Posted on 09/17/2015 5:36:10 AM PDT by Kaslin
Members of the Republican establishment are beginning to worry. Their grasp on power is slipping like sand through a child’s fingers as they desperately try to hold on.
This primary season was supposed to be smooth sailing, easy going. It would start with a large field of excellent candidates from across the spectrum of the Republican Party engaging in serious policy debates and producing a confident candidate fully prepared to take on Hillary Clinton for the presidency. But as the old joke goes, “If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.”
Donald Trump’s candidacy is the publicity stunt that could. He’s found himself at the top of the polls, the mouse that roared.
Nothing about Trump’s campaign is conventional, which is exactly why it’s working. Other candidates have left their homes and are traveling the country non-stop, shaking hands, kissing babies and taking questions in coffee shops about issues no president will ever encounter.
Meanwhile, Trump sits in Manhattan, in his office in a building he built and put his name on, picks up the phone, calls CNN for 20 minutes and dominates the next 24 hours of news coverage. It’s a campaign noted recluse Howard Hughes could’ve run. But it’s working.
No other candidate could make a phone call to a cable news network and get a half-hour of airtime. Fox News seems to have drawn a line, shunning the phone call for a satellite remote set up in the lobby of Trump’s building. His commute is an escalator ride.
No other candidate ever has polled so high so long while simultaneously risking rickets from rarely leaving a building.
Oddly enough, none of the other candidates even seem to understand why Donald Trump is beating them. They keep doing the same things they’ve always done to win elections, but now those things are not working.
They’re confused as to how someone who has supported tax hikes, extolled the virtues of single-payer health care, and wants to fund Planned Parenthood can be leading in a Republican primary when they’re saying all the things focus groups and pollsters tell them to say. The answer is easy: They’re conventional; Trump is a boat-rocker. And people, especially in times of unrest, are drawn to boat-rockers.
In his prime, Muhammad Ali could beat any boxer alive today. But put him in a ring with Chuck Liddell, and it’s a different story. Liddell fights differently, and Ali wouldn’t be prepared. Ali might be able to outlast him and ultimately win, but he would take a beating in the first few rounds. That’s what the GOP field is experiencing right now.
That none of those Republicans has adopted even some of Trump’s attitude toward the press and passion on issues such as immigration proves either they are too dependent on consultants and focus groups or they simply do not get it.
Celebrity in the United States is now everything. Progressives have elevated celebrity – whether earned through accomplishment or talent or willingness to make a spectacle of yourself – to the highest order of society. YouTube and Instagram celebrities and other assorted non-entities who garner the support of millions of fans and millions more of their dollars is the new normal.
But it’s a normal that most of the GOP candidates don’t understand, but Donald Trump does. Whatever you think of him, he’s a celebrity first. Name another real-estate billionaire. Can you? Were it not for his TV shows and public feuds in the media, you wouldn’t know his name either.
He’s famous because he’s unapologetic in what he says; he’s popular for the same reason.
Yes, he’s flip-flopped. He’s not all that conservative on many things and not conservative at all on others. But when it comes to what motivates voters most – immigration, confidence, national pride, etc. – no one is more vocal and unflinching than Donald Trump.
It’s not as though his positions on these issues are all that different from many others in the field. It’s how he expresses them.
For decades, we’ve had Republicans apologizing for being Republican or adding qualifiers, such as ‘compassionate,’ as if they are ashamed to be known as conservatives. Trump doesn’t apologize for anything, even when he should. He’s not an unabashed conservative, but he is unabashedly Donald Trump. That’s his appeal.
It’s not as though there’s no substance there, but so far he’s a lot of sizzle and Salisbury steak. What will he do about radical Islamists flooding into the west embedded with refugees? No idea. But no one cares. He’s telling people things are going to get better. He’s the Tony the Tiger of presidential candidates, “It’ll be grrrreat!”
If the other candidates want to win the nomination, they have to become a bit of Tony the Tiger themselves. That does not mean slamming Donald Trump – his supporters take that as further confirmation he is aggravating the right people and instilling pride and confidence in America again.
His speeches are like attending a pep rally; the rest are like listening to a timeshare pitch. They believe in what they are saying for the most part, as does he. But they appear to bore even themselves with the same clichés, catchphrases and safe rhetoric.
You want to beat Trump, the easy way to do it is to simply do it. Forget knocking him down; focus on building yourself up. Ditch the scripts. Fire the consultants. Say what you really believe and what you want to do. Speaking honestly from the heart is much easier than regurgitating talking points.
The easy way to beat Donald Trump is to learn from him and become a better candidate because of it. If none of them can do that, they’d better get in line to support him because they will lose.
