Posted on 07/26/2015 4:57:56 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It isn't hard to figure out what's driving the so-called Donald Trump phenomenon that just prompted one-quarter of America's likely Republican voters to say in a poll he's the one they want to be our commander-in-chief.
What's harder to figure out is why the Trump phenomenon blindsided the Republican Party's presidential pack, the working press and the parasitic punditocracy. And why we keep being surprised every time this happens.
After all, this political driving force isn't really about The Donald or his billions; and it is as old as politics itself. It's about the way things happen -- and often collide -- at the campaign trail intersection of populism and pandering. As we've noted here before, it's no phenomenon, just a fact that was documented way back in 1968, by a young Newsday Washington correspondent covering an independent presidential candidate who seemed to have just a regional appeal -- Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace.
Earlier, in 1963, Wallace famously declared "Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!" and tried to block the integration of the University of Alabama. But President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent federal officials and 100 Alabama National Guard troops who escorted two African-American students peacefully to school. Five months later, President Kennedy was assassinated. Five years later, in 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April. And then, then-Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated on the June night he won California's Democratic presidential primary. In September, Wallace took his anti-big government crusade up North -- and drew big crowds.
Northerners cheered Wallace's jabs against "pointy-headed intellectuals who can't even park a bicycle straight," federal bureaucrats whose briefcases contained "nothing but peanut butter sandwiches!"
Folks whooped every time he told anti-war protesters he had two four-letter words for them: "work" and "soap."
So Newsday's correspondent began asking Wallace rally-goers one question: Which candidate did they like before Wallace came north? Many answered: "Bobby Kennedy." It sounded mind-boggling to 1968 ears. So the correspondent asked: Why did you shift from a big-government, pro-integration, liberal Vietnam War dove to a small-government, state's rights, pro-segregation, Vietnam War hawk? Folks replied they never thought of it that way.
"Sure I voted for Bobby," in New Jersey's springtime primary, said a Newark postman proudly wearing a Wallace button (and proud of his Bobby Kennedy autograph back home). "He had the same thing Wallace has got that none of the other politicians have: guts. Bobby was a good man because he was not afraid. Now Wallace is the only guy who isn't talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time trying to please everyone at once."
Mrs. Clifford Dupree, an Edison, N.J., housewife saw her shift from Kennedy to Wallace as a consistency, not a contradiction, because: "They say what they mean and they don't beat around the bush."
Fast-forward to 2015: Those 1968 answers should seem familiar to you. That's what today's voters say they like about Trump, what 1992 and 1996 voters said they liked about billionaire presidential candidate Ross Perot -- and what many say about statewide tea party candidates.
People are drawn to candidates who make things sound simple and make promises people want to hear. Even when candidates offer no actual plan. If you can't trust a man who made billions to make good things happen, who can you trust?
Still, you can also trust Trump will go too far. Hours after his shameful Saturday belittling of Sen. John McCain's Vietnam prisoner of war heroism, the Washington Post/ABC News poll showing Trump at 24 percent also showed his support was dropping.
Millions who watch reality TV believe they are watching reality. The Donald knows reality is like sincerity -- if you can fake it, you've got it made. So Trump's believers aren't bothered by his birther blasphemies and reality distortions. The reality they know is it's harder than ever for middle class people to pay their bills, while only the rich are getting richer.
Trump's believers are our reality. That's why it was wrong, but understandable, for a fed-up McCain to call Trump's audiences "crazies." They are America's fed-up voters of 2015. They desperately want to be led and are easily misled.
They are drawn to Trumps, Perots and tea party fulminators for the same reason they might heed the impassioned command of filmdom's iconic Howard Beale -- if that truth-talking anchor in "Network" (played by actor Peter Finch) implored them on today's reality TV, as he did in that 1976 film classic:
"I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'"
If you hear those words echoing through America's swing-voting cul du sac suburbs on election night 2016, you will know America's fed-up, mad-as-hell voters just chose your next president.
Cruz/Trump—in that order seems like a dream team to me.
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Do you really believe that Trump will play 2nd fiddle? I don’t as it isn’t his
past nature. I guess it could change but I doubt it will. IMO, he sees
himself as #1 all the way or he’s on to some other endeavor.
The early (1946-1951) got exposed to Vietnam and the risks of the draft, but didn't have a great deal of trouble finding jobs because the economy was booking when they came of age.
The middle wave (1952-1957) had to deal both some with the risks associated with Vietnam plus a souring job market. In a lot of places, even the low rung McJobs were difficult to get.
The last wave (1958-1964) were unaffected with the risks of the draft but, in many cases, faced and even more sour job market than the middle wave. They came of age when Carter was president and, probably even more than the earlier two waves, got slapped with the harsh realities vs. the promises made by a charismatic politician like Carter.
These realities all contributed to our being more than willing to say what we thought, believed we could change things, and wishing people would get MAD AS HELL !!
It also contributed to our image as a selfish and even a greedy generation, at least during the time when Bill Gates and Donald Trump were making most of their money, because we had to struggle to get our first chances at even the lower rungs of the economic ladder.
