Posted on 12/11/2015 10:35:06 AM PST by Steelfish
Trump Doesn’t Represent the Conservative Base Jonah Goldberg. Dec 11
There’s a tendency in politics to mistake personal animosity for ideological animosity. Consider Bill Clinton. His staggering dishonesty, tackiness, and scorn for the rule of law aroused a lot of anger from the Right. But he wasn’t really that left-wing. Oh, he was certainly more liberal in his heart than he let on, but he also worked from the assumption that this was a center-right country, and that limited what he could get away with. Clinton ran for president the first time by “triangulating†against the base of his own party. He took time off from the campaign to oversee the execution of Ricky Ray Rector, a man so mentally disabled, when he left for the electric chair, he told the guards that he was saving the pecan pie from his last meal “for later.†Clinton signed welfare reform (reluctantly), the Defense of Marriage Act (less reluctantly), helped to balance the budget, and proclaimed that “the era of big government is over.â€
And yet, many conservatives insisted he was a no-good hippy left-winger. George W. Bush ran on a platform of “compassionate conservatism.†Once elected, his first order of business was to work with Ted Kennedy on education. He passed the biggest expansion of entitlements in this country since the Great Society (Medicare Part D), increased the federal workforce, and increased federal spending per household. And yet, during his presidency — even before 9/11 — he was routinely called a heartless right-winger.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
He represents the conservative base better than anyone not named Ted Cruz.
Well .. after the actions I saw on Bret Baier’s TV program yesterday, what Jonah is saying is going along with the same pattern.
That’s what’s making me suspicious.
Shut up you snot nosed little jerk. You don’t represent me.
I’m part of the conservative base. And I’m loving everything he’s said so far. Too bad other candidates aren’t proposing similar ideas.
Jonah is a nice guy, he’s a smart nerdy type, he’s friendly on Twitter too. Stopped following him when his Trump Derangement surfaced.
I’m certainly no fan of this writer, or his publication, but nonetheless, it’s quite a spectacle watching the rank and file of the Republican Party jump out of the unprincipled GOP establishment frying pan into the unprincipled Donald Trump fire.
I think this is precisely right - Which is why the 'Trump/Cruz 2016' isn't going to work, not any better than McCain/Palin did.
If Cruz exits, I don't think Trump will inherit his voters... 'Trump/Cruz' will lose for that exact reason. However, if Trump exits, I think Cruz would inherit the lion's share - And for the first time since Reagan, there would actually be a Conservative in the White House.
Trump is a stalking horse to take the air away from Conservatives - It's what happens every time. If you want to find the Conservative, look at who the media ignores. Too bad so many are so blinded by them... But that's what propaganda does.
Yea I heard Dr Krauthamer on Special Report when he talked about the Ham/ Bacon sandwich test ....I want a Trump adherent say what is he going to do when an obvious Muslim tells us he is Episcopalian?
Wrong as usual. I get so tired of this crap.
There goes Jonah pissing and moaning again. The peasants are revolting!
Exactly. Even if Trump is a disaster, at least we have the added bonus of burning down the GOPe’s house.
>> what if Trumps negatives are so high that Hillary wins and we have a left-wing Supreme Court for life <<
A room of 12 year olds throwing spitballs couldn’t care less.
(See post no. 33.)
Romney would have been President now if he had not been a mormon. Some Christians simply could not pull the handle for a mormon even though they hated the moslem usurper.
There was absolutely no point in electing a pro-abort, gun grabbing, leftist judge appointing, evirowhacko, spoiled child of privilege POS shit, etc., etc., etc., like Romney and his Mormonism is entirely irrelevant.
As a Catholic, I disagree with the remarkable beliefs of Mormons but I also disagree with many beliefs of Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Unitarians, and adherents of any faith not my own. That does not stop me from voting for candidates of other religions. In fact, I have gladly done so all my life so long as they were genuinely conservative. Isn't that the standard?
there is indeed nothing left to lose.
You will notice it when its gone
Has Trump ever claimed he was conservative? I don’t remember ever hearing that from Trump himself.
But non-Evangelical conservatives have often been more willing to support a less conservative candidate, rather than the choice of religious conservatives.
Even Jonah's done that sometimes. Evangelicals and other religious conservatives may return the favor.
Any candidate too closely associated with one kind of conservatism (religious, economic, national security) loses some conservative votes to a more moderate candidate who's less tied to one particular faction.
If you're a Cruz fan, you may think that Cruz is conservative in all ways and therefore should be the favorite of all conservatives. But not all conservatives feel that way (which is why some of them aren't voting for Cruz).
Regional concerns also play a role. Trump has a nation-wide appeal (at least among Republicans). Other candidates are less popular outside their own regions.
“Trump Doesn’t Represent the Conservative Base”
EXACTLY. That’s why he needs Cruz on the ticket. Good call here.
Jonah Goldberg??? Isn’t he the fat guy from the movie “Moneyball”? /s
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