Thirty former GOP lawmakers have sent a scathing, no-holds-barred warning to the Republican Party, stating Donald Trump is unfit to serve as president and must be rejected at the polls.
"Our party's nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress," the distinguished ex-politicians said in an open letter released Thursday.
"Given the enormous power of the office, every candidate for president must be judged rigorously in assessing whether he or she has the competence, intelligence, knowledge, understanding, empathy, judgment, and temperament necessary to keep America on a safe and steady course.
"Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president."
The ex-politicians, including former Sen. Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire and Reps. Vin Weber of Minnesota, Dick Zimmer of New Jersey and Tom Petri of Wisconsin, say GOP leaders have asked voters to "entrust their future" to a man totally out of step with American values.
"[He] insults women, mocks the handicapped, urges that dissent be met with violence, seeks to impose religious tests for entry into the United States, and applies a de facto ethnicity test to judges," the group says.
"He offends our allies and praises dictators. His public statements are peppered with lies. He belittles our heroes and insults the parents of men who have died serving our country.
"Every day brings a fresh revelation that highlights the unacceptable danger in electing him to lead our nation ... We urge our fellow Republicans not to vote for this man whose disgraceful candidacy is indefensible. This is no longer about our party; it's now about America."
Former Rep. Bill Clinger of Pennsylvania, who is one of the signers, was chairman of the Government and Oversight Committee that probed Bill and Hillary Clinton in the Travelgate and Filegate investigations.
CNN reports that while the letter does not mention Democratic presidential candidate, organizer Andrew Weinstein said some signers will vote for her, with others will support Libertarian Gary Johnson or write in a candidate.
The signers also include: Steve Bartlett, Bob Bauman, Sherwood Boehlert, Jack Buechner, Tom Campbell, Tom Coleman, Geoff Davis, Mickey Edwards, Harris Fawell, Ed Foreman, Amo Houghton, Bob Inglis and Jim Kolbe.
In addition, there are: Steve Kuykendall, Jim Leach, Pete McCloskey, Connie Morella, Mike Parker, John Porter, Claudine Schneider, Joe Schwarz, Chris Shays, Peter Smith, Edward Weber and G. William Whitehurst.
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