(Vanity) How do we solve a problem like the Donald?

In the past couple of weeks, ever since the Fox News GOP debates (yes, plural, there was the "kiddie table" debate with Perry, Fiorina, and Jindal, among others), there is one name on the GOP side who has dominated not only the airwaves, but most of the time and efforts of the punditocracy.

He arouses wild excitement, and withering contempt; he is an object both of fear and of hope; and his support, like his opposition, comes from all demographic groups, many different political backgrounds, and is not limited to any one state or geographic region. He is, it seems, the very embodiment of the "Big Tent" vision for the GOP (more accurately, the GOP-e, which shall be its name for the remainder of this piece) once espoused by Karl Rove.

The GOP-e had a vision for reaching out according to the conventional wisdom: 40% of the voters, it is said, would vote for Karl Marx himself if he only had a (D) after his name; another 40% of the voters would similarly vote for Mickey Mouse if he but exhibited the (R) in the right column; and the winning and losing of elections is based upon gaining as much of your own base as possible, depressing the opponent's base, and capturing as much of the other 20% ("the mushy middle") as possible.

The GOP-e essayed to do this, over the past several elections, by quietly throwing a significant portion of their own 40% under the bus: the "crazies" or "Tea Partiers" or "closet racists" or "anti-abortion fundies" or "Fox News viewers" or "Dittoheads"... but quietly: not open repudiation, but behind-the-scenes backstabbing and betrayal, in committee assignments and deals cut with the Democrats and creative incompetence in the Kabuki theatre of opposing Obama and all his new initiatives. (The idea being that those dumb kooks in flyover country would be too, well, unsophisticated to notice the difference; and any losses could be made up by appealing to the broad middle, and to reaping the anticipated rewards of the growing immigrant class, who in the meantime make a swell source of low-cost labor for the oligarch donors behind the GOP-e.)

Or, in a more cynical light, as expressed by a number of commenters, the GOP-e might just have been infiltrated by "entry-ists" (Donkey's nose in the tent) or moles, or the leadership subject to dirty-tricks pressure; bribes, fear of exposure (Denny Hastert's structuring of withdrawals which were later connected to payments of what might have been hush money for sexual escapades with a teenage boy)...this being Washington, the possibilities were endless. And in that case, there was no longer a true two-party system, but a Uniparty, pretending to be at each other's throats, the better to exact money from partisan voters, but really with a gentleman's agreement not REALLY to advance either agenda; and to take turns, more or less, on who got to run the government and distribute the spoils.

First, the Obama election: young, charismatic, far-left, with no executive experience except (he actually said this with a straight face on Anderson Cooper 360, once upon a time):

"...my understanding is, is that Governor Sarah Palin's town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We have got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So, I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear over the last couple of years. And, certainly, in terms of the legislation that I passed just dealing with this issue post-Katrina of how we handle emergency management, the fact that many of my recommendations were adopted and are being put in place as we speak, I think, indicates the degree to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect."

Obamacare raised its ugly head: the American people raised their voices to a fever pitch: to the point that a Republican was elected, in Massachusetts, for the express purpose of stopping it.

To stop him, there was another wave election of Republicans in 2014; all the best efforts of Obama's magic team could not prevent the GOP from taking the House and the Senate. The people were frantically signally that they wanted effective opposition to Obama and his policies. All to no avail.

Take a brief look at the "fundamental change" loosed upon the land by Obama. Surely, the talking heads said, Obamacare would be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

No -- and in a surprise, it was the supposedly conservative Chief Justice Roberts who cast the deciding vote, with the more liberal Kennedy begging him not to pass it.

An economic slowdown worthy of comparison the Great Depression: the number of people in the country in the labor force, gainfully employed, at the same level as the CARTER years, despite nearly 40 years of population growth since then.

What else? The virtual imposition of Gay Marriage and its newfound discovery as a Constitutional Right, not on legal reasoning, but on flowery language worthy of a New Age greeting card. Followed by the White House being lit up in rainbow lights in a cultural "in-your-FACE!" not seen in modern times. Except maybe for Obama's vacations costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Supreme Court again affirming Obamacare by overwriting the express text of the law with a sense of the intent behind the law.

