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How Long Will Trump’s Cathartic Candidacy for Fed-Up Conservatives Last?
National Review ^ | August 12, 2015 | VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

Posted on 08/13/2015 6:40:24 PM PDT by Steelfish

How Long Will Trump’s Cathartic Candidacy for Fed-Up Conservatives Last?

by VICTOR DAVIS HANSON August 13, 2015 The coarser and cruder Donald Trump becomes, and the more ill-informed on the issues he sounds, the more he coasts in the polls. Apparently, a few of his targets must be regarded as unsympathetically as their defamer. Trump is rightly mocked for cynically spreading quid pro quo money around. But he quickly counters that his critics — from Hillary Clinton to his Republican rivals — have all asked him for such cash or for favors. Trump preps little. He has no real agenda.

And he makes stuff up as he goes along. For such a New York brawler, he has thin skin, smearing his critics, often in creepy fashion. How can a former Democrat, once a pro-choice, pro-amnesty liberal and a supporter of single-payer health care, remain the godhead of the conservative base for weeks on end? The answer is that Trump is a catharsis for 15 percent to 20 percent of the Republican electorate. They apparently like the broken china shop and appreciate the raging bull who runs amok in it. Politicians and the media are seen as corrupt and hypocritical, and the nihilistic Trump is a surrogate way of letting them take some heat for a change............

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: trump2016; vdh
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To: Steelfish
Why Trump is a conservative
  1. Pro life since at least 2011, wanted to ban partial birth abortion as far back as 2000.
  2. Says no funds for Planned Parenthood, while they do abortions.
  3. Pro Traditional marriage. "Gay rights is not my thing."
  4. Pro capital punishment "Capital punishment isn't uncivilized; murderers living is"
  5. Hold Judges accountable
  6. Opposes "Common core is a diaster" Teach citizenship, quit "dumbing down".
  7. Anti education unions (2000)
  8. For school choice
  9. "Climate Change is a hoax"
  10. "No Cap-and-Tax"
  11. For drilling our own.
  12. On Environment "Good development enhances the environment"
  13. Stressed the importance of a strong family & culture of life (2015)
  14. Supports Israel
  15. Opposes Iran deal and letting Iran obtain the bomb.
  16. Wants to crush ISIS quickly.
  17. Wants a military so strong no one will challenge us.
  18. Against unbalanced trade deals that kill American jobs.
  19. Against warrantless government surveilance of citizens.
  20. Is against having a high national debt. Warns that $24T is a point of no return.
  21. Againt gun control
  22. For assault weapon ban but says the AR-15 shouldn't be considered an assault weapon.
  23. Wants to repeal Obamacare and replace it with market driven polices and increased competition among insurance companies.
  24. Wants to increase military spending.
  25. Will close the border to illegals
  26. Will send the criminals and sponges back.
  27. Will deport all illegals but will let the hard working ones go through the legal process to come back.
  28. Against Anchor babies
  29. Knows unemployment is much higher than official stats.
  30. Will bring jobs back through better trade negotiation.
  31. Attended military academy and Wharton Business School.
  32. Stood up for Birthers and challenged Obama on his fraud.
  33. Believes USA is "the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known"
  34. Wants to honor commitments on Social Security and Medicare, which we can afford to do if he gets the economy going full steam.
  35. Wants to reduce the fraud in disability and other programs.
  36. Against marriage penalties in tax code.
  37. Wants to reduce income taxes and eliminate corporate tax.
  38. Wants to rebuld our infrastructure.
  39. Wants to apply welfare-to-work to 76 other welfare programs (2011)
  40. Doesn't have time for political correctness.
  41. Not afraid to call out either party or both when they are wrong.
  42. Not a puppet to campaign donators.
Source for most of the above and the image below...OnTheIssues.com
41 posted on 08/13/2015 7:21:55 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: RegulatorCountry

I also have concerns about Trump and I really don’t think he’ll be the candidate.

That being said, I hope his campaign remains viable for a long, long time. He is good for the party. No one else could get the publicity he gets and therefore the publicity his ideas and opinions get.

And they’re not all bad. I think a lot of air will go out of the room if he ever becomes irrelevant but one encouraging thing to me is that he and Ted Cruz seem to have forged a pretty good relationship and if he does bow out, he may throw his support to Ted.


42 posted on 08/13/2015 7:22:10 PM PDT by altura (Cruz for our country)
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To: Steelfish

National Review further cementing their reputations as the gope presstitutes of choice.


43 posted on 08/13/2015 7:23:42 PM PDT by RKBA Democrat (The ballot is a suggestion box for slaves and foolsi)
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To: DannyTN

These repeat posts is pathetic nonsense. He wants this, he wants this, He is in favor of this.., count 100 instances.

How about whether he would do all he can to insure that gay marriage gets turned back? Try getting an answer on this before this stuff keep getting reposted.


