Sen. Cruz threw his position away when HE enabled
ObamaTRADE and Iran’s arming and then accepted
Wall St. money (supporting both) through his wife.
After that, we will never vote for him.
Here's two of my top issues (even if they aren't acted on in the first term) ....
Donald Trump Defends Planned Parenthood, Calls Abortions ‘Small Part of What They Do’
Trump says it’s time to move on from gay ‘marriage’ battle: ‘The Supreme Court ruled.’
And with all due respect to Mark Steyn, each of these are INFINITELY more than a "pathetic piece of grass".
And we have Ted Cruz running, who is the entire conservative package.
Can Trump keep this level up all the way to the primaries? He’s on TV every day....
As it was four years ago. That's why I was so upset when Mitt Romney tried running a traditional campaign of the same old, tired "rallies" in which the party faithful in each city gathered to wave signs and cheer on the same old, boring speech.
No passion, just the same old politicking like it was Bob Dole and Jack Kemp back in 1996.
Meanwhile through social media, Obama was conducting a massive GOTV effort and cruised to a relatively easy win.
My weekend update will show that Trump will now have over 4 million Twitter followers, a pickup of nearly 600,000 for August alone. By mid-September, Trump will surpass even Shrillary Clinton in total followers. Remember we are still nearly half a year away from the first primaries and Trump is building a formidable organization. Not just on social media but on the ground.
Trump has made his rallies into mass-media events that millions of people watch on TV and YouTube. Because Trump does not read off a teleprompter and stick to a script, you never know what is going to come out of his mouth. Therefore every appearance is an EVENT. Even the press conferences are entertaining because Trump will take questions from anybody about anything. Have we seen this from any other candidate?
What Trump has brought to the campaign is passion and energy. People may or may not like him and yes, the Republicans have more "pure" conservative choices such as Ted Cruz, but Trump knows how to win.
Kind of along the lines of what you said, I would rather have a candidate WIN who I agree with half the time then to have a candidate LOSE who I agree with all of the time.
Good writeup.
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m starting to find Trump intriguing...
The appeal of Trump is cuased by many factors:
1) Obama’s socialism has created a moribound economy, wage stagnation, no jobs, overall malaise.
2) Government corruption like Hillary and the IRS has people upset.
3) The size of government is constricting the economy like a python - spending needs to be frozen and agencies eliminated and overly generous DB pension plans eliminated.
4) We are weak at the borders and weak globally as our military is decimated.
5) PC is distastful and has run amok to the point of being ridiculous.
6) the current incumbent party does nothing, they get along to go along to the next election.
7) People want ACTION, BOLD ACTION.
I agree with you 100%.
Bfl
I would add one of my own observations. Some Conservative pundits are quick to throw out the idea that other Republican candidates need to learn from Trump and follow his lead. There is a problem with that assessment. Trump is a unique package. You do not learn his leadership qualities, you either have them in your genes or you do not. Trump emulation will not work. A Donald Trump does not come along just any old day. We need to recognize that fact, warts and all.
If he keeps talking abt jobs going overseas, he will pull a good number of union folks too
Trump doesn’t agree with 1 of your top ten issues, let alone 5.
He want’s to boot illegals, then invite all but a few back in through that “big beautiful door” that he will build into the Wall he likes to talk about. In other words, he’s for amnesty.
He want to fund Planned Parenthood, because he’s so big on “woman’s health.”
He’s for “wealth tax,” and “taxing the rich” in general.
He’s an advocate of socialized medicine; single-payer in particular.
He’s is a crony capitalist who loves allying with the State to steal others’ property; he’s tried to do so repeatedly himself, and advocates for this kind of activity as a matter of general policy. Loves the Kelo decision.
He’s also emotionally retarded - having reached about the same level of personality development as Obama - and mans the Twitter machine at 2:30AM when a woman damages his extremely delicate ego. Foreign governments will note how fragile the guy is, and will manipulate him accordingly, to the detriment of American interests.
Those on the right who like Trump are operating on pure emotion, and have difficulty with cognition.
