Posted on 04/16/2011 12:17:45 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
After the 2008 election, I spent an enormous amount of time and money documenting the media-induced ignorance of Obama voters for my documentary film, “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.” The video I shot of Obama voters on Election Day has been seen by over 2.5 million people (not including millions more via television coverage) on YouTube.
The two scientific polls I commissioned to back up the video proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that Obama voters were frighteningly misinformed about basic facts like which party controlled Congress. While McCain voters weren’t exactly “A” social studies students, at least they fared significantly better.
I have always believed that, in general, Republicans are far more informed than Democrats. I thought this was true mostly because very few people are born “conservative” and therefore some sort of education process has to take place for one to emerge from the natural human state of being a liberal.
However, the emergence of Donald Trump as the sudden “frontrunner” for the Republican presidential nomination has made me question just about everything I thought I knew about GOPers.
How in the world a soulless self-promoter who has declared bankruptcy several times, defaulted on huge loans, claimed that George W. Bush was “evil” and the worst president of all time, had a pro-life conversion that makes Mitt Romney’s seem credible, praised Obama in 2008, recently donated to liberal Democrats, once supported universal healthcare, possesses no apparent knowledge of basic civics, already threatened to run as an independent and ensure Obama’s reelection, and probably doesn’t even have the money to self-finance a legitimate campaign, got to this position literally overnight is one of the most depressing developments in the history of the party.
While I am not yet panicked that somehow Trump will be the eventual nominee (though after watching Obama win in 2008, my view of what is politically possible has expanded enough to at least include that among the theoretically possible outcomes), there is no doubt that even if Trump never actually gets in the race, he has already had a profound and permanent impact on it.
Before I get into what Trump’s rocketing to the top of the polls really means, I wish to examine how this has happened.
Obviously, the primary reason that this has occurred is that we have become such a bizarrely celebrity-obsessed culture (and therefore our ratings-driven media is totally celebrity-driven) that if one is well known enough, then literally nothing is off the table. It is almost as if we have created an unofficial class of royalty whose members are automatically taken seriously in almost any endeavor simply because they are one of the “chosen people.”
What makes this development particularly offensive is that there isn’t any distinction between fame and infamy anymore. Being well known is just about all that matters, regardless of how or why it happened.
So when Trump approached CPAC with the proposal to speak (for what would become an episode of his Golf Channel reality show), he already had at least half of the credentials needed to qualify for a spot on the podium: He was famous enough to “trump” his extremely questionable “conservatism.” While obviously I can’t prove it, based on what I know about how things are done at CPAC (as a former co-sponsor), I would be surprised if some sort of “donation” from Trump didn’t smooth over any lingering doubts that they may have had about handing over the conference to such an obvious fraud.
How Trump caught fire
Instead of being ignored or banished to media Siberia as anyone else who has tried to promote “birtherism” has been, Trump, thanks to his celebrity and the perceived power of his alleged fortune, was able to actually make the issue seem legitimate. This gave him a political base with which to make noise in the polls.
Once the polls started to move in his direction (even though his “supporters” were probably too busy constructing tinfoil hats to know much about the real Trump), this created the perception of a “movement” and “momentum.” This of course was all the media (thanks again to the fact that Trump is famous and therefore ratings friendly) needed to rationalize covering him as if he was legitimate, which of course further increased his standing.
The most stunning example of this phenomenon was when Sean Hannity gave most of two episodes of his Fox News show this week to his “Trump Interview.” The conservative talk show host sat on his hands and watched (no doubt distracted by thoughts of how good his ratings would be those nights without having to do much work at all) as Trump made numerous statements that would have caused someone who truly cares about who will be the Republican presidential nominee to immediately take Trump down. Instead, I have no doubt that Trump, now armed with a seal of at least “no disapproval” from a rock star like Hannity, will continue to rise in the same opinion polls he is already routinely leading.