Some boomers, of course, had it too good because our parents went overboard in making sure we didn't have to go through the struggles of their depression/World War II generation. You can think of the Kennedy family as prototype of these. Not a single boomer has accomplished much of anything from the clan. The children got successively worse once father Joseph Sr. struck it rich as a minor bureaucrat in the FDR administration who saw an opportunity during the waning days of prohibition to buy American distribution rights for European distilling companies for pennies on the dollar.
Joseph Jr. was a bonafide war hero who died in World War II. Jack was a little less so and became (by the low standards of the Democrat party) at least one of their two better presidents in the last century. Bobbie was their idealist who started out his career as a reasonably useful U.S. Senate staffer and became a dreamer. Teddy, who inherited his lifetime U.S. Senate seat from Jack, was the biggest womanizer, drunkard and most most useless member of the clan. An extreme example, perhaps, but it well illustrates the consequences of those who attain what they get with struggle vs. entitlement.
You are correct but non’t forget that if anyone on “our side” wins the media will suddenly remember their duty.
Someone here posted that Barry and his fellow radicals are trying to redo the Mao cultural revolution and destroy the country from within.
I think your both right.
This Soros operative wants to crush the white middle class who he despises and drive them into poverty to fatally wound this country decades.
The DC Gop elites and there K street donor leaches have collaborated and been bought while he systematically cripples this country.
Left wing-haters like this human garbage see the era of PC is over which is the only environment radical leftist like Barry can survive in.
I’m going to say somethiing here....
It seems that there have been many a hit piece on Trump, yet they have mostly come from Yiddish liberal authors, IMHO.
It’s really quite simple to explain Trump’s popularity.
Both parties have made it clear they will not represent the 65% of the citizen who want the illegal alien inundation stopped.
The Democrats are representing the illegal aliens.
The GOP represents the employers of illegal aliens.
No one is representing the citizens.
Trump stepped into that vacuum.
It is amazing the authors or such pieces cannot - will not related to nearly 7 dark years of obama and that we are lashing out at the lack of leadership to make sure this dark period ENDS.
Any way they can these jerks will diminish our intent - our goal - our standards — we are just a bunch of leaderless bumpkins ...
Throw this article in the trash.
Since Trump and Cruz has had a private meeting and since Trump has contributed to Cruz’s campaign fund... I Think Trump and Cruz will make a pact to simultaneously announce — about one month to 6 weeks before the first Primary vote that each would pick the other for VP - depending on who wins the other would be the VP pick.
This would set off a firestorm of support from the Religious Right and Conservatives / Tea Parties and Moderates and Middle and everyone in between... UNITE and get rid of the hideous legacy of obama and the specter of having have a Hillary for POTUS...
And if they were smart they would announce that their opponents in the Primaries would be the Primary Pool from which they would both pick the Cabinet officers and White House staff and advisors ...
This would send a signal to all reasonable Americans that the dark days of obama and the sewer of Hillary ARE DONE AND OVER...
We were in grades 7-11 (or so) when Sputnik went up, so we got the edge on the science and math opportunities that followed. For us, college was free or nearly so, and mostly for those who qualified. People mostly had good opportunities, stability and were brought up real patriotic. We KNEW the US was great. Ike was our President, and he was like a God who took care of us, in our view.
And where are we today? Our financial security and safety net have unravelled. We're mad as hell. Trump is in our peer group and he speaks for us.
And you know what else? We vote.
I suppose you need a reality check - they are ALL out for themselves - every last one of them. You have to have an ego to be a politician. Plain and simple. Look at all the governors who have entered the race. Why? Because their terms are almost up and they need to keep their coffers filled. So, they want to stay in politics whether then go into the private world. Most of them have lived their entire lives off the taxpayers. Some, like Perry, are double dipping. That means he is collection a pension, and was also getting paid as governor of Texas. Don’t kid yourself - they are ALL in it for themselves. Trump has never fed at the taxpayer trough, and doesn’t have to. I think Cruz might be a little more humble, but, he still wants to stay in politics.
Did Ted Cruz vote for the Corker bill, after failing to amend it because it was dangerous(Cruz’s own words)?
Did Ted Cruz vote for TPA, after failing to amend it because it gave Obama dangerous powers (Cruz’s own words)?
“Lilliputian RINO candidates”
Love it!
Sleep it off.
Lets see! president oreo is not an American, Trump is. president oreo has never held a real job in his life. Trump has created thousands of jobs. president oreo can spend billions of dollars on nothing, Trump has made billions of dollars.
Trump has said that his real reason for running was, what is he leaving his children and grandchildren? A broken down, broke and morally corrupt country. Please look up the word narcissist. You will find a picture of president oreo!
Cruz would be one of the highest-paid lawyers in the United States with his background, eight figures a year. The $170,000 he makes now is chicken feed compared to that, and president only pays $500K IIRC.
I agree he's probably smart.
But success in electoral politics also involves the ability to have insight into the battle, to take feedback, and to make midcourse corrections when indicated.
Not sure the skill set to prevail in Manhattan real estate transfers well to this arena.
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