Posted on 09/01/2015 5:06:30 PM PDT by Steelfish
Trump Has Succeeded in Convincing Conservatives to Discard their Principles Overnight by CHARLES C. W. COOKE. September 1, 2015.
Since he jumped self-confidently into the political limelight, Donald Trump has been quite the upside-down man. Customarily, primary seasons permit each party’s voters to indulge in a rational process of elimination: First, they discover which candidate most closely agrees with them on policy, and then they ask themselves whether that person is capable of representing their ideas in public. This time around, however, this process has been disastrously inverted, a solid portion of the Republican party’s balloters having decided first who they want to speak on their behalf, and then, as if t’were a mere afterthought, wondered what he might end up saying.
That their pick lacks any sort of conservative message at all does not seem to have mattered in the slightest. “We want that guy,” a host of voters have determined. “Whatever he believes, he says it so well.” If you have in the last few years become vexed and frustrated by the Republican base’s penchant for political purity, you should perhaps be breathing a little easier. A handful of months ago many of those who now make up Trump’s rank-and-file were ideological perfectionists who hated the GOP’s leadership, believed to their souls that the country was becoming a socialist hell-hole, and insisted vehemently that they had sat out the 2012 election because Mitt Romney was such a terrible squish. Today, by dint of some dark and unholy magic, these wannabe purists have hitched their wagons to Donald Trump, the greatest shape-shifter of them all. ......................... .......................................
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
NRO has no moral authority
It is extremely disingenuous for the GOPe to come out and say. "You can't vote for Trump -- he's a Liberal!"
Cruz is still my #1, but Trump is impressing the hell out of me. Trump is putting the spotlight on some important issues that should be central to any thoughtful Conservative. I do not agree with the people who bash Trump 24/7. I suspect that they feel threatened by a Republican candidate who opposes the Political Elite.
Like Cruz a lot, but he would not get the support Trump gets, nor would he get the nomination.
If you are losing the argument then just attack the messenger. Let me list the steps that Trump supporters take when responding to any criticism.
1. Its a hit piece.
2. You must support Jeb.
3. Ronald Reagan was a democrat at one time
4. Its just the media, or the Gope going on the attack and must mean that they are scared.
Seriously guys, you need to start vetting Trump - he is completely taking you for a ride.
They just don’t get it. We don’t want a president who will reach out and unite us with the socialists. We want a wrecking ball who destroy them and their grip on DC.
Cruz has a reputation for honesty and he is opposed to amnesty.
Of course Cruz is the desired nominee.
But he won’t get elected on just conservative votes, can he form a strong moderate/conservative coalition?
Maybe, there’s plenty of time yet.
That is Trump’s big draw: that he does seem to have that winning coalition. The coalition that would get conservatives ‘something’ at last.
Basically many freepers are not conservatives at all. They only care about one issue immigration and as long as someone attacks foreigners enough and blames all of America’s problems on them then these freepers will support him come hell or high water.
So, far principles have gotton us Dole, W.Bush,McCain,Romney and now J Bush.
I have always done that. But I will not do that anymore.
Had enough of it because it has gotten us nowhere.
he makes a good point. Trump gave money to hitlery, supported liberal policies but because he said something right on immigration all that liberalism is ignored.
Romney must be bewildered since he was called a flip flopper, untrustworthy by the same people supporting Trump and Romney supported self deportation!
We have posters on Free Republic that prefer a Hillary or Bernie Administration to any Republican except for Trump. That is their position carried to its logical conclusion.
I wonder how many of the Trump cultists supported Wallace in 68, or Anderson in 80, or Buchanan or Perot in 92 or 2000?
There might be no way to stop the tide of socialism except through economic collapse to force shrinkage of government.
I agree with you . Immigration is the only issue that matters right now.
I agree with you . Immigration is the only issue that matters right now.
Life long conservative and veteran.
I am for Trump. Why? I know he is squish on many many issues but he is dead solid on immigration. The country is dying and immigration and Free Trade are killing it. So I am gambling that he will come thru on some if the things that I feel are critical which out weigh any stupid things that I know he will do.
With RINOs I get, well, nothing.
I think that sort of proves his point. For many, winning is more important than what is being won.
The dilemma many of us have though is that if this unfettered immigration keeps up, our way of life and voting power go away regardless.
Look at the last presidential election. Florida, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia all went blue because of this massive immigration. You have states like California and Illinois that are now massive electoral vote troves that are permanently blue due to immigration. It won’t be long before stalwart red states go blue as well.
We can debate Arthur Laffer tax curves and planned parenthood all day long once we re-establish that we have a country here. Otherwise every other issue is moot.
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