WHERE DOES TRUMP GET THESE OUTRAGEOUS TALKING POINTS? OH, YEAH -- FROM FELLOW REPUBLICANS

This is leading the news today:

Trump: Obama 'is the founder of ISIS'

Republican nominee Donald Trump said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, founded ISIL.

At a rally in Sunrise, Florida, Trump once again attacked the foreign policy of Obama and Clinton, saying their policies resulted in the creation of ISIL.

“ISIS is honoring President Obama,” Trump said. “He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS, OK? He’s the founder. He founded ISIS. And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”

How irresponsible! Only an unstable demagogue would say such a thing! Trump is dragging the good name of the Republican Party through the mud with these wild, unfounded accusations! Where does he get the notion that this kind of talk is acceptable?

















(Source; source; source; source; source; source; source; source.)

All of that is from last year. Some of it is from Trump opponents or media outlets on the right that have denounced Trump; the last one is from General Mike Flynn, who's now a high-profile Trump backer and who was rumored to be on Trump's running-mate short list.

Trump isn't breaking new ground here -- this kind of talk has long been acceptable on the right. In fact, Trump himself has talked like this before, in January:

During his latest campaign rally in Mississippi, Mr Trump suggested the Obama administration has allowed the extremist group to flourish by ignoring his call for the US to seize oil assets now owned by Isis.

“I’ve predicted a lot of things, you have to say, including, ‘Get the oil, take the oil, keep the oil’. Right?” he said.

“I’ve been saying that for three years, and everybody said, ‘Oh I can’t do that. I mean, this is a sovereign country.’ There is no country!

“They’ve created Isis. Hillary Clinton created Isis with Obama,” he continued.

The only new twist with Trump is that yesterday he threw in some birtherist Muslim-baiting:

He also revived his suggestion that the commander-in-chief, who authorized 11,000 U.S. air strikes against ISIS in the past two years, harbors a secret affinity for the terrorists. “In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama,” Trump said, offering no further explanation.

Later, while discussing the situation in Crimea -- which he just learned was annexed by Russia in 2014 -- Trump emphasized the president’s full name, saying it took place “during the administration of Barack Hussein Obama.”

But even that isn't uniquely Trumpian -- it's just unexpected at this level. Mitt Romney and John McCain considered themselves above such cheap shots (although not McCain's running mate).

So there's nothing new here. These are just standard-issue GOP smears. They're just getting a higher profile now.