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Now Is No Time to Be Voting for President Based on Emotion
NRO ^ | September 15, 2015 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 09/15/2015 3:43:16 AM PDT by nikos1121

In a country with more than 300 million people, it is remarkable how obsessed the media have become with just one — Donald Trump. What is even more remarkable is that, after six years of repeated disasters, both domestically and internationally, under a glib egomaniac in the White House, so many potential voters are turning to another glib egomaniac to be his successor.

No doubt much of the stampede of Republican voters toward Mr. Trump is based on their disgust with the Republican establishment. The fact that the next two biggest vote-getters in the polls are also complete outsiders — Dr. Ben Carson and Ms. Carly Fiorina — reinforces the idea that this is a protest. It is easy to understand why there would be pent-up resentments among Republican voters. But are elections held for the purpose of venting emotions? No national leader ever aroused more fervent emotions than Adolf Hitler did in the 1930s. Watch some old newsreels of German crowds delirious with joy at the sight of him. The only things at all comparable in more recent times were the ecstatic crowds that greeted Barack Obama when he burst upon the political scene in 2008. Elections, however, have far more lasting, and far more serious — or even grim — consequences than emotional venting. The actual track record of crowd-pleasers, whether Juan Peron in Argentina, Obama in America, or Hitler in Germany, is very sobering, if not painfully depressing.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/424008/donald-trump-voters-election-egomaniac

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: patronizing; sowell; trump
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To: nikos1121
Bah! Trump good Sowell bad? This Trump thing has entered the realm of the ridiculous.
21 posted on 09/15/2015 4:19:07 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
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To: Gen.Blather

Well tell everyone who will be that magical not Trump candidate, and all of the stuff that person will magically pull off because they are established politicians and therefore better.


22 posted on 09/15/2015 4:20:01 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: Gaffer

Nothing matters now except the Trump people have in their minds.


23 posted on 09/15/2015 4:21:09 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
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To: nathanbedford

Apparently.


24 posted on 09/15/2015 4:21:28 AM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: nikos1121

Sometimes you just need to vote for the guy that cares the most about the COUNTRY and is willing to out his fortune and honor on the line to do it.

Trump isn’t a perfect conservative, but I know he will get the most important things fixed... amnesty, destruction of political correctness, economy and cleaning some house. I would take all of those things over voting in a pure conservative who might fix only one of those things with a lot of luck.


25 posted on 09/15/2015 4:23:48 AM PDT by bigtoona (Lose on amnesty, socialism cemented in place forever. Trump is the only hope.)
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To: nikos1121
I'm posting this article, suggesting that you DON'T read more than a few paragraphs.

This is rather telling.

26 posted on 09/15/2015 4:24:24 AM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: demshateGod

When a op ed writer tells people that their support for someone is just some emotional thing, and that they need to vote for the nice RINO loser, then what are they supposed to say?

Belittling people for supporting Trump is wining the anti-trump people nothing. These people are not here to be herded. They will go with the person that best speaks to their issues.


27 posted on 09/15/2015 4:24:37 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: nikos1121

That’s pretty low for Sowell to compare Trump to Hitler. REALLY low.

He would have been more effective to compare Trump to Arnold Schwartznegger. (and more accurate).


28 posted on 09/15/2015 4:25:16 AM PDT by Baldwin77 (Christians want their RAINBOW back. I'm offended the gays use a Biblical icon as their flag.)
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To: Gaffer
So in that vein, his usefulness to me is in bringing down the GOP establishment house of cards. I am perfectly willing to let Trump continue up and until Jeb Bush is defeated.

Then, having fed the monster, what stops him from gaining the nomination and losing badly to Sanders or Biden?

29 posted on 09/15/2015 4:26:29 AM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: Diogenesis

Is Sowell a muslim?


30 posted on 09/15/2015 4:27:19 AM PDT by Baldwin77 (Christians want their RAINBOW back. I'm offended the gays use a Biblical icon as their flag.)
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Comment #31 Removed by Moderator

To: demshateGod

Sowell writes a lot of good, clever conservative articles. This one not included.

