Did that title get your attention? Trump supporters already
mad? Let me develop my point then tell me where I am wrong.
I have been attempting to put my finger on the meteoric rise
of the Trump campaign and it still somewhat eludes me. There is a boldness and audacity
that is refreshing, he shrugs off political correctness and defies apology,
these are all positives but not unique to Trump. Cruz has battled boldly against
the Republican establishment, Walker turned blue Wisconsin around over the
slings and arrows of the union attack dogs on their own turf. Want someone not
in politics? Dr. Ben Carson looked Barak Obama right in the eye and challenged
him on principle in front of the world. Contrast this to Trump’s spat with Fox
reporter Meghan Kelly which consists mostly of snipes and insults on twitter
and other media outlets and you see the difference between bravado and bravery.
Still, Trump’s voice has largely drowned
out these other men, he is after all louder and he owns his own microphone, at
first I thought this explained it.
If I am near a radio between noon and three eastern I usually
have Rush Limbaugh on. Recently he had a caller who was a Trump supporter who
was talking about Trump’s economic policy (or lack thereof) and she said
(quoting from memory) “Donald doesn’t need to give specifics, he knows that if
you cut taxes and get rid of all these regulations that the economy will fix
itself,” to which the host replied, “You realize Trump hasn’t said any of this,
you are inferring it.” The caller replied, “He doesn’t have to say it I know he
believes it.” “Hmmmm” I thought, “this
is anecdotal but enlightening. What if Trump supporters are projecting their
own beliefs on Trump, i.e. he’s rich therefore he believes in free enterprise.”
The next piece of the puzzle came a week later on the same
program where guest host author Mark Stein said, “Donald Trump has stated many
views over the years some of which were conservative but many were not. What Trump
is is a business man who sees the Republican Party as a listless and leaderless
business ripe for a hostile takeover” (Again quoted from memory). I jumped up
like Charlie Brown and proclaimed “THAT’S
IT” so loud I could have sent Lucy flying was she near. If Trump is treating
this as a business venture, what business model is he using: the last
successful campaign Barak Obama’s!
What did Obama do, what is Trump doing? Pick one or two
issues that will excite the base (Obama had Iraq Trump has immigration) then
avoid specifics on everything else. Think I am exaggerating? Go to Trump’s own
website look under positions and nothing appears except immigration. Obama gave
many flowery speeches and about hope and change but never defined the change,
Trump says he wants to make America great again but gives no specifics as to
how. Obama criticized Bush as a substitute for principled debate, Trump resorts
to personal attacks rather than substantive debate in every case. Trump is not
Obama, he adapts the model of the Obama Campaign not the style, Obama is a
snarky elitist, Trump an egotistical blowhard but the end result is the same,
both men would much rather destroy the competition than defend the merit of
their ideas and positions.
Obama counted on his previous positions and statements to be
largely ignored, aided by a long history of voting present in the Illinois
legislature, Trump also expects that his previous positions on most things will
be forgotten, as very little of what he believed in 2000 still applies today,
he suspects that his lack of political experience will shelter him. To anyone
willing to look however there is one telling truth that betrays all. Obama was
willing to break away from his policy of never putting down a recorded position
in Ill. To vote in favor of letting infants who survive late term abortions to
be killed by a second doctor. This would have shown us how radical he really
is, had we paid attention. Trump has one similar telltale sign as to what type
of President he would be. He once supported spoke kindly of and donated to
Hillary Clinton. He now condemns her as the worst Secretary of State in the
country’s history but truth be told she hasn’t changed since the days of Trump’s
admiring praise. Trump could like Bill and Hillary, could respect them, even befriend
them, but donate to her campaign? Hillary was a radical leftist then she is a
radical leftist now the difference? Supporting her was in Trump’s interest
then, criticizing her is in his interest now. He had no principled opposition
to her and her ideology, her lies about WMD’s her turning against our own
troops in combat, her attempts to socialize medicine in the first assault that
helped pave the way for Obama-care, her lack of ethics and profiteering at the
expense of national security. Trump didn’t turn a blind eye, he actively
supported it! Obama’s infanticide vote proved him a radical, Trump’s Hillary
support shows him a self-serving pragmatist. Name one time where Trump has
taken a principled stand on anything where it cost him money. Of course the
answer thrown out is that’s how things are done in NY send Trump to Washington
so he can change it. Really? Give him more power and he will suddenly grow a
set of principles? Faithless in little faithful in much? I remember that quote
a different way. Trump reminds me of the Groucho Marx quote ““Those
are my principles, and if you don't like them...well I have others.”
If, God forbid, Trump becomes president, we know which way
he will go if the good of the country comes up against the good of the Donald.
Rush Limbaugh has recently been referring to the “conservative literary class
who write about things but don’t do anything” as those who oppose Trump, well
that isn’t me. I am just some dumb farmer in WV writing a little blog read by
tens of people all over the world, but I know a huckster when I see one.
In years past having a complete lack of class
would have disqualified a candidate from the Presidency of the US. What we
learned in 2008 and 2012 is that a classless individual can not only be elected
but reelected to that high office. Though in fairness Obama pretends to have
class, most people not paying attention perceive him as a nice guy, heck Mitt
Romney’s key campaign point seemed to be pointing out Obama was a nice guy. With
Trump there is no pretense, he does not have any class at all and he doesn’t
pretend to be a nice guy. This is a negative to old fuddy-duddies like me but
in all honesty class would be an expendable trait in the right candidate with the
right stands on key issues, though I cringe at the press release from the Trump
white house on the day Angela Merkle the fiery prime minister of Germany
refused to support an initiative of the Trump Administration: “no one takes
Merkle seriously her face looks like it was hit by a VW and she has blood in
her whatever, (according to Trump a polite term for a lady’s nose) and besides Germans are stupid, that’s
why they lose all those World Wars”. Tell me you can’t imagine Trump doing
this? Is class expendable? Maybe in the right candidate but Mr. Trump ain’t
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