Posted on 12/09/2015 9:47:17 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The question of the day is whether Republicans, particularly the Republicans running for president, would support Donald Trump if he were to become the partyâs nominee. Much as they might hem and haw when they get asked â many insist that itâs a moot point since he wonât be the nominee â the real answer is simple: Of course they would.
Letâs put whatâs happening right now in context. Periodically, the political press finds a question candidates (and sometimes other politicians as well) are having a difficult time answering, and so they ask it again and again. Itâs not necessarily a âgotchaâ in that it has no answer that wonât make the candidate look bad, but its attraction comes from the fact that the reporter knows itâs going to make the candidate squirm. That doesnât mean itâs not substantively revealing, however. For instance, a couple of months ago all the Republican candidates were asked whether the Iraq War was a mistake, and their answers did tell us something about what theyâve learned from recent history. Hillary Clinton is often asked how her plans on one topic or another differ from what the Obama administration has done, which puts her in an awkward position but also forces her to be specific about what course she intends to pursue....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Well put. Same divisions doomed the Roman republic and other political entities. Perhaps the political opinions held and the divisions among men have a genetic basis. As Shakespeare pointed out the same characters emerge in every historical period perhaps with different dress and habits but remarkably similar personalities and behavior. It would seem that the epicureans always outnumber the stoics. When in a democracy they come to power, decline soon follows.
I will vote Republican, we have had to many Dems, I like Trump , but we have other great candidates. Hillery no way.
I will vote for Trump. Vote for Hillary or Trump, the choice is yours.
Because all the Republicans in office since Reagan have been so clearly devoted to the tenets of Republicanism. And you think it's about a party label, and not what he has been clearly saying:
Take care of vetsHow are those things not conservative enough for you?
Rebuild a strong military
Stop illegal immigration
Revise trade deals to favor America and stop us being robbed by other countries
Build a wall
Reform the Iran agreement and get rid of the TPP
Do not allow potential jihadists in without strong controls
Simplify the tax code and exempt low-earners completely
Stop corporations from leaving the U.S.
Invigorate the private sector so there will be more jobs
Cut unnecessary government regulation
Get rid of about half the Cabinet departments, including Education and EPA
Get rid of Common Core
Replace Obamacare
Do you seriously think he is coming to get your McMansion, bungalow or double-wide? You'd be better off worrying about the Federal land grabs under Democrats and their environmental tsars. Trump has spoken against excessive Federal regulation nearly every time he gives a speech.
Because these are just words.....LOUD WORDS... but words. He has donated to the Clintons and had them at his wedding.... He has been a Democrat when it matched up with his goals and now is a Republican because it matches up with his goals(whatever that may be)
Back when Obama was running.... all people on FR hit him about his past and how relevant it was to predict his behavior as our future president.
For some reason the TRUMP fans all excuse his past with the democrat party like it has no relevance whatsoever with his behavior as our future president.
CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER
Interview With Donald Trump
Aired March 21, 2004
BLITZER: Do you identify more as a Democrat or Republican? TRUMP: Well, you’d be shocked if I said that in many cases I probably identify more as Democrat. And I think you’d probably be shocked...
BLITZER: On social issues?
TRUMP: You know, it’s interesting, I’ve been now around long — you know, I think of myself as a young guy, but I’m not so young anymore. And I’ve been around for a long time. And it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.
Now, it shouldn’t be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats...
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/21/le.00.html
Both of the best conservative presidents of the past century, Eisenhower and Reagan, started as Democrats and considered running as Democrats. It's not a communicable disease.
Business persons are constrained by the environment in which they are incorporated. When I had a business in a large Democrat-run city, I registered Democrat although I voted Republican, and went to Democrat fund-raisers, because I did business with city agencies and I would meet old and new clients there. Trump did the same in Democrat-run New York, because he was trying to do business then, not politics.
I am the same general age group as Trump. Back in the day, the Democrat party was not pure evil as it has been since their embrace of partial-birth abortion, gay marriage and the dissolution of American sovereignty, which has been the legacy of the Clintons and the Bushes.
So Trump kept his options open on both sides of the political fence to do business effectively, not to do politics. How can you expect any candidate, even Cruz if he is your man, to govern a nation that is half or more Democrat if there is no openness in your heart to the humanity of Democrat voters? A Republican president cannot just declare martial law and force Democrats do what he wants. There has to be an openness in one's heart to see that they need pity, re-education and leadership that recognizes the inevitability of compromise. Electing a conservative Republican will do nothing in and of itself to change their hearts: just the opposite, in fact.
That is why I think Trump's crossover appeal in the center is what we need right now. Turning a huge ship around is very difficult. He is someone who understands the engineering involved in making a deep sociopolitical change, and has been a negotiator all of his adult life. We need the way he leads. Plus, he will undoubtedly appoint Cruz to a vitally important position such as AG, VP or SCOTUS, so we will indeed not only gain his expertise; but after Trump has bulldozed a lot of the corruption he has called out repeatedly, Cruz will then be better seasoned and more familiar to the electorate so he can step up to the presidency when he is still in his 40s or early 50s. That would be a win-win.
Another of Trump's great strengths is his financial independence, which is what is enabling him to tell the truth right now and call out the mistakes and corruption. That is a gift to the American people of great value. How anyone could think that he would take the risks he is taking just for the sake of vanity is not seeing clearly.
An astute reply — something that’s sometimes hard to find on FR! Well said.
Trump may not be a “real” or “pure” conservative, but he’s not a lying RINO either ... which is what makes him acceptable to so many conservatives who are tired of being lied to by politicians who pretend to be conservatives until they are elected.
I support Cruz and have donated to his campaign.
It’s not about what you wish would work. It’s about what would actually work.
Sorry. Cruz is not ready; and the country is not ready for Cruz. Pushing him forward at this time in history and events is asking to lose — not just the general election, but the nation, and any hope of freedom.
You could NOT be MORE WRONG, even if you tried !
Super!
Any reason why no mention about helping FR stay up? I have trouble grasping why so many seem to eschew support for a forum they use a lot - what would make it more appealing/worth a few bucks?
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