The rise of a small group mocked by Obama as being "the JV" but now a household word on account of their atrocities, from on-camera beheadings to the sexual slavery of Christian women. The White House's response? The President's wife sending out a selfie of her holding a hand-written hashtag: "Bring Back Our Girls." Even Dhimmi -- err, excuse me, Jimmy -- Carter (prayers up for his cancer, btw!) had more balls than that.

The throwing away of all the gains made by the Bush administration in the Middle East, the dissolution of Libya.

With the loss of Libya, the death of Ambassador Stevens; whereupon the Secretary of State lied through her teeth to the families of the victims, blaming the violence on a YouTube video.

The open targeting of conservative groups by the IRS (one of the things which got Richard Nixon in trouble), followed by the defiance of the IRS by destroying the evidence in the teeth of a Congressional investigation.

Oh, and the Secretary of State conducted her business on a non-governmental server, refusing to hand over the server entire to investigators, despite the security risks...and the presence of Top Secret material on an unsecured computer.

Did I mention computer problems? The Russians hacked the Pentagon; the Red Chinese STOLE over twenty million sets of personal information: and that from background checks, to include social security numbers and fingerprints, from the Office of Personnel Management.

Oh, I almost forgot. The deal with Iran, the country who held US citizens hostage for 444 days, the world's leading state sponsor of terror...the deal which would give them nuclear technology: with the US committed to defend their nuclear program against Israel, with Iran allowed to submit its own samples for testing, and not even to the US...being pushed for by Obama.

In addition to an Environmental Protection Agency run amok, issuing regulations governing coal which are likely to DOUBLE electricity prices.

And did I mention all the racial healing which Obama (as the first black President, second if you count the left's fawning over Bill Clinton) was supposed to bring?

And finally, an exploding national debt: under President Obama, the United States will have spent more, in the last eight years, then it has spent IN ITS ENTIRE HISTORY. More than every other President PUT TOGETHER.

It was all this, that the GOP was supposed to prevent: which they had been explicitly ELECTED to prevent.

But now, it's time for another Presidential election. And the GOP-e feels it's "their turn." Or, more specifically, Jeb Bush's turn(*).

And so, when Trump first made a splash, prior to the first GOP debate, he was dismissed. "It's a publicity stunt." But as he refused to fade away, word went out from the power donors behind the GOP-e: "Take him out. NOW." Curiously enough, it wasn't the other candidates in the debate who went after him, but the moderators: and at that, those at "Faux News". The supposed propagandists for the right.

We all know how that turned out. And yet, the Trump candidacy has not been stopped; indeed, his popularity has *grown*.

Watching the reaction to this is interesting, because in their panic an desperation, the powers-that-be are inadvertently showing the contents of their ENTIRE bag of tricks for upending a non-approved candidate:

So, with all these items, what is it that motivates Trump? A large number of hardcore conservatives distrusts him, pointing out how he cannot name a specific verse from the Bible which inspires him, the fact he has been married multiple times, that Hillary Clinton got invited to his wedding, that he donated to Democrats in the past; the list goes on and on. But even more telling, they say, is the fact that he seems, not exactly uneasy while saying conservative memes, but rather unsteady: it is as though either the thoughts themselves are foreign concepts, or at best, he has traveled so long in circles where one would have to hide being a conservative, that he is still uneasy saying conservative things out loud. They compare him to Reagan, who, though he only went to Eureka College (where?), had studied conservative thought for years, had internalized it and made it his own, so that he could instinctively defend it with with, and grace, and honor. Besides, it is reasonably pointed out, if we conservatives have already been burned by those playing Ass in Pachyderm's clothing, why should we trust someone who didn't even make a show of pretending first? Isn't that just begging for trouble?

When a member of the GOP-e ran for the Presidency, he did so for number of reasons: the ego boost (Giuliani, Specter), or "it was his turn" (Dole, Bush, McCain), or even because they could enhance their resume -- for a run at another office, or for lobbying positions (supply your own names here).

