Posted on 04/29/2016 11:50:43 AM PDT by newgeezer
The sudden appearance of Donald Trump on the political horizon last year may have been surprising, but not nearly as surprising as seeing some conservatives supporting him.
Does Trump have conservative principles? Does he have any principles at all, other than promoting Donald Trump? A smorgasbord of political positions — none of them indicating any serious thought about complicated issues — is not a principle. Nor is cheering for himself and boasting about all the great things he is going to do as President.
Haven't we seen this movie before? Wasn't Barack Obama going to heal the racial divide, end the partisan bickering in Washington, have the most transparent administration ever, lower the cost of health care and let you keep your own doctor?
Had he actually done all those things, walking on water as an encore would have been an anti-climax. But instead, he did the opposite of all those things.
There was absolutely nothing in Obama's track record that should have led anyone to think that he would even try to do any of the things he declared he was going to do. But why spoil a great vision, and soaring rhetoric, by checking track records?
It was bad enough for the voters to make the colossal mistake of being taken in by appearances and ignoring realities. But to repeat that very same mistake with Trump, immediately after the Obama administration, is truly staggering. How many pied pipers are we going to follow off to parts unknown?
At this late date, there is no point itemizing the many things that demonstrate Trump's gross inadequacies for being President of the United States. Trump himself has demonstrated those gross inadequacies repeatedly, at least weekly and sometimes daily. Those who do not believe their own eyes and ears are certainly not going to believe any words of mine, or of anyone else.
What William James called "the will to believe" is still as powerful today as it was when he coined the phrase more than a century ago. But what is there about Donald Trump that taps into that powerful current of credulity?
The many betrayals of the voters by the Republican establishment, year after year, no doubt set the stage. And Trump is a great theatrical performer on any stage.
But is that enough? It has been enough politically to put some of the great demagogues of history in power, especially after the existing establishment has discredited itself.
The discredited Weimar Republic in Germany was vulnerable to the verbal attacks by Adolf Hitler that brought him to power. Now we know, too late, that Hitler turned out to be a bigger catastrophe — for Germany and the world — than the Weimar Republic.
Donald Trump is not an evil man like Hitler. But his headstrong shallowness and fecklessness make him a dangerous man to have in the White House, with our enemies around the world on the march, and developing intercontinental missiles that can deliver nuclear bombs.
A President of the United States has many heavy responsibilities beyond building a wall and fighting the Republican establishment.
Just the thought of Trump appointing justices of the Supreme Court, who will have lifetime tenure and make decisions, for decades, that will determine whether we will still be a free people, should sober up all who have not been irretrievably hypnotized by rhetoric or so embittered by the betrayals of the Republican establishment that they can see little else, including life and death issues.
For conservatives especially, there is finally a real choice for a change — and a sharp contrast with Donald Trump. Senator Ted Cruz has a track record that leaves no doubt as to his adherence to conservative principles. And he is as thoroughly versed in the issues facing this country as anyone who has run for President since Ronald Reagan.
Has Senator Cruz been flawless? Certainly not, and this column has more than once pointed out some of those flaws. But he has both the principles and the intellect for the job. Given the alternatives — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — that should be more than enough this election year.
The outcome of this Tuesday's primaries may tell us whether the voters want to vent their feelings or to choose someone to lead the nation in a time of dangers, at home and abroad.
Against this we have the self-serving evidence out of the con man's mouth, "Lyin' Ted."
You concede that I am "smart person" and I believe that you are smart, too. What should a smart person conclude when he weighs the evidence on both sides?
Not going to happen:
1: Hillary is a LOT more disliked than Trump, and the later has much more support than the former.
2: Her health is not going to be her friend.
I don’t think ideological purity is possible in the realm of practical politics and have said so for some years. That does not mean that principle cannot inform us, it simply means that rigid adherence will put one in the position of “I’d rather be right than be President”. Unfortunately we need, and will get, a President one way or another, and a state of permanent minority in the face of a very aggressive and hostile hate movement from the Left is no longer a viable option. They want us enslaved or dead, and that isn’t a matter of theory.
When he reaches 1237, I’ll agree with everything you said there.
Sowell is one of the NRO NeverTrump signers. He comes out with a new Trump hit piece once a week.
Poor Dr. Sowell, I think he has lost his way a bit.
He seems to be another one in the media who doesn’t seem to understand the anger going on out here and why. Even after 10 months you still have way too many pundits and those in MSM that cannot seem to get any clue on all the pent up anger and frustration people are feeling about the corrupt politicians and government that have betrayed. This has been the fuel for Donald Trump.
this is great—ping
“Thought provoking article and I share many of the concerns stated in it.
Now prepare for Sowell to be trashed for not falling in line and daring to express doubts about Trump.”
_____________
Sowell is brilliant, but he is wrong. I have many of his books (”Inside American Education” was a favorite.) He is a scholar, and a gentleman. I doubt he has ever raised his voice in his life.
But Sowell has written eloquently, year after year, about the problems. And conservatives laud him, and push his books. And things get worse because the conservatives Sowell loves have never even attempted to implement his policies. They instead have largely run from them.
I’m sure Trump is offensive and seems abrasive to a man like Sowell.
So be it. But Sowell makes the same mistake others make—they speak down to Trump supporters, and treat them as angry uneducated children, just blindly lashing out. Sowell has no corner on the market when it comes to that, of course, but neither does he necessarily have any special understanding as to who would make a good president, and who would not. I also remember that Jimmy Carter was touted by many as the smartest man ever to sit in the oval office, and Reagan as a dangerous dunce.
BKMK
Thank you.
“:^)
“Do you remember the GOPe coming out against these men?”
I reject your false premise that conservatives like Sowell are “GOPe”.
“Another great surprise is the level of pro-Trump opinion on conservative, libertarian, anti-government, Free Republic.”
“The average Trump person around here is the proverbial, ‘Mad as hell!’ and seeing red. I think it is as simple as that.”
I think it is not as simple as that - and I think you are simple to think so.
I am a lifelong philosopher, an ordained minister, and a member of Mensa, and I will now say what is starting to make me mad: the condescending attitude (too often accompanied by ad hominem attacks, and pejorative nicknames) of those who think they are so much more truly conservative, yet who do not see that conserving the Constitution, in the form of Article II on a Natural-Born Citizen, and conserving the Nation, in the form of actually enforcing our border security, is as fundamentally - and crucially - conservative as it gets.
Your comment is so spurious and non-substantive, I conclude that you are representative of the average Cruz person.
Stuff it Thomas.
What are the Branch Cruzadians going to do after the next blowout in Indiana?
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