Trump is now in a position where he could be extremely dangerous. Conservatives are aching for someone with the gonads to take it to Obama and really shake things up in Washington if he happens to win. Many are so fed up that they are willing to jump on almost any bandwagon that even appears to be headed in that direction, even if the driver, like Trump, is totally unreliable. Others have given up to the point where they may be backing Trump simply for the entertainment value (heck, if the ship is sinking you might as well make sure there is some fun music playing on the deck as it goes down).
Trump will now start to attract the non-crazy crowd and will be so formidable in the polls that he is here to stay until/unless he says he isn’t running, or he inevitably/hopefully gets killed off in Iowa (can a guy who doesn’t like to shake hands really compete in Iowa?!). Because he has no substance and his supporters don’t seem to care, Trump will not be vulnerable to the standard political attacks. Only losing big or not running at all can stop him now.
Why Trump has already hurt the nomination prospects of Palin, Romney and Pawlenty
Will he run? Who knows? But he is certainly putting on an extremely convincing act that he is (why else the pro-life conversion and the sudden embrace of Christianity?), and thanks to these poll numbers, he almost seems forced into making a go of it. Regardless, his presence has already had a potentially decisive influence on the race’s outcome.
There is no doubt that, in different ways, Trump has had a deep and negative impact on the nomination prospects of Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty.
No one knows if Palin is even running (for the record, I am still pretty sure she has not yet ruled it out), but Trump has attracted many of the “give me someone with balls and the celebrity to use them” crowd that might naturally be Palin supporters. Whether they would return to her if she were to announce is unknown, but the fact that they have at least temporarily abandoned her in polls saps her cause of energy and leverage.
Obviously Trump also steals the mantle of “successful business guy” that would otherwise go to Romney. Since Mitt’s entire strategy is based on getting to 35 percent and outlasting everyone else with his cash, Trump’s emergence is a deathblow to him.
There is also little doubt that Trump has sucked a lot of the oxygen out of the air which would ordinarily go to Pawlenty. Pawlenty is closest to actually announcing and is most in need of an increase in recognition, which could easily spark a victorious run based on the notion that he possesses a unique biography that can work in both a primary and a general election.
There is an adage that a society tends to get the government it deserves. If the same is true of political parties and their presidential nominees, based on how easily at least a quarter of Republicans have already been duped into supporting Donald Trump, four more years of Obama might actually be better than we deserve.
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John Ziegler is currently a documentary filmmaker who most recently released a movie on the 2008 election called, “Media Malpractice… How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.” He has also been in radio talk show host in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Louisville and Nashville. Ziegler has written two books and has appeared live on numerous national television shows including the Today Show, The View, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC.
Yeah he’s worth a lot. He left a several investors holding the bag here in Tampa. Talked them into investing several hundred million and then walked.
Then there’s his casino.
His net worth is no where near 3-6 billion.
Trump's job is to expose both Obama and Romney as frauds, and it is working marvelously.
Trump, Palin, Bachmann, West, et. al., are at TEA Party rallys today. RINOs are not at TEA pary rallys. Romney is not. Huckabee is not. Karl Rove is not. Pawlenty is not at a TEA Party rally today.
Palin is not running against Trump; Trump is not running against Palin; Palin is not running Bachmann; Bachmann is not running against either Palin or Trump. They are running against Obama, against both the Democrat and RINO establishment, and against the communist media.
We could not have defeated Germany in World War II with just one General, or just one point of attack, or even with just one whole country. Our success against the NAZIs required many Generals, many deceptive operations, many fronts, several allied nations, a common recognition of "who the real enemy is", and a common determination to defeat that enemy.
Our common enemy today is a communist/muslim alliance that is hell-bent on the destruction of the USA specifically, and Western Civilization in general, and the worst of them are rooted among us, not "over there".
RINOs don't want to fight the enemy; they just insist on picking up the spoils from our destruction.
I remember a country who wanted a “strong leader” in 1933. How’d that work out?
