Posted on 03/04/2016 5:20:08 AM PST by Kaslin
Mitt Romney's speech against Donald Trump is not likely to win many converts. Romney's remarks will just further vindicate and entrench Trump supporters.
Romney, though a good man, is quintessentially GOP establishment and has shown, by his speech, that he still doesn't understand the role he and his colleagues have played in bringing about the Trump surge.
During campaign season, these guys always seem to get it. They profess to understand how destructive President Obama's agenda is, but once they're elected, they lose their will to fight, which makes many conservatives believe they didn't believe their own rhetoric in the first place.
I know, Republicans tell us that the GOP leadership has done all it can to stop Obama but there's only so much a congressional majority can do. That's also what they said about congressional minorities when they were a minority.
Regardless, they haven't presented their case to the American people with conviction during the past seven years, except in the runup to elections. They didn't point out Obama's evil intentions and often denounced those who did. They didn't rally around Ted Cruz, Mike Lee or a handful of others who tried to stymie Obama. Instead, they chose to ridicule and marginalize these fighters.
Even to this day, the establishment fails to understand the legitimate concerns millions of Americans have over illegal immigration. Establishment types arrogantly and unfairly slander border hawks as nativists, suggesting their opposition to open borders is race-based.
It's not about race; it's about our national sovereignty, the rule of law, protecting jobs, protecting Americans against criminal elements and jihadis, and stanching an invasion of people who will further burden our welfare state -- not assimilate, not embrace the American idea -- and vote almost solely Democratic.
A sovereign nation must control its borders and encourage immigrants to assimilate and embrace the unique American experiment. But Democrats are for flooding the borders for all the wrong reasons, and large swaths of the Republican establishment have affirmatively aided and abetted them.
We've watched as Republicans have allowed many of Obama's budgets to sail through under the radar, on the pretense of just waiting for the next election. Our guys don't even talk about entitlement reform anymore, though they were telling us just a few years ago that we were about to go bankrupt.
The Republican Party has been so tone-deaf to these real concerns that some Republican voters are furious enough to have chosen a wildly flawed solution in Donald Trump. One person on Twitter said she is so disgusted she is going to vote Democratic for the first time in 40 years.
It is tragic that true conservatives, however, are being lumped in and punished for the betrayals of centrist Republicans. Trump supporters are adamant that no elected official escape the blame. Their solution is to burn the house down and rebuild it around Trump, even though they can't be sure what he'd do when elected.
People wonder why they would turn to someone like Trump. The GOP, after all, has stood for moral principles, manners and adult behavior, and Trump seems to exhibit none of those things. In many ways, he is the opposite of conservative principles, in demeanor, lifestyle and his personal conduct in the campaign.
But in their disgust at the Republican establishment, they are throwing out true conservatives and also certain conservative principles and values, as if all of conservatism has been tainted by a party that betrayed its base.
How else does it make sense that even valid, troubling criticisms of Trump seem to help him more than hurt him?
I think it's because this disaffected class of voters wants someone unorthodox enough to break the rules, someone brash enough not to be deterred by the niceties that have prevented establishment Republicans from distinguishing themselves from Obama in bold colors rather than pale pastels. They're seem not only not offended but invigorated by someone who'll hurl profanities and refuse to apologize even when he owes an apology, because they think it's going to take someone like that to resist pressure to betray them once he's elected.
And though the establishment has finally awakened to the intensity of the discontentment among the party rank and file, it still doesn't believe the angst is legitimate. The establishment is still in bitter denial and wouldn't support a person advocating many of Trump's ideas even if he were a paragon of moral rectitude.
If establishment Republicans were the least bit repentant about their betrayals, truly believed in the conservative principles embodied in their party's platform and were realistic about stopping Trump, they'd quit posturing and unite behind Ted Cruz.
For the way to defeat Donald Trump is not to deny him a majority and steal the nomination from him at the convention; that really would be the end of the party. It is to embrace the closest thing to a Reagan conservative since Ronald Reagan, before it's too late. But truth be told, they probably hate Cruz worse than they hate Trump.
I wish Trump supporters would consider this when they wrongly lump Cruz in with the establishment, and I wish they'd simmer down long enough to recognize that Cruz represents the answer to their complaints far more than Trump -- and with none of the baggage.
Your “Conservative” politician talk a good game and then go to DC and accomplish nothing. After 30 years of fail, it time to try another solution. This is a good example of where Conservative fail, they think only as far as the election. Then once they win they go to DC and fail against the inertia of the DC/Media political machine. 1994-2000-2010-2014 are all example of where this “Next election” mindset has failed.
