Posted on 12/24/2015 7:07:28 AM PST by 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: Thereâs many different ways, by the way. Everybodyâs got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, âNo, no, the lower 25 percent that canât afford private. Butââ
Scott Pelley: Universal health care.
Donald Trump: I am going to take care of everybody. I donât care if it costs me votes or not. Everybodyâs going to be taken care of much better than theyâre taken care of now.
Scott Pelley: The uninsured person is going to be taken care of. How? How?
Donald Trump: Theyâre 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 probablyâ
Scott Pelley: Make a deal? Who pays for it?
Donald Trump: âthe governmentâs 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, theyâve been here and they've done a good job. Itâs a tough situation and in some cases they havenât been good people, and there have been some problems. The good ones weâll 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.
I think if he wins the nomination he possibly has a good chance of winning. I think there is a certain % of people who really don’t pay attention to politics but know they are fed up, and Trump has been on reality TV and pro-wrestling for years and years. It’s possible he could win the 10% of swing voters by a large margin regardless of any espoused positions he supposedly currently holds, but just by the fact he is a celebrity in the year 2016. I could be all wrong too.
Freegards
There is no fight within the GOP for real conservatism. All there is is a battle among socialists over the carcass, with a little conservative rhetoric thrown in occasionally, at election time, to fool the naive.
Because he represents white people, the people who came up with the idea of G-d and morality.[/sarcasm]
{Or do some folks really believe DT would lead as a conservative?}
I think most don’t care. He says he will deport all the illegals and they have glommed on to that...despite his further words that he didn’t really mean that (touch back) AND the fact that deporting them all has exactly zero chance of ever happening. EXACTLY. ZERO. CHANCE.
A “blog pimp” publishes an excerpt, and then points to their blog. This is not a “blog pimp” post; this is a common “vanity” post. You should know the difference by now.
George Will says preventing Trump from winning the nomination should be an even higher priority than denying the Democratic Party a third term in the White House.
Do you agree with George Will? Would you rather see Hillary in the White Hut than Trump?
If Trump gains the nomination will you vote for Hillary? Or will you not vote (and thereby vote for Hillary)? Or will you write in a sure loser (and thereby vote for Hillary)?
Oh, he’s not establishment, lol.
He rails against the establishment out of his mouth, but I see that he took with his hands all the billions of proceeds of crony capitalism over the years through his membership in the well-greased establishnent. And hasn’t offered to give any of it back.
Trump is “a self-deprecating and more humble guy”?
LOL!
So many people who haven’t shown up in a long time... here to tell us how Trump is bad for us...
With the usual ‘top spots’ being supportive...
Makes one wonder.
Check my tagline...Trump is #2, and there is no #3. Before we can take down the Democrats (although they're fading at the state and local levels), we have to take down the GOPe. It's a long march.
Obama won with outlandish promises, with style over substance.
Trump is looking to win with outlandish promises, with style over substance.
Trump = French Revolution.
Cruz = American Revolution.
You are absolutely correct on every point.
We elected so called conservatives and they threw in with the Democrats to give Obama every thing he wanted.Our country has been sold down the drain for the One World Order Utopia. Our sovereignty is being traded away for nothing in return. The list goes on, but the ONLY person who just might turn this ship of death around is Trump. He’s the only one who can’t be bought. Everybody else is just more of the same old, same old, including Cruz. Cruz voted the wrong way, then when it was too late voted the reverse. He is just another politician beholding to his money men and his wife’s attachment to Goldman Sachs doesn’t help the situation.
I expect the Cruz supporters by and large to stay home pouting and not vote for Trump so that the Establishment can continue to destroy America.
Laz, love your wit and your thoughts. And I relatively speaking agree with your notion of populist and elitist. But if you seriously think that Donald trump is not an elitist...and an elitist who believes in the power of the state to exert his will, you are sorely mistaken. Read the OPs post again for just a few examples. Like all good elitists, he believes he knows best and will use the power of the state to get there. There is only one candidate who talks about returning POWER back to the people through the mechanisms and protections of the Constitution. Only one.
I don’t know, man. I think people are just so desperate for leadership, because the GOP has been so lacking in that. Trump is not afraid to lead, and that appeals to them, to the point where they don’t seem to care whether he is leading them in the right direction or not.
The only things that bother me about Cruz is 1) his wife worked for Goldman Sachs; and 2) she was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
>> we have to take down the GOPe. It’s a long march.