Maybe if Trump doesn’t run we could convince George Soros to take on Obama. He is a successful businessman who hasnt abused the bankruptcy laws. He is a brave man. And I know he used to be a Communist but, I think he has changed. Good enough for. Successful businessman, who has changed. Good to go. Soros in 2012!!!
Business Magnate Donald Trump on the Issues
Trump on Abortion
• Donald Trump is pro life.
• Although Trump opposes abortion he respects the rights of women to make their own choices.
• The only abortion procedure Trump feels should be banned is partial birth abortion.
Trump on Afghanistan
• Donald Trump thinks we should withdraw from Afghanistan as soon as possible.
• He said that giving a withdrawal date was “a stupid mistake”,
• He believes now that the Taliban knows when the U.S. will withdraw, they will merely wait for us to go and re-take the country.
Trump on the Budget
• Donald Trump thinks that if something isn’t done soon, we’ll have a crash worse than that of 1929.
• In 1999, he proposed taxing the rich with a one-time 14.25% tax to erase the national debt, which he still thinks is a good idea.
• He said that such a plan would save billions annually in interest payments.
• Eliminating debt would boost the economy 35% and income taxes could be lowered.
Trump on Business & Labor
• Trump believes the biggest danger to both business and labor is China.
• He believes that we are rebuilding China instead of taking care of our own country.
• Trumps thinks that If we’d alter our trade policies, we could pay off the debt and start creating more jobs right here.
Trump on Capital Punishment
• Donald Trump says that anyone who takes a life should forfeit their own.
• He said criminals have declared war on decent people and lethal injection is too comfortable.
• 100% of the people executed will never commit another crime.
• He thinks that capital punishment also serves as a deterrent for some.
• Trumps believes that judges should be held accountable for their sentencing. Pedophiles, drunk drivers, murderers and other criminals are often are set free to prey again because of light sentencing.
• He wants to stop the victim culture and recognize what criminals are—bad people who prey on good people and they should be punished as harshly as possible.
Trump on China
• Trump says we give way too many advantages to China and they're laughing at how easy it is to take advantage of the U.S.
• He thinks that we should tax all imports from China 25%. That would encourage buying American and balance out the trade deficit.
• Human rights are important - if the Chinese are oppressed, then there shouldn't be much of a market for US goods. We are betraying our principles by allowing them to violate basic rights of their people.
• We should not keep our markets open to countries that oppress their people or steal from us.
• He said that the US makes better products but China manipulates their currency so people almost have to buy Chinese products to stay in business.
• China makes it nearly impossible to do business there but wants our technology and for Americans to buy their products.
Trump on Civil Liberties
• Trump believes diversity is good and has made this country what it is.
• Crimes against people for their race, sexual orientation, religion, etc should be prosecuted as hate crimes with more punitive penalties than random crimes.
• He thinks that big government is the worst threat to civil liberties. Government scrutiny of private individuals is a real threat and curtails liberties. Government should keep to public works and safety and limit itself to that.
Trump on the Deficit
• Donald Trump believes that the deficit would be greatly reduced if government would stay out of things in which it doesn’t do well, which is a very long list.
• He would take the government out of providing public conveniences such as farm subsidies, food safety, energy regulations and transportation and limit it to defending the constitution and our shores. This will save billions, even trillions.
Trump on the Economy
• Trump believes raising taxes is foolish seeing that the US is the highest taxed nation in the world.
• He thinks the economy would improve if we would charge the countries we protect.
Trump on Energy
• Trump thinks we should use our natural resources to solve our energy problems while helping the economy.
• He believes that the US has so much oil in our ocean and we should get it.
• He thinks that we don't use much of our natural gas but we should.
• He said that Abu Dhabi has plenty of oil but just went to natural gas because they want us to buy oil at ridiculous prices. Unless we use our natural resources we’ll always be prisoners of OPEC.
Trump on Foreign Affairs
• Donald Trump wants the US to quit appeasing dictators.
