Why are FReepers rallying around a crony socialist?

[dangus]

Donald Trump has an excuse for funding Hillary Clinton's election to the U.S. Senate from New York: That's how crony socialism is done. You pay off elected officials to become their crony, then you get special consideration for your real estate deals. Please FReepers, explain to me how this isn't precisely what we are trying to STOP in Washington? Do you know what I don't hear coming from Trump? "I'm going to put an end to such games." Rather, it seems like he is proud of how he has played the game, considers it is how he rose to the top, and in his generous self-appraisal, figures that anything that helped him make more of his billions must be good.

He also favors socialized medicine. Not just a mandated level of services (Obamacare), but the government paying for universal, single-payer health care. This isn't an opinion from 2000. This is from his current campaign:

Scott Pelley: How do you fix it?

Donald Trump: There’s many different ways, by the way. Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, “No, no, the lower 25 percent that can’t afford private. But–”

Scott Pelley: Universal health care.

Donald Trump: I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.

Scott Pelley: The uninsured person is going to be taken care of. How? How?

Donald Trump: They’re going to be taken care of. I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people. And, you know what, if this is probably–

Scott Pelley: Make a deal? Who pays for it?

Donald Trump: –the government’s gonna pay for it.

Trump isn't a conservative. He's a narcissist who can't help telling the crowds what he thinks they want to hear. And so what we get in the Republican debates is an unelectable charicature of conservatism. One moment he's for keeping all Muslims out; the next he's only for keeping Islamofascists out. Well, duh. One moment, he's against the invasion of America by millions of communist Chinese and socialist Mexicans, the next, he's endorsing touchback amnesty.

Wait... you didn't know Trump favors granting citizenship to just about any red Chinese or Mexican who asks for it? "We have a lot of good people, they’ve been here and they've done a good job. It’s a tough situation and in some cases they haven’t been good people, and there have been some problems. The good ones we’ll expedite."

That's right... he's going to expedite illegal aliens already in the United States so that they can come right back into the United States.

Building a wall and then expediting illegal aliens in a touchback amnesty might help solve the security risks of uncontrolled illegal aliens, but how exactly are we going to simultaneously "expedite" them and screen them for terrorist connections? More than that, the fear that there might be terrorists among illegal aliens is one of the relatively minor issues I have with illegal aliens. I don't want my country invaded by Red Chinese and Mexican Reconquistadoras, driving down wages and consuming far more government services that they pay for.

But then we come to the issue that will make Donald Trump utterly, totally, completely unelectable. Unlike most socialists, Trump believes that American middle-class wages are too high. He has said this at almost every debate, and no rival or moderator has called him out on it. But with the Republicans already having a tough sell with Romney's legendary 47% who live off the government, can Republicans tell the vast majority of the remainder of Americans, "Oh, by the way, we'd be happy if you had way less money?"

Please, people, don't be like that Democrat socialite who couldn't believe Nixon won because she didn't know anyone who voted Republican. Trump is getting 96% of the coverage of Republican candidates, so he is who everyone is talking about. But don't confuse the volume of attention with electability. In a head-to-head poll matchup, Trump loses to Bernie Sanders in a landslide.

I've always thought the mainstream Republicans were fools to refuse to stand up for conservative values in the hope of winning an election. It's not just about watering down your beliefs to win over the middle; it's about giving people in the middle reason to think you'll do something about the conservative concerns they do have, and giving the base a reason to come out to vote. But is nominating someone who makes 58% of Americans think he is just an obnoxious blowhard the solution?

Please, if you think I'm an idiot, don't just tell me I'm an idiot. Tell me where you think I'm wrong. Tell me why you don't believe Trump won't pass a touchback amnesty into law, or won't institute socialized medicine. Show me data to say how he has a prayer of winning. I really do want a reason to believe that we're not about piss away our best chance at electing a conservative president since Ronald Reagan.

[Nita Nupress]

I clearly have to right another editorial. Too many people don*t get it.

PLEASE do. There are so many things that people are not comprehending, mainly the finality of this election. If we let ourselves be split along a Trump vs. Cruz divide, we ALL lose. It'll be Hillary vs. RINO, and we all know how that will turn out. I could spend all day here responding to some of these responses, but you can say it a lot better than I, and more people listen to you anyway. I've been gone way too long and don't get back very often like i used to. (BTW, i just saw that Mr. Magoo passed away. :-( VERY sad. )

Do me a favor, though. If you write another one, will you please remind people to cut-and-paste the text to which they are responding? Without that, reading these long threads is frustrating and near impossible. I miss the days of well-reasoned debate, when people were more considerate to other readers who come along and have no clue what's being said without the context being included in a cut-paste. There are probably some very good points being made on this long thread, but who has the time to keep returning to the original response? < / soapbox >

Please put me on any ping list you may have. Thanks. And have a great day!

[Nita Nupress]

Umm, only put me on your Brilliant Editorial ping list, not any kind of “Laz Would Hit It” ping list that someone may have. :-)

[Lazamataz]

I will totally get you on the LazList, and I am honored that one of the original founding members of FR would ask me.

And thank you for reminding me about that owed editorial. I forgot totally.

[catfish1957]

Cruz 2016

[American Quilter]

If you’re accepting new list members, will you please put me on your brilliant editorial list too? Do you accept payment in crowns and ruby slippers?

[unsycophant]

Well hello! Happy New Year!