Yes. That.
“Because it is not about Socialist vs. Capitalist any more.”
Speak for yourself. Until the last Marxist is pushing up daisies, it’s always going to be about that for me.
Obviously the stupid one is you. You’re swallowing the swill of the elitist crowd.
Clown.
The feedback loop is simple, and you actually highlighted it in your post (the part about the Democrat being shocked that Niton won yet she didn't know anyone who voted for him). Any group of like minded individuals will always have a feedback loop, where it basically loops and concentrates largely homogenous lines of thought. We saw this on FR when Obama was running for president (particularly in 2008) when many swore they knew no one who would vote for him, and lo behold he was being sworn in months after. In DU, the whole site is primarily pro Sanders , and they genuinely believe he will win. What is so insidious about the feedback loop is that when one is in it one can never see anything BUT it. Nigh impossible. After all, 'all their friends, their neighbors, their workmates, the people they go to church with, the people they go bowling with ....all of them will not vote for Obama.' That is 'real proof,' right? Unfortunately it is not, because chances are your friends, your church mates, your bowling and golfing buddies, even the people at work you hang around the water cooler with ...all of them think the same way that you do! That's why it is so insidious.
Now, for you - it is almost impossible to convince someone in a feedback loop that they are wrong, which is why I said this is the first thing working against you. I am not saying Trump is bad ...I actually like the guy (I prefer Cruz, but then again as I cannot vote it wouldn't matter even if I preferred the tooth fairy). My point is not to be pro Trump or anti Trump, just to say that your post is a waste of time and the first reason is there's a feedback loop at play. Now, by the way feedback loops don't need to be bad ...there are many things that are part of that that are accurate and good. My point was simply that it is next to impossible to convince one otherwise. It's like going to a Spirit filled Baptist Church and trying to tell the congregation they should convert to Hinduism.
The second issue playing against your post is environmental shock response. Think of this one thus way ...imagine a pond that has a certain number of tadpoles/frogs and a certain number of fish feeding on tadpoles/frogs. What happens if you have too many fish? They will eat too many frogs/tadpoles, and eventually there will not be enough food left and thus the fish will starve ...bringing things into equilibrium. What does that have to do with politics? Simple ...if you have election cycle after election cycle with WEAK candidates eventually the system will respond with a candidate who is the exact opposite. For Russia, it was the rise of Putin following years of humiliation by Yelstin. For the GOP it is the rise of Trump, a real man who speaks his mind, after years of vacillating candidates like McCain and Romney. People like Lindsey Graham literally gave birth to people like Trump. You have enough weakness in the system for long enough, and eventually the system will give birth to a strong person.
Guaranteed.
Thus, unless Trump implodes (which he has not) he will be the nominee. The GOP may try a gambit and have people drop their candidacy in the hope that the GOP votes will coalesce around someone like Rubio. That is possible the GOP Elites best hope, as their other options of waiting for Trump to implode hasn't worked, and pulling a stunt and 'apponting' Jeb in some twisted caucus play would be suicidal. Thus, unless Trump implodes or the GOP pooling resources around a Rubio works, Trump has this. I doubt the GOP elite would pool around Cruz, as to them he is just as 'bad' as Trump.
As for Trump winning the General? Well, of the GOP candidates, he has the best chance. Because he is highly unorthodox and what normally works against others just doesn't seem to stick to him. I personally think he would have a better chance against Hillary than Ted Cruz would, and I know that sounds like anathema but I truly believe so. Some people here think Hillary is weak, or that she'll be arrested (she'll not), yet she is the most formidable candidate to come against the GOP since JFK! She is more formidable than Obama ever was (another person that the FR feedback loop proclaimed to be an 'empty suit' when he was a honed Chicago thug who rose from nowhere ...in my job in PE I met a person who was fundraising for some investments that had helped Obama early in his career, and he said Obama is one of the most ruthless people he's ever met. In any case, that 'empty suit' became the most powerful man in the world for 8 years, and he rose from nothing. That's a monster there folk ...a monster, not an empty suit). Hillary is a bigger monster, and she learned her lesson of underestimating people (which is how she lost to Obama). She'll not be making that mistake again, and I am always amazed when people make it seem like it will be easy defeating Hillary.
Anyways, those are my thoughts. Errors led to Obama, a fellow Kenyan like myself, getting the American presidency. I just hope similar errors don't lead to a bigger monster taking herself (and her hubby Bill) to the White House as well.
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