• He knows that foreign policy is not as easy as drawing up a general plan, be thinks we should be deal-makers instead of chess players.
• Deal-makers can put our interests first, know when to back off, when to be tough and never settle for less than America deserves.
• Trump believes that if countries want our help they should have something to give in return other than vague promises of 'working toward democracy'. They need us more than we need them; we should use our leverage to benefit everyone but especially ourselves.
Trump on Gun Control
• Donald Trump generally opposes gun control.
• He thinks that every law abiding citizen should have a gun if they want to.
• Trump believes that assault weapons should be banned, “who needs them except criminals and police?”
• He wants a longer waiting period for hand guns, rifles and shotguns. We should be able to tell within 72 hours if a person has a record or mental issues that would prohibit ownership.
Trump on Health Care
• Donald Trump believes that people should have access to affordable health care.
• He has advocated a single payer system in the past but believes the new health care law is unconstitutional and so costly that it will bankrupt the country.
Trump on Immigration
• Donald Trump thinks that legal immigration should be difficult and illegal immigration should be impossible.
• He believes that we can’t absorb all the illegals and thinks that they’re destroying our economy.
• He wants to take care of our own people first. We’re bankrupting our states with illegals that take advantage of hospital emergency rooms, entitlement programs and public education.
Trump on Iran
• Donald Trump believes that our soldiers have no business in the Middle East.
Trump on Iraq
• Trump believes we should withdraw from Iraq and the Middle East.
• He would not be in Iraq unless our own interests are directly threatened.
• Trump would not offer humanitarian intervention.
Trump on Israel
• Donald Trump maintains that Israel is our best friend.
• He thinks we should do everything we can to protect Israel
• He believes that Israel should be the cornerstone of our policy in the region.
• They’ve always been there for us and we should be there for them. They are the only stable democracy in the region that is not run by dictators. They are pioneers in medicine and communication and a close fair trading partner.
Trump on National Security
• Trump believes that America is ill prepared for a biological attack.
• He would prepare for biological attack by stockpiling and rotating antibiotics and other remedies while training emergency workers.
• He thinks that there should be sensors in major cities for early warning of biological devices activated.
• He thinks that the public should be educated to reduce panic if an attack occurs.
Trump on North Korea
• Trump believes that we should stop North Korean nukes by force if necessary.
Trump on Poverty
• Trump believes that teen moms should not receive assistance unless they meet tough requirements. Living in group homes might reduce further pregnancies by lending moral support.
• He said that there are many people that work out of churches, temples or on their own who want to care for the poor and disadvantaged—let them, and restrict public assistance.
• He thinks that states, cities and counties should partner with faith-based charitable organizations and others. He believes that communities should work together instead of depending on public assistance.
Trump on Same Sex Issues
• Donald Trump is not in favor of same sex marriage.
Trumps rise has two elements. One is a weak GOP bench. The other is an immunity to media distortion.
As far as the GOP bench, it's like the old saying, "A bad plan is better than no plan." In this case, a bad leader is better than no leader. The GOP frontrunners are stumbling over themselves to not get noticed by the media snipers and avoid drawing fire. McCain laughed at the 'celebrity candidate' all the way to his own crushing defeat. Politics, and political advisers, tends to discourage actual leadership.
As far as the media, Trump doesn't avoid fire, he taunts it. A famous man who has long reveled in his image, positive and negative, has massive control over how the media treats him. He has correctly assessed that he's largely bulletproof from media sharpshooting, because he's a celebrity. For better or worse, America knows him. He can't be introduced, slandered and shelved like Palin was.
Not only is he a celebrity, but one that's cultivated a lot of Democrat friends and credentials over the years. Conservatives bemoan his lack of right wing baggage, but it's a perfect storm against Obama. Trump isn't a perennial right wing boogyman like Newt Gingrich. The media machine is paralyzed by him, which neutralizes Obama's advantage. The fact that the far right and the far left will revile him will make him a counter-Obama juggernaut of the squishy electoral middle.