Good job!
My, how the GOP has fallen!Time was, when I thought the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal was the cat’s pajamas. I still read it, but even when they’re right, they no longer have the music to go with the words. Because the words - inspiring as they can be, have always been, just don’t speak to the present moment. Here we are, with a POTUS who can get reelected
despitebecause he disses the First Amendment. Who systematically lies about policy. Who won’t negotiate in good faith. Who abuses the IRS. Elected and reelected.Philosophically “important” stuff just doesn’t matter in such a context. It will be an accomplishment if we even can get someone elected at all on the Republican ticket, even for the sake of continuing the tradition of elected government.
Someone can quote Thomas Sowell, and I know that what he says is absolutely right:
At one time, it was believed that importing more than was exported impoverished a nation because the difference between import and exports had to be paid in gold, and the loss of gold was seen as a loss of national wealth. However, as early as 1776, Adam Smith’s classic The Wealth of Nations argued that the real wealth of a nation consists of its goods and services, not its gold supply.Economically speaking, Trump is selling Mercantilist snake oil which is the direct opposite of Adam Smith. And yet the Constitution and the republic is under such pressure that “We can’t spare the man; he fights."Too many people have yet to grasp the full implications of that, even in the twenty-first century. If the goods and services available to the American people are greater as a result of international trade, then Americans are wealthier, not poorer, regardless of whether there is a “deficit or a “surplus” in the international balance of trade. - Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics
Trump has distinguished himself on three key issues that resonate with the average American:
For Americans who are fed up with the uniparty vision for American decline that's sufficient, and is exactly what's needed at this juncture of the American story.
I see that Trump campaign moving towards more general election direction.
So that Trump could expand his appeal to more of the working class (not only WHITE working class) voters across the board, regardless of Republican or Democrat leaning, for those who are genuinely afraid that we are losing our own country (as evident by his event last night in Dubuque, IA).
GOP establishment have better watch out that they don’t purposely ‘push’ him out. They sneer at a Populist Revolt, conveniently ignore they themselves are the cause of it.
IMHO, he's lying. He is, after all, a longtime Democrat, who has admitted "we'll let in the good ones," as if such a filtering process could be done in less than many years. We're set amid that awful choice in which we choose to institute dictatorial and potentially unjust (deporting legal immigrants and their citizen children (however illegally conferred; it's not the kids' fault), confiscating property, etc.) emergency powers to survive (street battles to gather them). Were we to commit to this as a nation as a matter of war powers subsequent to invasion, I'd rather have a real Sulla, calm, quiet, proven, and determined, as opposed to this dishonest huckster.
He hasn't leveled with anybody as to what he would really do and how; he just promises to get it done.
Personally, I'm enjoying watching the new Trump show and speculating about the plot, the characters and potential endings.
Some have said he’s this time’s Reagan, but, to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen: “I was awake during Reagan. I voted for Reagan. Reagan was a hero of mine. And Trump’s no Ronald Reagan.”
However, that near miss (“near miss”…lol) misses the point about Reagan.
The times needed and called for “The “Right” Person for the Moment.”
That was fate’s casting call and Reagan answered for the role of his, your and my lifetime.
The same was true in England when fate called and Churchill answered.
Both men only had a short, finite time in the light to dance for the stars and both men accomplished what fate sent them to do.
Like before, these interesting times also appear to need the “right person”, but what sort does fate call?
Is Trump of the sort fate calls and who can fulfill its mission of the moment?
Too early to tell and so much in life is a gamble.
I can’t see the deck fate deals its cards from, but, since Trump sat down at the table, at least I’m now watching the game again to see how to bet.
Standing ovation LS! I wasn’t on the IA thread, so would have missed this. Really like references to other FReepers for further reading (as a noob FReeper)
This is the dynamic in play to Trump's advantage. Every time he is attacked unfairly, his support goes up. If the GOP cheats Trump out of a nomination he fairly won, I will vote 3rd party...not because I support Trump but because I support fairness and democracy.