Posted on 01/26/2016 6:16:01 AM PST by Rockitz
Is billionaire and Republican frontrunner Donald J. Trump a conservative, or not?
Fox Newsâ Jesse Watters has made the best possible case that he is.
âCome on, letâs talk about his conservative principles on the three core issues Donald Trump is about; immigration, national security and jobs. He is the most conservative guy out there and he is setting the agenda,â Watters said on Friday, responding to National Reviewâs anti-Trump manifesto. He could have added a few others, like guns.
But thatâs not quite convincing enough for many conservatives. Trumpâs vehemence about his views should not, and does not, obscure the fact that they are, for the most part, very new.
This is a man, after all, who criticized 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for using the term âself-deportationâ because it was âmean-spirited.â That was, for those keeping track, one election ago.
Now Trump wants all Muslims barred. (Ahem.)
True, Trump has been willing to sacrifice his own brand for the sake of his newly conservative postureâa sign that he is serious.
But let us stipulate, for argumentâs sake, that Trump has a âmixed record on conservatism,â as my colleague Ben Shapiro put it rather diplomatically.
There are many conservatives who still support him wholeheartedly, and there is a real conservative case for Trump. And I say this as an observer who has been skeptical of Trump from the start.
The Buckley rule. William F. Buckley, Jr., whom Trump cites to defend âNew York values,â urged conservatives to support the most conservative candidate who can win.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Polls 4 points better than Trump against Hillary. YUUUUUGE
My apologies for the misunderstanding. Perhaps you can help me understand your point.
My apologies for the misunderstanding. Perhaps you can help me understand your point.
“You know what? There’s a point at which: Let’s get to be a little establishment,” Trump told the crowd at the South Point resort and casino. “We’ve got to get things done folks, OK? Believe me, don’t worry. We’re going to make such great deals.”
He’s not a conservative. And worse, he attacks anyone personally, if they don’t agree with him. I have no problem disagreeing with people, but immediately resorting to name calling and attacks, is not becoming of an adult, let alone a Presidential candidate. He attacks, because he has no valid argument to debate the issues. He can’t defend his liberalism and his “evolving”, because he hasn’t truly changed his stance. He’s doing what he’s always done and that is a con-game, a show, in order to get the attention and popularity for his gain. Notice how he bends to whatever leanings of his crowd....
Just my observations...
If you are a conservative you know you cannot have one without the other.
Do you suppose that the founding fathers would entertain the idea for one second that they should have a leader unencumbered by devotion to constitutional ideals?
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Putting people in a position of leadership just on ideology alone is folly. Cruz has the right ideology but has he demonstrated any leadership qualities? What projects has he lead to fruition?
And as a paleocon leaning person we know that the original 13 colonies made compromises aka deals all the time to ratify the constitution.
No, Trump isn’t responsible for neutralizing the Clinton Machine. The Clintons have neutralized themselves....people aren’t falling for their crap or lies any more.
Please, please, please tell me that's not an accurate quote.
Please.
There's a very good conservative case for Trump but it can only be made to those who don't close their eyes, stick their fingers in their ears and sing NA NA NA at the top of their lungs.
We have been led by tyrants who have undermined the constitution for over 100 years and the country is in a shambles because of it. Standing around and doing your best James Madison impression isn’t going to cut it to get us back on track to where we even CAN entertain going back to honoring the constitution. Pretending otherwise is no different than the RINOs who want to change the filibuster rule back after the Dems bent us over a desk with judge appointments. One side has no rules and the other side ties their own hands with every rule they can find. Guess who wins that final battle and thus the war?
Trump may not be ideologically perfect (or ideological at all for that matter), but the country has been decimated morally, economically, and militarily not just by Obama, but by decades and decades of short-sighted and corrupt leadership. I don’t pretend I’m going to agree with Trump on every issue, but if he does what he is proposing with immigration, trade deals, and taxes, that will be the most REAL conservative change this nation has seen since Calvin Coolidge.
Frankly, I think you people are nuts to rather have some slick phony like Cruz who hasn’t run anything but his mouth in his entire life, blow smoke up your ass with promises he can never keep. Meanwhile, there’s a guy with a long history of getting disparate groups of people together and getting them to agree to what he wants. He’s telling you he wants to implement conservative change. And what does he get? Spit on by so-called conservatives, lied about, misquoted, quoted out of context, and has every word he says parsed and critiqued by intellectually dishonest snake oil salesmen and their willing accomplices.
Let us also not forget that were it not for Trump, we would all be watching Jeb Bush breezing through the primaries winning with less than 20% of the vote, while Cruz sat on his hands and played ‘nice guy’. What a bunch of crap you people peddle. It’s embarrassing.
Not in the general election. I just can't see a scenario where he picks up any independent or blue collar democrat support. He's made himself a polarizing figure and has let his opponents in the Senate define him. He'll never erase that before November. It's why I can't support him.
Worth repeating! So I did...
And EVERY single President of the US since and including Abe Lincoln.
Bravo.
So did Romney vs Obama.
...WE are circling the wagons just like the DEMS do...
I'm really tired of hearing that because every time we nominate someone who is kind of conservative merely because he's "the most conservative candidate who can win" he winds up losing. Now we have Trump, who is not conservative at all when it comes to shrinking government or reining in entitlements or reducing taxes, being pushed on us as the winner we have to support. Well sorry but I'd rather not vote at all than vote for a pseudo-conservative like Trump.
I've been on this site since 1996 and I've seen the same thing every election year. Freepers (and conservatives in general) line up behind who they think is the most conservative candidate. Squabble and bicker and watch the worst candidate of every cycle get the nomination.
I'm sick and tired of being told to support a loser. This country is at a very important crossroads and if we screw this up it's game over. Trump isn't perfect but he's a Patriot and he'll fight to defend this country and advance our National Interests...not some anti-American globalist agenda that wants to see The US knocked down 3 or 4 pegs so the whole world can wallow in third world misery!
I know that Cruz is more conservative...but he has NO chance of winning the general election and we can't afford to lose to the democrats this time around. We couldn't afford it in 2008 or 2012 either and the precarious state we're in today is proof of that...four more years of this and we'll never recover.
...stick their fingers in their ears and sing NA NA NA at the top of their lungs.
Says that guy who doesn't even listen to his own candidate:
Trump/Cruz 2016!
You know your man's position on Cruz's eligibly, right?
Here's what you're going to get:
Trump/Winfrey 2016!)
There are people throughout history that could be viewed as great leaders too, but I wouldn't want them, or others like them, elected President: Hitler, Mao, etc.
Trump talks a good game, and he's definitely tapped into the opinions of a lot of people. But Trump has a tendency to sound a lot like a snake oil salesman as well. I also don't want another person ignoring the Constitution, regardless of what letter is at the end of their name.
This is really how I feel. My state’s primary is in June, so my preference is more than likely irrelevant. The whole process has me bored and I admit to feeling like the child alone on the swing watching a bunch of kids fighting on the school playground. Reagan has been dead and buried for a long time now...and I’m uninspired by everyone. On election day next November I will probably go and vote for the candidate with the R by their name, but I have no expectation that we will improve as a country.
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