I wish he would leave the ivory tower and go spread the conservative message to black people, the ones who need it most. None of them read his articles.


32 posted on 09/15/2015 4:27:49 AM PDT by bigtoona (Lose on amnesty, socialism cemented in place forever. Trump is the only hope.)
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To: nikos1121

Oh my!! Sowell goes down deep in the muck for the Hitler comparison. Geez, these guys do not know apples from oranges. Truly disgusting commentary by Sowell.


33 posted on 09/15/2015 4:28:32 AM PDT by iontheball
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To: LS

One big danger is that our own military in fact hates Obama. We don’t want to ever have to pit the military against the civilian here or we are finished


No truer words have been spoken.


34 posted on 09/15/2015 4:30:58 AM PDT by ripnbang ("An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man a subject")
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To: nathanbedford

“Are we to sacrifice even this messenger, Thomas Sowell, whose conservative credentials are unassailable in the service of Donald Trump?”

I don’t support Trump based on emotion. I support Trump based on what he pledges to do. I don’t care how rich he is, I don’t care how many times he has been married, I don’t care what his hair looks like. He comes across as loyal to the country that he grew up in.

It is outrageous to see the “messenger” seek to connect Trump with the repulsive leaders in human history, when the nation’s leaders, prior to this election cycle, were making pilgrimages to his office for his support. You, or he, cannot see the irony in that? The man is sixty-nine years old. Shouldn’t that lurking evil have been apparent long before now?

When you accuse someone of being Hitler, should you not have evidence to show reasons why, other than the fact that he can raise an enthusiastic crowd? There have been plenty of great men, good men, who could raise a crowd and inspire. This article is pathetic. I can say that because I have read much of Sowell and have a basis for comparison.


35 posted on 09/15/2015 4:31:18 AM PDT by odawg
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To: nikos1121

Powell like Jindal and Walker.

The two very BORING candidates. They will NEVER, EVER win in this election and they are not really very conservative.


36 posted on 09/15/2015 4:32:16 AM PDT by Baldwin77 (Christians want their RAINBOW back. I'm offended the gays use a Biblical icon as their flag.)
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To: SoothingDave

That’s just it, isn’t it?

For at least three elections now (including this one) establishment Republicans have said we have to vote for the next best evil to stop [ooga booga] whoever (Obama, Hillary, Sanders, even (hee hee) Biden - go figure that one).....

They (establishment) say that when our guy gets the nomination “fall in and toe the line!” You HAVE to vote for him. But, apparently, that doesn’t go for Trump, huh?

Look, Sowell just compared Trump to Adolph Hitler for cripes sake! Apparently, the RNC loyalty oath only works one way. Now you’re calling him a monster because he just may succeed in taking down Jeb Bush?

Lastly, your supposition that a Trump nominee would lose to a Sanders or a Biden. To me that is entirely speculative and the polling doesn’t support it as I can see.

When my state primary is held, I’ll be voting for Ted Cruz. But if Trump wins the nomination, I’ll vote for him. Something I absolutely not do for Jeb Bush.


37 posted on 09/15/2015 4:34:46 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: odawg
I agree with you that the Hitler reference is over the top, not because it is inherently so but because it is out of bounds by convention.


38 posted on 09/15/2015 4:35:36 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: Gen.Blather
We need to make an informed decision, not an emotional one

We need to elect a President who believes in himself and can make US citizens believe in ourselves, as we used to. To do that, we need someone who can connect on an emotional level with people who've previously accepted the demise of the US.

Sowell is wrong, and can't even pretend to be anything but part of the problem anymore. US citizenry IS getting informed. By being informed, we realize the DC crowd and their puppetmasters are beyond redemption.

I resent being lectured by those who used to pretend to be with us telling us they know better than US citizens do. Mygosh, look at the mess they've made of things.

39 posted on 09/15/2015 4:36:03 AM PDT by grania
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To: nikos1121

I’m not sure if Sowell’s dislike for Trump is based solely on emotion, but it surely isn’t based on reason.


40 posted on 09/15/2015 4:39:25 AM PDT by mbrfl (fightingmad)
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