Trump is succeeding because he is for America.
Americans.
And American jobs. That is why he is doing so well.
The easy way to beat Donald Trump is to learn from him and become a better candidate because of it.”
...Too late. Most have already made their spineless jelly fish positions be known. What little credibility they have left would be over by such a drastic change. IF they became a “better” candidate, it would be based on lies. With the exception of Cruz.
Exactly!
NOT for immigrants!
NOT for the chinese or foreign interests!
NOT for "special" interests!
So it is impossible for any of the "dwarves" to do what Trump is doing. It's like trying to turn a SmartCar into an Indy racer.
“...Celebrity in the United States is now everything... Whatever you think of him, he’s a celebrity first. Name another real-estate billionaire. Can you? Were it not for his TV shows and public feuds in the media, you wouldn’t know his name either.”
This genius doesn’t get it either.
I never watched Trump’s TV show, but I have seen him interviewed for years. It is not because of his celebrity that I support him. It is because of the stands that he boldly proclaims. If he proclaimed leftist causes, I would not support him. I don’t think that I am alone in these sentiments.
Carly took exception last night to his statement that were it not for him, illegal immigration would not even be mentioned in the current fashion. He is right, she is wrong.
The only other candidate in the field that can talk for 20 minutes without a teleprompter or notes is Ted Cruz. Everyone else is a politician relying on consultants and pollsters and talking points.
The problem with Cruz is that he can't get the publicity. The press can't resist the temptation to give Trump free publicity by talking about him 24/7. But they can seem to resist the temptation of giving Ted Cruz even 5 minutes of time in a 3 hour debate.
And he calls out the GOPe by name.
Has any of the others taken a shot at losers like McCain and Karl Rove? Nope!
That’s why they are down there scrambling to be off of the “kids table”.
The best way to beat Trump was for the GOP’s toady, George Bush to have built a wall and deported all of those early cheap labor swimmers. But, he did not do so because the COC told him not to. And, momma Bush probably worried about household help in the mansion.
First you’ve got to actually have heart in order to speak from the heart. Most politicians have sold their heart to donors and other influence buyers.
Rubio does not love American. Just look at his record. His fight for amnesty shows that for whatever reason he is okay with harming this country. And how effectively he lived about being anti-amnesty prior to elections and immediately reversed his position after winning. He is the most devious of the candidates, more devious than Jeb who at least admits his love for illegals.
The Establishment, both Democrat and Republican, is out to derail The Donald any way they can.
Now the odd thing about The Donald, he is not very much of a “conservative”, but his supporters DON’T CARE. He sounds a great deal like a very practical person, used to getting things done, and quickly. His answers may sound simplistic, but people understand his intentions and objectives. Get the deal done, and hold out for the most favorable terms that can be extracted from the other side. But never, ever be afraid of walking away from the table if the other guy does not bring good faith.
The Donald took the extremely clever strategy of finding a parade and getting around in front of it. If that defines populism, then so be it.
Ted Cruz was the clear master in the debate last night. And you are right, they go out of their way to cut his time to near zero, and he is in many polls at #3 or #4, so they can't use 'peripheral candidate' as an excuse.
It seems to me that Trump is doing just as much traveling as the other guys, but can’t get fewer than 10,000 people to show up, which kind of leaves out coffee shops.
My father has a saying, “Want to destroy the Jews, leave them alone. They would eventually intermarry, become more secular and that will destroy Israel and Judaism from within.”
Want to beat Donald Trump? Ignore him. He can talk all he wants. Don’t give him the free coverage. Invite him to the debates, but don’t spend 44% of your time attacking him. Candidates should focus on their traits. If Trump attacks, ignore it. He craves the attention.
The minute the GOPe and the MSM treat him as a candidate and not Donald Trump, he will drop from the race not long after. He lives for attention. Deny him that and you neutralize him.
My dos centavos.
It's not good to complain about the time Cruz got. Might be better to put a positive spin on his performance.
As a side note. With Trump being neutralized he would take up the mantle of Kingmaker because that will garner attention.
This is what I believe Cruz is banking on.
Once they caught on, there seem to be some bonding on stage. JMHO, CNN did a great job monitoring that debate.
Article say Trump wants to fund PP.
They must not do their homework as Trump has stated several times now that he would defund PP
I guess the media has now crossed the line and is resorting to lies and lies by omission, like they did with Palin.
Soon, we can expect attacks on the Trump family and fabrications as they try to bring him down.
Trump should tell the GOPe that if they continue to pull this crap he’ll just run as an Indy.
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