44 posted on 08/13/2015 7:25:24 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Free America52

Hanson is a registered member of the Democratic Party...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Davis_Hanson


45 posted on 08/13/2015 7:25:27 PM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: altura

There’s something to be said for star quality in a candidate. I understand that Cruz has a certain personal magnetism in person, but it doesn’t come across in the media. If they’ve forged some sort of alliance, I hope it benefits the both of them. The one is weak where the other is strong and vice versa.


46 posted on 08/13/2015 7:26:33 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Steelfish

....When they all call him President Trump! He will kick ass and take names. He can’t be bought, he has all the money! LOL!


47 posted on 08/13/2015 7:27:14 PM PDT by TheConservativeParty (Mr. Trump, You're hired!)
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To: Steelfish

Spot on! Trump is appealing because many of us conservatives long for someone who is willing to stand up and fight, and Trump is certainly all that, but he’s not really one of us ideologically. He has a mish-mash of left/right political instincts and really isn’t guided by consistent conservative principles.


48 posted on 08/13/2015 7:27:45 PM PDT by Sparticus (Tar and feathers for the next dumb@ss Republican that uses the word bipartisanship.)
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To: RKBA Democrat

They are not Bush supporters to be sure and NR will jump on the Cruz bandwagon any time of the day. I don’t this they merit the label you provide for calling a buffoon a buffoon who has been all the map on socialist health care, abortion, gay marriage, and has given wads of cash to the Clintons.


49 posted on 08/13/2015 7:28:01 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: smoothsailing

Oh my!


50 posted on 08/13/2015 7:28:14 PM PDT by onyx (PLEASE Support FR - GO MONTHLY - Join CLUB 300 - God bless FR's Donors!)
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To: tennmountainman

It is the show you heard. Mark said it would be in the third hour. Thanks.


51 posted on 08/13/2015 7:28:43 PM PDT by GilGil
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To: Sparticus

I could not have said it better. This guy is playing quite a few of folks to feed his ego. He treats this like a gameshow.


52 posted on 08/13/2015 7:29:36 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Free America52

What is disappointing (to me) is seeing so many people duped by a loud mouth charlatan in the first place, and then these same people quickly discard the opinions of proven conservative voices (Malkin, Will, VDH) who dare to point our that the emperor is buck naked. Trump is doing a fine job of stirring the pot and putting red meat on the table, but to place him at the head of the conservative movement is simply asinine and goes against everything he had done and said in the past.


53 posted on 08/13/2015 7:30:30 PM PDT by Benito Cereno
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To: altura

Was it a month ago I posted, “Cruz is the man I hired to Make America Great Again.”?


54 posted on 08/13/2015 7:30:32 PM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: 1010RD; FReepers; Patriots







The CORRUPT GOP is the reason there is a Donald Trump!


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55 posted on 08/13/2015 7:31:18 PM PDT by onyx (PLEASE Support FR - GO MONTHLY - Join CLUB 300 - God bless FR's Donors!)
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To: Steelfish

If congress sends him a bill, I’m sure Trump would sign it.
If he gets a chance to name a SCOTUS justice, I’m sure they would be conservative.

It’s congresses roll to impeach or pass an amendment, or limit the judiciary’s review over cases. We need Cruz in the Senate not the White House

Trump has the right theme. Cruz can’t in the Whitehouse on abortion and rolling back gay marriage. Trump can win, because he is focused on what really matters right now. The Economy, jobs, trade policy and it’s impact on jobs, illegals and their impact on jobs.


56 posted on 08/13/2015 7:31:31 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Sparticus

Trumps successful at garnering voters because he’s excellent at selling himself.....he ‘s rich but the average guy doesn’t care because his choice of language his language he can relate to...understands it...and “touches” the men who have for so long had their manhood clipped at by liberal and woman groups.....

Go to a factory or road crew....go to a water fountain in a company....somebody is talking Trump...at every one of them.


57 posted on 08/13/2015 7:32:26 PM PDT by caww
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To: Steelfish
These repeat posts is pathetic nonsense.

Translation..."stop it, you're destroying my false claims that Trump isn't conservative."

58 posted on 08/13/2015 7:33:05 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Steelfish
Take another look, Victor. It's Alexander slashing the Gordian Knot!
59 posted on 08/13/2015 7:34:45 PM PDT by Savage Beast ("The politicians scattered like roaches" ~Ann Coulter" (Insult to roaches ~SB))
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To: editor-surveyor
With 52% of likely GOP voters having “negative,” or “very negative” views of his candidacy, there is less than zero chance of Trump getting anywhere in the GOP
. . . which leaves a huge question: who will get more votes than Trump is already (putatively) pulling??

60 posted on 08/13/2015 7:35:23 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion ('Liberalism' is a conspiracy against the public by wire-service journalism.)
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