Posted on 02/28/2016 11:40:05 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The stakes in 2016 are huge and the party is fractured. The rhetoric reflects a Trump Derangement Syndrome in which Trump is either a monster or a savior, instead of a politician. On the left, Bush Derangement Syndrome expressed itself in the conviction that he was unalterably and uniquely worse than every other president and would get around to declaring martial law and ruling forever.
The danger of exaggeration is that previously unacceptable views suddenly become acceptable. Bush Derangement Syndrome made it acceptable for Democrats to descend into open treason by making common cause with Saddam Hussein, the Sunni terrorist groups that evolved into ISIS and Assad.
Bush Derangement Syndrome made him seem so terrible that every other evil could be justified by comparison. The exaggeration of Trump Derangement Syndrome is doing that all over again.
Trump Derangement Syndrome is driving some conservatives to call for destroying the Republican Party and conservatism, and even to usher in eight years of left-wing rule, in order to stop Trump.
Under pressure from Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton is now adopting positions well to the left of Obama. On racial issues, she’s already more extreme than he is. Ponder that for a minute. Both Democratic candidates are now airing blatantly racist views about white privilege. Sanders and Clinton are also scrambling to get to the left of Obama on terrorism, socialized medicine and a raft of other issues.
The switch from “Anyone But Hillary” to “Anyone But Trump” is a sign of fundamentally misplaced priorities.
Political campaigns can get ugly and Trump’s style is, at times, to get as nasty as possible, but it’s a sign of misplaced insider priorities to allow personal animus to matter more than the war against the left. It’s not unreasonable for some conservatives to be angry at Trump and his tactics. It is unreasonable to let that anger turn into a petulance that would let the left rule the nation for another eight years.
We are not in the conservative movement to settle our personal scores. Stopping Trump at any cost is not acceptable just as stopping Romney or McCain at any cost was not considered to be acceptable. Conservatives cannot always have conservative candidates or achieve conservative policy goals. But they can still prevent the left from winning a complete victory in any given election.
Bush Derangement Syndrome began when Democrats decided not to accept the results of an election. Everything else emerged naturally, logically and treasonously from that conclusion. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a preemptive call not to accept the results of political primaries in the Republican Party.
Proponents of the “Anybody But Trump” school argue that his nomination would be catastrophic for conservatism. That may be true, but conservatism as a national program is more likely to survive Trump than it is Hillary or Sanders.
There are important lessons in the rise of Trump. Learning those lessons would make conservatives stronger, not weaker. And refusing to learn those lessons will not make conservatism any stronger.
The most basic of those lessons is to fight hard. Voters choose fighters over ideological purists. That’s human nature and conservatives, unlike liberals, have always recognized the reality of human nature. If conservatives want to win ideological victories, they have to fight harder politically, but without losing sight of the things that they are fighting for above the ordinary pettiness of the political contest.
Trump Derangement Syndrome is obsessive and unhealthy. Critics match what they see as Trump’s inflated sense of self-importance with an equal conviction of his importance as a destroyer. But Trump cannot destroy the conservative movement. Only conservatives can do that.
Bush Derangement Syndrome destroyed the Democratic Party. Even moderate Democrats were suddenly willing to make common cause with the most radical elements of the left and Islam out of the conviction that President Bush had to be stopped at any cost. They lost sight of the real threats to the country, handed over their political party to leftist radicals and billionaires, and gave us Obama.
Trump Derangement Syndrome could give the country eight years of Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. Or someone even worse. Conservatives understand human weaknesses and the importance of overcoming them. Trump Derangement Syndrome is not a conservative response. And if it allows the left to win, then it becomes treason against conservative ideals and the conservative movement.
...from CW’s favorite cut and paste pile
Best endorsement ever - Jeff Sessions puts on a “Make America Great Again” hat!
30,000 there and 28,000 on the live stream;
Donald Trump Endorsed by Senator Jeff Sessions in Madison, AL (2-28-16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ83CvMKYUQ
GO TRUMP!
I don’t think a govt should determine what is proper “moral behavior” for me, my family and loved ones, my friends, or my neighbor. You mileage varies, i’m sure.
The Clinton and Obama White House both have women who are disproportionally paid when compared to men in the same positions. So yes, some women do not get “equal pay.” (Why are we putting that in quotation marks?)
I don’t know who Corey Booker is, nor do i care.
Being BFF with a liberal does not define me. Does it define you? True, it’s annoying to be around them for long periods of time, but they don’t rub off on me. And please define “best friends” and who said that descriptive term. You do understand that women use that phrase rather loosely, right? Especially when they have a TV camera in their face. Now, if they’re truly, truly Best Friends, that’s different. I’d be curious to know, actually.
The RINOs have already bastardized the word “conservative.” You can go with “constitutionalists” and probably be good for another 20 years or so. I’m sure they hate that word.
