Most everybody likes my dog, and she knows it.
Posted on 01/15/2016 7:51:50 AM PST by GonzoII
Months ago, during the Summer of Trump, Republicans looked at the appearance of this gross, comic, orange interloper among them with a mix of shock and disdain. Fox News tried to discredit him as a serious candidate; nobody else onstage knew quite what to do with him. Since then, Trump has created facts on the ground, making himself an indispensable element of the party. He now seems completely normal.Part of it is that Trump has gotten better, more polished. His cartoonish facial gestures come less frequently. He is less outrageous (and less funny). He seems to control his tone more effectively.
But mainly, Republicans have decided to start treating him as a regular candidate and a member of their party in good standing, rather than an impostor who has hijacked it on a lark. He faced the same softball questions as everybody else, with no follow-ups. (Would you put your business in a blind trust if elected? Trump: Oh, yeah, I'd let my kids run it. In other words, no.)
Jeb Bush went after Trump on his unfathomable proposal to exclude all Muslim immigrants, but he did so almost as a supplicant, asking him to "reconsider." It was as if Bush was afraid Trump would turn on him again, and Trump, recognizing Bush's gesture as a plea for mercy, reciprocated.
Signs have popped up everywhere that Republicans have not only begun to accept Trump as one of them, a regular candidate, but to even resign themselves to his candidacy.
From my convos,GOP estab mood on Trump moving from fear/loathing to resignation/rationalization,ie he'd run better than cruz & slam Hillary - Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 13, 2016
Same source (when I ask what's happening on the ground): "On the ground? Everyone literally is getting resigned to Trump as nominee." - Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) January 14, 2016
Trump was Trump and that means he had a good night. I give him a 60% shot of being the GOP nominee. - Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 15, 2016
Indeed, Trump's numbers have not only risen, but the entire backdrop of his position has changed. The percentage of Republican voters who could see themselves supporting Trump has grown from 23 percent last March to 65 percent now. Trump could now beat Marco Rubio (a popular figure within the party) in a head-to-head matchup. He remains far from inevitable. The first vote will still not be cast for weeks. Yet those of us who believed Republican elites would kill Trump's candidacy out of self-preservation have to face the increasingly plausible prospect that, for whatever reason, they may lay down their arms before a shot has been fired.
I am learning since last night that Trump Supporters here have NY Values
I would like to meet your dog.
:)
Well, then your dog would do a better job than Cruz.
I see in the next few weeks the GOPe going all in on Rubio.
How'd that work out?
You seem to be the exception
I spend most of my posts defending Cruz against Trump Supporters attacks
He did so good last night...I’m so happy we may be getting a real President of the United States of America after the ‘phony’ that has been there for the past 7 years....
GO.TRUMP.GO!!!
He scored an that one.
Thank you! Short and sweet. And true.
When Trump told Jeb he is weak like Obama is weak there were gasps. How dare he...Oh, right, Trump. Suddenly the whole focus shifted. Jeb lost whatever momentum he was gathering and deflated like a toy balloon.
Trump regaled about business with insider wisdom no one else on stage possesses. If we are to be saved it will be in the private sector, not government. No one is better equipped to free up the private sector than Trump. He is the quintessential robber baron, our most cherished home grown tyrant.
We must understand. To defeat progressive advances we need the polar opposite, not some weak kneed conservative idealism. Trump has the ability to reverse the direction of our economy and our nation. We must now determine if he will do all he says. Those who oppose Trump do so in the belief he is a fraud. That is the critical issue for the electorate to determine. Is Trump authentic or is he another Manchurian candidate?
The Establishment Republicans only look stern and imposing when faced with certified conservatives. Forcing them into submission, or at least subservience, has been their most shining accomplishment since the eclipse of Ronald Reagan.
Now along comes The Donald, with an eye toward a very attractive deal. If he polishes up his message right, and moves in with solid assertion behind himself, he can carry off the corporate raid on the Republicans. There is a large untapped crew that are nominally Republican, but have been restless for years. The Donald does some market research, finds that the Second Amendment, limited government, job market, the national debt, military readiness, the lopsidedness of foreign trade, the apparently unchecked swarming over the border from the south, and just generally not being heard in party councils are all important issues with this large and grumbling segment of the party. The Donald has found his parade, so he issues a call, steps to the front, and marches off boldly, supporting all these issues held to be important to the disaffected ones.
Surprise, HUGE parade forms up, as these “silent ones” are given voice. A groundswell starts, and seems to gain momentum with every attack from the Establishment Republicans, harumphing and grumbling, “who does this guy think he is, anyway? and how can we buy him off?”
Double surprise, The Donald does not WANT their money, as it would only end up contaminating the message that was given him by the disaffected ones. And the appeal of The Donald does not stop with just the disaffected conservatives who are nominally Republican, it spreads FAR out to people who rarely if ever vote Republican, into the “uncommitted” middle of the road, and normally apolitical folks, and even a certain number of minorities that have been apathetic or nominal Democrats, and more than a few card-carrying Democrats vastly dissatisfied with what their own party was offering.
The Establishment is scratching their heads and asking, “What the hell just happened here?” Tone-deaf gets a hearing test, some pass, some don’t.
And who knows, The Donald just might make it after all.
It would certainly be the biggest deal he has ever turned in a lifetime of dealing.
“Now Trump needs to be REALLY careful.
Yes, we need to be watching what the US Chamber of Crony Communists does.
I fail to see what your post has to do with anything.
And he told his kids to “have fun with it!” One thing about Trump, he never does anything half-assed. Always in it to win it.
They also got their way with Ike by insisting upon Nixon. Ike wanted McKeldin, a very classy conservative from MD. who nominated him twice.
It happens every cycle here, folks get way too emotional and things get nasty every primary... you can’t control others behavior just your own... just have to let it go.
Do you have a dog?
“We must understand. To defeat progressive advances we need the polar opposite,”
Nobody has said it better with just a few words.
LOL!!
Most everybody likes my dog, and she knows it.
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