is aggressively courting Republican leaders. While acknowledging she diverged from Mrs. Clinton on many policy issues, Ms. Whitman said it was time for Republicans “to put country first before party.”

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