Posted on 04/25/2011 9:50:49 PM PDT by jazusamo
The boomlet for Donald Trump as a Republican nominee for President of the United States ought to be a wake-up call for Republican candidates and Republican Party leaders alike.
Why has Trump surged ahead of other Republican candidates and potential candidates in the polls? It is not likely that his resurrection of the issue of Barack Obama's birth certificate has aroused all this support.
The birth certificate issue does more political damage to Obama's critics than to the president himself, because it enables the media to paint those critics as kooks. Nor are Donald Trump's political positions such as to create a stampede to his cause.
Radio talk show host Mark Levin has rebroadcast Trump's varied and mutually contradictory statements on political issues and personalities over the years. It was a devastating revelation of Trump's "versatility of convictions," to use a phrase coined long ago by Thorstein Veblen.
What then is Donald Trump's appeal-- and why should it concern Republican leaders in general?
What Trump has that so many other Republicans are so painfully lacking is the ability and the willingness to articulate his positions clearly, forcefully and in plain English. Too many Republicans talk like the actor of whom a critic once said, "he played the king like he was afraid that someone else was going to play the ace."
What electrified so many Republicans about Sarah Palin in the 2008 election campaign was that she was such a contrast to the usual mealy-mouth talk that was more common among other Republican candidates, including Senator John McCain. Whether you agreed or disagreed with her position on the issues, you didn't have to wave your hand in front of her eyes to see if she was awake.
Donald Trump is dangerous in at least two senses. If, by some tragic miracle, he should become the Republicans' candidate for president in 2012, that would be the closest thing to an iron-clad guarantee of a second term in the White House for Barack Obama.
That would be a huge setback for the Republicans-- and, far more important-- a historic catastrophe for this country.
What seems more likely is that Donald Trump as a candidate for the Republican nomination would use his superior articulation skills-- not to mention brash irresponsibility-- to trash all the other Republican candidates for that nomination, leaving them damaged goods in the eyes of the public, and therefore less able to gather the votes needed to prevent the reelection of Obama.
Why Republicans seem not to understand the crucial importance of putting the same time and attention into articulating their positions as the Democrats do is one of the enduring mysteries of American politics.
It was obvious that the Democrats coordinated their talking points and catch-phrases-- "social justice," "tax cuts for the rich," etc.-- even before the overheard and recorded statements of Senator Chuck Schumer about Democrats' plans to repeatedly use the word "extreme" to characterize Republicans.
But how many Republican catch-phrases can you remember? Republican rhetoric tends to range from low key to no key.
Nor is there much evidence that Republicans have asked themselves how the left-wing of the Democratic Party gained such ascendancy in recent years, in a country where millions more people identify themselves as conservative than identify themselves as liberals.
In short, there is little or no evidence that most Republicans see any need to fundamentally change their approach to the public. But if they think that they can rely on Obama's declining popularity to win the 2012 election, they may be in for a rude shock. Worse yet, the whole future of this country and of western civilization will be in jeopardy, in a world where the likes of Iran and North Korea become nuclear powers, while we engage in empty talk at the U.N.
Barack Obama's declining support in public opinion polls make some conservatives feel that his reelection hopes are doomed. But Donald Trump can be Barack Obama's secret weapon in his fight to remain in the White House. The Donald can be his Trump card.
Yep. Except it won't need to be his stooges. He'll just ask the Hawaii Department of Health to release his records, and it will be game, set, match. If GOP is stupid enough to bet anything on the birther game instead of arguing the real issues.
You keep dreaming but the truth is... if anybody has the power to split the GOP ticket then maybe it's because there was not a strong enough candidate on the GOP side.
Did Perot really lose the election for the GOP? NO! The GOP candidate lost. Period.
That all got shot down in January 2009, when the Chief Justice of the United States swore him in. Twice.