I will as energetically and enthusiastically campaign for Cruz as I do for Trump. I just think Trump is the better vessel for a 1st wave attack on the PC inertia that grips DC
Trump is merely the 1st wave of a multi wave assault. The 1st wave job in any assault is to shatter the defenses and open the road for the follow up waves. No matter how flawed you think the vessel is, Trump is the best 1st wave political assault team we have had to hand in my lifetime.
We need to use Trump for all he is worth to shatter the corrupt, "my party right or wrong" mindset that grips vast swaths of the elctiorate. Break that inertia, get the people thinking outside the party label box and real change is possible. Do not an we slide into a stagnate European style decline that will not end in my lifetime. Cruz shares that agenda point but is not as well equipped by background and media following to achieve that break through as Trump
. We either win this now or we have little chance of ever doing it again politically. Once we win we must relentlessly stay on the attack election wave after election wave until we are dead.
I am really not willing to leave this fight to my kids and grand-kids. We have let the ship of state drift since Reagan in the hands of the “smart people”. We failed and most redeme that failure.
This is our generation’s “go” time
Cruz can’t beat Hillary...
After the first vote, the backstabbers will control things. Establishment folks are the ones who knew how to get on delegate slates. It was kept secret from us "little folk".
Unite behind Trump?
Good one! April Fool’s Day isn’t until next month.
I usually vote for Presidential candidates that were actually born in this country.
After last night’s performance, Cruz needs to go follow his real callling—faith healing.
And David Limbaugh is just another squish. If he did not have a famous brother, no one would know about him.
This is not an attack on David Limbaugh (got that out of the way). However, he doesn’t address things that are significant red flags to me: 1) Ted waited until 2014 to renounce his Canadian citizenship. Why? 2) Ted’s biggest backer has a $6 billion tax dispute with the IRS. What does he expect from Ted? 3) Glenn Beck is Cruz’s most visible surrogate. What does Glenn get in a Cruz administration? Do you want a president who takes advice from Glenn? 4) If Ted is such an honest man why did he tell New York donors that gay marriage was not a top 10 priority for him as president? That wasn’t his pitch in Iowa. 5) What do his billionaire donors (four of which have contributed over $35 million to his super pac’s) get in a Cruz administration?
Willful blindness to Cruz’s liabilities don’t do conservative voters any favors. Rest assured that the media and Hillary will exploit every one of these issues and more. Best that we address them now instead of papering over them.
The only way I will ever vote for Cruz is if he is Trump’s VP on the ticket.
If Cruz is the nominee, I will vote for him.
However, the GOP nomination process is not over.
He’s a FLAMING LIBERAL! (just kidding).
But serious about my tag line.
Why?
He does not have a clear or easy path for the nomination (will be unlikely).
See fiverthirtyeight’s delegate tracking, where he is running behind:
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/delegate-targets/
or play with New York Times prediction tool:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/02/us/super-tuesday-results-delegates.html?_r=0
I'm voting for Cruz tomorrow in the KY caucus. In November I'll vote for Mrs. Bill Clinton-if you hold a gun to my head that is.
I think responsible journalists should respect the obvious will of the American people.
If it weren’t for the 24/7 shameless attacks on Trump his positives would be 10 points higher and his negatives would be 30 points lower.
We the People have emerged from a long slumber. Get used to it.
I'm voting for Cruz tomorrow in the KY caucus. In November I'll vote for Mrs. Bill Clinton-if you hold a gun to my head that is.
I assume most Trumpians would go to Cruz if Trump took ill or worse and was out of the race, I would. Absent that there seems no reason at this point to take such action. Cruz has a surprise victory in Alaska to point to and that’s it to establish any sort of broad appeal. The GOP hates him and the dems hate him. He has no extraordinary state in play such as NY or NJ. He’s the same as any other republican in that he has to pull the inside straight and win Ohio with no hope of broadening the party. Let’s see him win more states before we accept David’s offer.
No sale, Dave.
L
..the political establishment has wanted to destroy Cruz ever since he came to Washington. Targeting Trump is a recent thing...
Very well written post. And right on.
Limbaugh the Lesser resembles that remark.
So, you must accept that Trump's attack against Cruz is a lie
If Cruz accepted the VP slot with Trump, I would never vote for Cruz again.
Cruz is a Constitutionalist, true, but he is also a Washington insider. He has stood up for his beliefs but he got nothing done. I want someone who gets things done. That leaves Trump, and to an extent, Kasich. I choose Trump.
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