At any rate, the author shouldn't be so puzzled that Trump has emerged. This is Human Nature 101. There's a vacuum that was open to any GOPer to fill. They did not. Now, Trump is poised to court the birthers and the Tea Partiers to capture the GOP nomination, and seize the American Idol middle from Obama.
It's not a lock, of course. All it would take to break Trump s stride would be a confident, credible GOP leader to emerge that's willing to abandon their politician programming, and speak harshly, clearly and boldly against Obama. No problem, right?
Trump is a joke. Sure he’s a great marketer but his only concern is his wallet.
That is the lamest and longest post I have read. Next time, don’t bore me with what Trum “said” or what he “believes”. Tell me what he did. How did he help the Tea Party in the 2010 election cycle. That is recent. With his money he should have maxed out for all the candidates. I gave as much as I could. What did the billionaire do.?
What pro-life or pro family candidates did he give money to. How has hen helped fund the Defense of Marriage?
The FACT is he has done zero in giving real help to these causes. But he given significant help to Pro Abortion, Anti- 2nd Amendment, big government spending Democrats. That is what he has done.
• Although Trump opposes abortion he respects the rights of women to make their own choices.
How is that different from Pro-choice?
George Soros 2012? Great idea! Are you starting a campaign? Count us all in.
Can I ask if your list is as up to date as possible? I myself have heard Trump mention we should be taking and selling Iraq’s oil until we’ve achieved reparations that match the amount expended on the Iraq war. Shouldn’t this be mentioned in your Trump on Iraq or Trump on Energy sections?
“I remember a country who wanted a “strong leader” in 1933. How’d that work out?”
About the same as the USA in 2008 ;)
There are really only 2 GOP potential candidates who have the guts to speak their minds. Interestingly, neither has the first day’s experience in DC.
I could not disagree more. I think you have to suppress your own natural urge for free thinking, common sense and fair play to be a liberal.
Trump isn't a good candidate; that he is doing this well stems I think from people's perception that he's immune to the games Democrats and Republicans play. Republicans over the years have been sufficiently complicit in Democrats' malfeasance that they can't implicate the Democrats without implicating themselves. Therefore they continue to let the crooks slide and increasingly become crooks themselves. Many people can sense this. They want a candidate who won't "go along to get along"; both Sarah and Donald seem to be such people.
The main site page is:
2012 Presidential Candidates
http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/
Here’s the direct link to the page on “Donald Trump on the Issues”:
http://2012.republican-candidates.org/Trump/Issues.php
The natural tendency is to think with your heart, until your head is filled with experience that teaches you otherwise. Or, as Winston Churchill famously said, "If you're not liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not conservative when you're 35, you have no brain."
No where near? I hardly post anything on FR without the ability to back it up. In Sept 2006, Trump was estimated to be worth 3 - 6 Billion dollars.
Forbes - What is Trump Worth?
"Trump's relentless bloviating about his developments--"This is going to be the biggest, best, most amazing"--leads many people to assume that he exaggerates his net worth. He's lately put his fortune at $6 billion. We say it's $2.9 billion. ..."
http://www.forbes.com/2006/09/20/trump-wealth-biz_06rich400_0921trump.html
Trump's net worth of 3 to 6 Billion dollars sure looks to be in the ball park.
Things are certainly not good in Disneyland.
If you guys think the abortion issue is the only issue of importance, or the greatest issue, or the leading issue, or even in the top ten issues, facing the nation, ...
You are part of the problem; part of the single-issue voters that have cost conservatives elections since 1973; and part of the electorate that fully intends to continue to lose elections for conservatives.
Most of the TEA Party voters are pro-life, overwhelmingly.
The fact is that your single-issue mindset loses elections, and has allowed the communists to win repeatedly, and almost destroy this nation.
Did you hear Obama was going on a trip to Disneyland? He was driving down the road and saw a road sign that said Disneyland Left so he turned around and went home.
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