Trump can easily score millions of liberal and independent votes. For example on border security. I’m sure that putting up an effective fence at the Mexican border has support across the political spectrum. Trump has already come out for a fence and putting our military there
You are aware that FR is a small sample for the general mood of the electorate. Most people I run into who are generic GOP or mildly Conservative/Libertarian like Trump. When queried, they usually all come to his business experience. No one cares who he donated to or that he may be a Trojan Horse. People are scared about the economy. Believe it or not but most people don't read FR or even the Drudge Report. His current polling has him in the top tier which proves out my anecdotal evidence.
You can put all your hopes and dreams into Palin, but as of now she isn't running and from the contention here on various threads, no one even knows if she is thinking about it. One could also make a strong argument that she would lose to Obummer because of all the damage she has received over the past 3 years from the MSM.
You can hate him all you want, but for right now he seems to be the only candidate with a pulse.
Another fact is that Trump is a shiny new toy, just like Brown was, as is West ( who at least has some substance ), and Romney has his tidy bunch of Mormons and name recognition.
Oh please............Perot isn't an example that you want to use. LOL
Nobody did any checking/nobody really called Obama out on that.
This right here is the money quote:
‘’ What Trump has that so many other Republicans are so painfully lacking is the ability and the willingness to articulate his positions clearly, forcefully and in plain English. Too many Republicans talk like the actor of whom a critic once said, “he played the king like he was afraid that someone else was going to play the ace.” ‘’
Dr. Sowell has nailed it in one, much more succinctly and lyrically than I did last week. The GOP is failing to realize the obvious issue here, that it isn’t Trump’s positions, or his “conservative” bona fides (he really hasn’t any). It is that he’s got a set of balls and when he talks, you know he has a set of balls.
In the GOP, we have:
1. The many named (eg Rove) and unnamed minions, consultants and hacks, scheming against Palin and Bachmann because they’re a) women, b) attractive, c) not Ivy Leaguers. Way to go on how to attract women to the party, guys.
2. Crybabies like Boehner, and then the effete snobs like Romney and Huck. Or the “compassionate conservatives” like the Bushes and McCain, wanting to open the southern border.
3. Weasels who talk tough on spending cuts... but when the accounting gimmicks are taken away, we find that they cannot find even ONE BILLION of real cuts to be made to the current budget. Only about one-third of a billion of real cuts. And yet, they talked it up three orders of magnitude. We have our new celebutard pointy-head Ryan, who makes budget proposals that won’t balance the budget and come up with wholly unbelievable projections for unemployment (2.4%).
And the GOP wonders why people are talking up Trump... even tho Trump is arguably no “conservative?”
Well, let’s think about this seriously for a second then. How “conservative” are the “serious” Republicans?
All the so-called “serious” Republicans who talk a big game. How much to they deliver? Oh, they TALK about spending cuts... Bush talked a big game as a conservative. Then he gave us a whole new entitlement! Mediscare Part D! Hundreds of billions in new unfunded entitlement. Romney talks big about his health care system in MA - but he loves mandates. And his system has many parallels with Obama’s disaster of a plan. Huckster is soft on criminals, big on spending, but hides behind his southern Bible-thumper facade.
“Serious” Republicans talk a big deal on immigration. But they’re all seeking a “path to citizenship” rather than enforcing the law. None of them want to talk about what we need now, which is a for-real wall on the southern border. And none of them will actually deliver a fence, much less a wall, on the southern border. None of them talk about making SSN checks mandatory for hiring. None of the “serious” Republicans will take on the issue of voter fraud.
“Serious” Republicans TALK a big game on national defense... but they seem to keep getting the ROE wrong on the wars we’re in, Bush (and his ilk) famously created the pap slogan “religion of peace” when anyone with a brain can see the truth is otherwise... and these same “serious” Republicans won’t do the bare minimum which is prevent more of these jihadi’s from entering the US through strict immigration enforcement.
“Serious” Republicans TALK a big game on rights... but they’re ready to sell out gun owners, property owners, and business owners in a second in “compromises” with the Democrats.