But Trump, (if we are to be fair), is not, and cannot be motivated by these. He's a billionaire already: any lobbying money would be Chump Change compared to what he already makes; and further, he has already lost a number of business deals and partners over his run : burning bridges is not a career enhancer within the elite. Further, he's already THE DONALD: he's already bedded and had children with supermodels. And he's 69 years old. There isn't anything left of a ladder for him to climb for money or fame's sake.

What then is left? Oddly enough, I think the clue comes from another famous former RINO and failed-candidate for the Presidency, Mitt Romney.

Romney, for whatever reason, after winning the first debate with Obama, rolled over and played dead: or was ambushed by Candy Crowley (note, in passing, how different Trump's response was to an attempted shiv from a female moderator: he turned on her with all guns ablaze, and holed her underneath the water line). But over and over, throughout the campaign, his message, though boring, was constant: America is a pretty good place, let's hire someone competent to administer it. And I, Mitt Romney, am a pretty competent administrator.

First, I think Trump is personally concerned, because he is 69 years old, and he remembers the America that used to be: the America before Obama, before "fundamental transformation," before 9-11: an America where everyone believed in America, and where (unlike Michelle Obama's whine), almost everyone was PROUD of America. His very campaign slogan, and the themes of his campaign, reflect this: "Make America Great Again", the push to exclude waves of crime from illegal immigrants, the promise of tough negotiations with trading partners to America's benefit, of taking a forceful, effective stance against countries and terrorists who deign to kill Americans with impunity.

Second, Trump is looking at the country, and he sees the demographic trends: not racial, but cultural: if one imports millions of people who do not share our language, who have not grown up with stories of Washington and Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, of Lincoln, and the Old West...whether they be from Mexico, Somalia, Syria, or India...and if one does NOT require them to assimilate, but only sees them as fodder to be used for cheap labor, or cheap votes...

how can that be called anything but a betrayal of America, as those who share a heritage and a history going back centuries, are displaced in favor of foreigners?

Trump may not have the political theory of Burke, and Locke, or the rhetorical skills of Jefferson or Lincoln. But he DOES love the country. And I believe, he is running, he is standing his ground, he is fighting, to preserve, protect, and defend, that which he loves.

Were it only true that the other candidates -- or, for that matter, current office holders -- did as much.

(*) It is this fact, that gives considerable credence to the idea of a uniparty: Hillary Clinton has done nothing of merit but put up with (and lie about) her husband's making oral sex a household term, adding a new word to the dictionary: Lewinsky. And she has capped this with a disastrous stint as Secretary of State. Against anyone but Bush, she would likely lose in a landslide. Similarly, Jeb Bush has little to recommend him to the common voter ("Two Bushes in the White House is enough!"), but a lot, in terms of favoring illegal immigration, to recommend him to the GOP-e; and there's always this to recommend him to the Uniparty: if he's running against anyone but Hillary, he would likely lose in a landslide.

.....”there’s nothing conservative about the Republican Party anymore”.....

That is true so then ‘who’ couped ‘OUR’ Party?......and what part of the Republican Party did we actually have sway with if any? ...............The test of time has shown very little..... Or is it just the power ‘stronghold’ in Washington is so evil and full of corruption it swallows up those we send there because they either play their game or they’re out to of the loop?

I have many unanswered questions for the who and reasons are as varied as the sand in the sea anymore. There’s so much dirt in Washington and Corporate America anymore that to be honest has become evil when entering their doors.

As I see it what we have in Cruz, Trump,Carson,Jindal and precious others standing by in Washington is a potential taking over completely the Governing powers that have crippled our Governance, Industry and overall Nations Security.

And so...if this election doesn’t move that mountain in Washington....THEN WHAT??????

That is true so then ‘who’ couped ‘OUR’ Party?......
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Seems to me it's been Good Guy, Bad Guy for many elections..
One cycle the Good guys WIN.. the Next the Bad guys..

Could BE the Angst has hit the FAN... I don't think TRUMP had any Idea "this" would arouse the RUBEs so much..
He's just riding it like a rented Donkey..

