The speech Donald Trump gave last week in South Carolina should genuinely scare you. The leading Republican candidate for the office the President of the United States is openly advocating for both the torture and the killing of prisoners of war as a deterrent against terrorism. This is so wrong. It is way way over the line. It is dangerously and irresponsibly over the line. It is hard to decide which is scarier, the brazen demagoguery or the warm reception to such venom from Mr. Trump’s supporters.

Even if there was any truth to the story of General Pershing dipping bullets in pig’s blood and then shooting Muslim prisoners, it is wrong. And if that story were true, General Pershing would have been a war criminal!  People on both sides can and have argued as to the legality and effectiveness of waterboarding. But I have never heard anyone argue that we should go “much much much farther than water boarding”. What does that mean? What methods would Mr. Trump sanction for officials of the United States of America to employ?

Mr. Trump has successfully manipulated and monopolized news coverage with increasingly controversial rhetoric and outrageous statements. I fear we are becoming numb to his outrages.  You would think his multiple deferments from serving in Vietnam would give him pause before claiming the mantle of General Pershing (let alone calling the decorated veteran Senator John McCain a looser for getting shot down). But I suspect his ego has long since overridden any pangs of conscience. His shameless attempt to whip up votes demonstrates he has neither the requisite judgment nor the temperament for the presidency.

I am not a Democrat, liberal or progressive. I fancy myself a conservative with Republican tendencies. But right now I’ll vote for anyone else running for the presidency. Anyone! I’ll take the totally unqualified brain surgeon. Give me low-energy Bush, heck I’d even vote for Sanders or, gulp… Hillary. The Republican leadership needs to eject this megalomaniac and toss his sorry butt out of the party. Is it worth winning the presidency by openly advocating murder? The election be damned! I’d rather be the minority party.