So: When it is all said and done... how much different are Trump’s stated positions from what the GOP has actually been delivering? Not the words that clowns like Rove have poll-tested - but the actual results.
I’d say that the difference between what Trump’s previously stated positions are and what the “serious Republicans” actually DO isn’t such a huge leap.
What part of natural born citizen don’t you get? What is a natural born citizen? What is a requirement to be a candidate for the office of the president?
I also know people who have hated and/or distrusted Trump for decades. They won't vote for him, even though most are either GOPers or conservatives.
The head of the NYC conservative party can't stand him.
There is also no way that Trump would carry New York state.
Sarah may not run and if she doesn't, her political carreer is over, as will be her speaking engagements.
The rest of the field is piss poor, as of this post.
There is no way that Trump survives, unscathed, a full bore attack on him. He's too thin skinned, has too much baggage/scandals, and his political adviser, now, is a DEM!
People fell for an empty suit, what makes you think that they are going to elect a thin skinned blowhard, with no political background,president, no matter how bad things are? And I doubt that Trump can will the primaries.
Dittos......Amen.......etc. etc. etc.
I think Trump could win. BUT before we get there lets see how things turn out in the primaries and the Debates? If Donald Trashes them—Good. If they can’t hold up to Trump how can they lead the USA out of our crisis? Lets see if Trump has a few tricks up his sleeve. He’s not a Conservative—save in name—BUT he is a die hard capitalist. I am more concerned with Congress and the Senate—Lets get Tea Party People in Power—That’s where Sarah Palin could have made a real difference. Its too soon to worry about Trump—we have other Fish to Fry—Get the right people to run for office. There is a lot more than just the White House in 2012.
Your terrible run-on sentence demonstrates you are talking about your own skills, not Sarah's. Obama has no rhetorical skills. He panders, preens and pontificates, that is all.
If you will listen to her you should be able to learn that her vocabulary is remarkably sophisticated and her ability to frame ideas with clarity and precision is brilliant. Sit back and learn, grasshopper.
Thank goodness we never see such idiocy here on FR--where nobody ever trashes other Republican candidates, and everyone focuses on articulating the strengths of his own favorite!
</sarc>
Funny you should ask:
2012 Presidential Candidate Straw Poll
Posted by The Right Scoop on Mar 26, 2011 in Politics Vote!
2012 Presidential Candidate Straw Poll
| Michele Bachmann | 6.45% |
| Haley Barbour | 0.86% |
| John Bolton | 1.81% |
| Herman Cain | 14.44% |
| Mitch Daniels | 1.75% |
| Newt Gingrich | 3.35% |
| Rudy Giuliani | 8.97% |
| Mike Huckabee | 2.09% |
| Sarah Palin | 41.67% |
| Tim Pawlenty | 2.24% |
| Mitt Romney | 10.60% |
| Rick Santorum | 0.77% |
| Donald Trump | 4.98% |
“Dr. Sowell has nailed it in one, much more succinctly and lyrically than I did last week.”
I respectfully disagree. If I recall correctly, it was you who said that the reason why Trump was gaining traction was that the so-called leaders of the gop are a bunch of p*****s.
Certainly not nice, but it was short, sweet, to the point and so sadly accurate.
Typical liberal response. Attack the grammar and spelling when you cannot back up the candidate. I see it all of the time in DU and other forums. I'm not running for President so I can write anything I wish (in 4 languages) and anyway I wish. Better for you to compare the candidate with the other candidates and not lower the standard by comparing the candidate to an average American voter like myself.
I'm not running so my posts in FR are not going to be played over and over on the news but her not knowing that Africa is a continent will be played over and over along with her lack of knowledge of which countries are in NAFTA and all the other gaffes she's made.
You keep lowering the standards of your candidate and she'll remain neck to neck with Newt which is where she is at the moment.
If Sarah Palin supporters had talked up their candidate half as much as they talked down the others she may be at least in second or third place by now.
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