When I look back at past elections they really seem scripted.. "set up"..
I've lived thru many elections..

A comedy of errors.. The so-called parties, the press, the news readers, the networks.. and then OBAMA... was the candle on the cake..

NOW TRUMP... the RUBES have Limited-Out on the good guy scam..
Fortunately theirs Ted Cruz.. waiting like Mighty Mouse to Save the Day..

It really is getting wacky out there....the other candidates haven't been able to even get hardly front and center and with all the news going to Trump they cannot sustain their campaigns at this pace. Ol' Carly's out there whining about not being at the next debate....I tend to think they will tweak it for her....then the others will yell foul play of course.

I don't think we've seen the end of this wacky election by far.....and frankly I think Hillary's quite ill and they're hiding it. Thus we have Bidens and Warren being primed. I said before Hillary wasn't well enough to sustain a campaign and they;ve surely kept her quiet for the most part.... I'm not sure Trump can sustain his pace...it will ebb...but this whole thing is really bizarre....I'm staying with Cruz as you know.....

I’m not arguing your points, I’m simply of the opinion that someone who knows how to run International businesses, can do just as good as a career politician can, and lest we forget Ronald Reagan who I admired for so many reasons also held “liberal” views AND donated to liberals in his time on earth.

I’m saying people CAN change, but I’ll say it this way.

Don’t call people Trumpbots, that doesn’t sound “Conservative” that sounds like a Liberal scared that Trump might actually do what he says, I din’t tell you to shut up, I simply said let it go. People aren’t gonna be swayed by your running off at the mouth.

I’m simply of the opinion that someone who knows how to run International businesses, can do just as good as a career politician can

CEOS of large businesses do not run business they hire people to run them.. and fire them if dont succeed..

And TRUMP could run the Federal Givernment like a business...

WHICH IS THE EXACT PROBLEM.. the federal givernment IS A BUSINESS... with government business people and clients..
Thats what all this is about.. the federal givernment being a business is exactly
WHAT COMMUNISM IS... Also Fascism.. even Monarchy.. i.e. CHINA..

THIS MUST STOP... and problem with TRUMP with being PRESIDENT..

AND also WHY? Ted Cruz should be President.. to pull the federal givernment out of the ECONOMY as much as possible..

lest we forget Ronald Reagan who I admired for so many reasons also held “liberal” views AND donated to liberals in his time on earth.

Ronald Reagan has never been a valid comparison to liberal Donald Trump. Reagan was a conservative decades before he ran for president. We can't say that about Trump as he is a liberal to this day.

I’m saying people CAN change, but I’ll say it this way.

But there is no reason to believe Trump has changed a thing simply because he is saying what people want to hear during an election cycle. It is campaign rhetoric. What candidate doesn't make promises? We must always look at their history and Trump's history says he is a liberal and as such, cannot be trusted.

Don’t call people Trumpbots, that doesn’t sound “Conservative” that sounds like a Liberal scared that Trump might actually do what he says

Trumpbot is mild considering what they have called me. And I have never understood why anyone would equate me to a liberal for rejecting liberal Donald Trump. That just makes no sense.

I simply said let it go. People aren’t gonna be swayed by your running off at the mouth.

I have no illusions that any Trumpbot will be swayed, anymore than I have reason to believe your telling me to "let it go" will persuade me to do so.

Trump is a liberal. That you failed to even attempt to refute my list tells me you know that is true. And as I said before, I will not stop fighting for conservative principles in this conservative forum, nor will I stop my critiques of what I know to be a charlatan liberal pretending to be a conservative. You are free to ignore my posts if they bother you but I will not "let it go".

Have a good night.

Unfortunately, after 6 years, I have come to the conclusion that your evaluation of Trump’s motivation was correct. Big ego, got to prove to daddy he is the greatest. Unfortunately, after he allowed Fauci to sideline him from a possible life saving attack on Covid, Biden has made the same mistake which has cost over half a million lives. Fortunately, thirty years ago I read his book on Art of the Deal, applied some of the principles described which has definitely improved my bottom line.

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