Re: fiscal conservatism... we likely have different definitions of that. I’ve heard Trump say in a roundabout way that entitlements need to be reformed. He says it in the context of how we take care of illegal immigrants a lot better than we take care of our vets. If you’re waiting on him to stand up and loudly call for “cuts in entitlements,” it’s not going to happen. He would never pull enough independents to vote for him, and he’ll need those independents to make up for people like you and CW who will be staying home.
I can’t speak about tax codes. Don’t have a clue on that one.
Everyone already had access to subsidized health care before Obamacare came along, as long as they knew where to look and where to go (a big obstacle for many people). This is not any different than before. Besides, he likes to emphasize that “I won’t let people die in the streets” thing because he’s smart enough to know he needs votes from minorities and other traditionally lower income groups who traditionally have poor access to health care. YOU don’t want people dying in the streets, do you? ;-)
LOL. That was funny right there.
Amen!
Thank-you Nita!
Well said!
"We must reach out and appeal to the patriotic and fundamental ideals of average Americans who do not consider themselves movement people but, respond to the same American ideals we do."Very inspiring. I wonder what year that was given. I'll look it up.
You are deranged, sad to say.
It had the effect of turning someone people had only heard of into someone people "knew". Thanks to people inviting him into their living rooms on a weekly basis he became a "trusted friend" and a regular "dinner guest" who viewed what he did as something they would do if they were sitting in his seat. So when he decided to run for POTUS and hit the campaign trail he didn't have to explain to everyone who he was. Folks already knew that. What he did was reflect us and what we were already thinking, which has us responding, "my friend is running for President and he thinks like me!"
At least we know he's not a gay Muslim.
I would like to think that you understood the article instead of just knee-jerking from the title and thinking that Greenfield was thinking like you, but your little follow-on question about Bill Clinton tells me you missed his point entirely and thought he was telling us to dump Trump.
Trump Derangement Syndrome is driving some conservatives to call for destroying the Republican Party and conservatism, and even to usher in eight years of left-wing rule, in order to stop Trump.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We are all gonna Die!/S
Well they know the gravy train for the elite is about to stop.
I do not see Trump as a savior, but as a man with the skill and attitude to do what is necessary to bring the nation back to the rule of the Constitution and civil society.
Enough rioting in the streets, enough with a national campaign to shoot cops ( Black Lives Matter), enough open border,enough immigration by those who have no intention of assimilating into America, enough exporting our jobs abroad, and enough failure to protect US corporations from internet theft of technology and knowledge by China and others.
Trump is more akin to a grim, US version of Winston Churchill. I can hardly wait until he is sworn into office next January.
All of these anti-Trump hit pieces are really convincing voters to vote for him in larger numbers. As a Trump supporter I want to sincerely thank you for all you’ve done to drive voters to Trump. 3 landslides in a row & more to come on Tuesday.
Have a very happy & safe Super Tuesday!
If you are unaware of Trump’s political past,>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Since Trump has never held elective office, he has no political past.
His public positions on political issues were driven by business acumen, not representation of people who elected him.
So whats the beef? Trump contributed to everybody as a businessman , not as an elected official, thats why he is so wealthy.
Now in a representative capacity, Mr. Trump will be able to
follow the stated political path he has set for himself and for America. He will protect and support the Constitution , and so there should be few concerns on that score.
Trump will beat either Hillery or Sanders like a drum.
CW is an honorable, long-time champion of a strong, patriotic, conservative America. She is a long-term friend here, too. She’s been a leader in the Cruz camp and has very well represented him here. Anyone who fails to see her strong ability is just being overly partisan at the moment. She’s a solid, honorable opponent. She’s one of many on FR who I have a difference with on candidate, but I’m positive she is a conservative.
If you would add.....’he genuinely has fallen in love with the people ...the ones he will be representing’....
....( and they undoubtedly love him)
...and singlehandedly has returned hope to the people
I would say your post is the absolute crux of the matter!!!!
He is one man.....probably on a mission.
He is fallible....
..but I think he will TRY to do all he has promised.
You said...
“I don’t like it when so-called conservatives stoop to leftist tactics like assigning a mental disorder to political opponents.”
Bingo!!
You see that alot here from many of Trump’s supporters. No, we are not leery of a Trump presidency because we are irrational. It’s because of many of his leftists positions. Assigning a mental disorder to people who disagree is what the USSR did to anyone who opposed communism or what many on the left want to do to those that disagree with Anthropogenic Global Warming
Do you folks just invent this stuff now?
His entire estate at risk?!? What on earth are you talking about?
Additionally, even if he DID, how does that remotely qualify him to be POTUS?
Finally, how can you say he is a man of his word? He has flipped and flopped on so many issues, from abortion, to gay marriage, to tax policy... How can you that a single thing Trump says....?
“Nor is he “brilliant” as some claim; he’s just very good at memorization and the spewing it all back like a parrot.”
Really. He has months or years for his staff to prepare him to read a 30-minute presentation before SCOTUS.
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