Politispeak

Townhall.com ^ | January 25, 2016 | Paul Greenberg

[Kaslin]

It's a language all its own. Only a beginner may need a guide for the perplexed. Those fluent in it just let it wash over them the way Angelenos do the smog. Examples abound.

--What they say:

"I would do a tax, and the tax, let me tell you what the tax should be. The tax should be 45 percent." --Donald Trump, speaking of how much still-Communist China's exports to this country should be taxed.

What they mean:

"There, that ought to please all the voters who yearn for an old-fashioned, mutually destructive trade war like the one that led to the Great Depression. It may or may not be good policy now -- what do I know or care about economics? But I do care, very much, about how many votes I can get in the primaries. And I'll say anything to get them. Who says I'm not sincere?" --The Donald, to himself, cagily.

--What they say:

"Everything this year should be infused with a sense of possibility. Don't take the foot off the gas pedal." --The Hon. Barack Obama.

What they mean:

"Look at me. And how positive and upbeat I can be. Pay no attention to all those ghost writers behind the curtain. Or all those Republican presidential candidates so eager to confirm that I'm just another lame-duck president. Look at me. Look at me...." --The Hon. Barack Obama to himself.

--What they say:

"What he is saying is completely consistent with what he has said in the past...." --The Hon. Adam Schiff, U.S. representative from California, speaking of Gen. David Petraeus' testimony before the congressional committee investigating the massacre of American envoys at Benghazi.

What they mean:

"Lay off the president, will you? I'm only saying what an equally partisan Republican mouthpiece would say in my place."

--What they say:

"The guiding assumption was that Iran would not moderate its behavior. The president considered it absolutely critical to get this nuclear deal because we had no assessment that in the foreseeable future Iran would change its approach." --Rob Malley, the president's top Mideast adviser.

What they mean:

"We knew all along that Iran was not going to change a thing on account of this nuclear deal. It's always best to have your excuses made before everything falls apart, complete with a cliche like 'foreseeable future,' as if anything in the future were foreseeable."

--What they say:

"Let's give it a few days. It was made clear. We shall monitor [the nuclear deal with Iran] but do nothing." --A nameless American diplomat.

What they mean:

Absolutely nothing.

--What they say:

"If you were working on the nuclear deal, you were saying, 'Don't do too much.' " --Michael McFaul, former senior National Security Council official at the White House before becoming ambassador to Russia in 2012.

What he meant:

All the usual cliches about adopting a policy of benign neglect, watchful waiting and don't borrow trouble that were already old when you heard them in U.S. Foreign Policy 305.

[MeganC]

I support the idea that our trade polices should mirror the policies of the countries we trade with. If China has barriers against US trade then we put up the same barriers to Chinese trade. If China lowers those barriers then we do the same.

But this nonsense of us saying we have ‘fair trade’ when every country in the world screws us?

Nope!

[Blood of Tyrants]

What Trump means ate very speech: “Vote for me! I’m giving you nothing but vague rhetoric and fooling you into thinking I’m a conservative!”

[Slyfox]

Whatever she says:

[KC_for_Freedom]

Yes, he gives a little and lets us decide what it means, each of us in turn deciding differently. You for example think he wants us to believe he is conservative ( and while I believe he stands for a lot of conservative ideas I do not believe he is every bit as much of a conservative at members of this forum are.)

In the end we all must choose and the best facts to use are the acts of the candidate.

For example, how would Hillary act in a crisis — look at her acts in Benghazi. She ran and hid and made very poor decisions (IMO)

What has Trump done? His acts in business are what business is all about, he wins. I think we can agree that he will be a winner in office too. Will he win for our cause, or some other? That is why we have to look at his family and his “values”. I believe he has raised his kids and put them on the right path. Would that he could help the nation’s kids.

[sparklite2]

“Vote for me! I’m giving you nothing but vague rhetoric and fooling you into thinking I’m a conservative!”

---

I don’t care if Trump...
... keeps himself free of the tie-down chains TrueCons insist conservatives wear.
... irritates those who espouse capitalism for me, but not for thee.
... thinks Dorian Gray was an ocean liner.
... thought Taco Bell was the Mexican phone company.

He’s our best chance at diverting DC’s rush to socialism and he’s got my vote.

[Kaslin]

Who cares what that moron says

[Kaslin]

Exactly and many are falling for it.

[Kaslin]

And what if he doesn’t deliver what he promises?

[sparklite2]

Trump has a life history of delivering what he contracts to do. He sets his sights high and pushes from there.

Of course, you could ask that question about any candidate. It’s not particularly profound.

[Rashputin]

And what if he doesn’t deliver what he promises?

Then the folks in that anti-Trump NR issue will recant and call him a True Conservative.