What Trump knows that you don't

When pundits call Donald Trump a "know-nothing," they are not just using a historical if pejorative term to describe his immigration stance. They really mean that he appears to know nothing about public policy or governance.

On the charitable assumption that his blustery, content-free stump speech isn't an act, you'll get no argument here. But Trump does seem to know a lot more about politics than many of his detractors, including those critics who are well versed in the finer details of entitlement reform or international trade policy.

Trump's success in the polls has been particularly frustrating for wonky conservatives. How can so many people buy into the business expertise of someone who so often gives technically wrong answers to economic questions?

Worse, why do so many conservatives seem enamored with a candidate who has taken unconservative positions on issues like taxes, abortion, healthcare reform and entitlements — that is, most of the conservative domestic agenda — and in some cases hasn't even bothered to move to the right on them?

Pat Buchanan gave us a hint in his 1992 Republican National Convention speech, when he spoke of "conservatives of the heart" whose political convictions were more visceral than intellectual. "They don't read Adam Smith or Edmund Burke, but they came from the same schoolyards and playgrounds and towns as we did," he told the delegates.

Many Americans, even those engaged enough to identify as liberal or conservative much less Republican or Democrat, aren't systematic political thinkers. They vote for candidates based on who they like or trust. They cast their ballots on the basis of real and perceived self-interest. To the extent that they approach politics in a more ideological or partisan way, it is often through a nexus of loyalties and identity as much as a specific preference for how high the capital gains tax should be.

A lot of conservatism is based on an inchoate sense that something important about the America of old is being lost. Maybe it's because the government is getting too big, or social values are changing, or the demographics are different, or even a feeling that the country's foreign enemies are ascendant. But conservatives haven't always thought it was morning in America.

Mainstream Republicans have capitalized on these sentiments many times. Party leaders from George W. Bush to Sarah Palin have rallied attitudinal red staters. Trump has just taken this identity appeal to the next level.

But in terms of policy, it isn't just that some conservatives haven't read Hayek. They fundamentally disagree with him. At the grassroots level, the American right has always had strong strains of nationalism and moralism. That's not an inherently bad thing, but the modern conservative movement has generally tried to wed these tendencies to a more limited or even libertarian view of government.

Nationalism and moralism can easily be expressed through strong, activist government as well. The platforms of right-wing parties in Europe and the rest of the world are frequently anything but libertarian, even in the loose sense that Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were.

Trump also understands that many voters across the ideological spectrum aren't looking for a detailed political platform or five-point policy plan as much they want leadership. They want their government, and the people who lead it, to fix things and get things done. They want someone who will fight for them.

All of this annoys conservative intellectuals, who patiently point out to Trump voters that they shouldn't want leadership from someone who supports single payer, or conservative activists, who with increasing impatience try to explain that the right can't be led by a Hillary Clinton/Harry Reid donor.

But certifiably mainstream conservatives, from Andrew Breitbart to Ted Cruz, have employed the fighting terminology long before Trump, with varying degrees of specificity. You knew whom they were fighting — the Left, big government, the establishment, Washington — but they didn't always have the same answer about the ultimate purpose.

Before Reagan, Richard Nixon won two terms in the White House successfully pairing populist, culturally conservative Silent Majority rhetoric with frequently quite liberal policies.

The Donald knows that for many people politics is a team sport. The fans who cheered Brett Favre in Green Bay booed him in Minnesota and vice versa. Trump is trying out for the GOP team and has the marketing experience to sell it. While his pitch may seem crude, with the thrice-married braggart invoking the "great Billy Graham" and calling the Bible his favorite book, but is it that much cruder than the fundraising appeals conservative and Tea Party groups send out daily?

In retrospect, Trump's 2013 appearance at Graham's 95th birthday celebration in North Carolina might have been the biggest tip-off that he was serious about running for president.

When Trump came on professional wrestling broadcasts and trash-talked Vince McMahon, the crowd loved it. He is simply applying the same approach to Jorge Ramos, Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. The crowd still loves it.

Finally, as somebody whose success comes as much from his fame as his real estate fortune, Trump gets the celebrity culture. Americans are obsessed with it and reality TV has blurred the lines between entertainment and, well, reality.

The citizenry's desire to keep up with the Kardashians and its anger at the political class has proved a potent combination. Many Americans think the people running their government are jokes, self-promoting blowhards with bad, expensive haircuts engaged in pointless political theater.

A.) Pick up issues with significant political appeal that the establishment in both parties won't touch

This act is probably less sustainable than the entitlements Trump doesn't want to reform, but for a limited time it can be just as popular with its intended audience. The know-nothing may know a thing or two after all.

Okay, then you seem to think there’s a good chance...

You should know better than to put words in my mouth. No, I don't know what he thinks. I don't think anybody does.

...he loves Obamacare.

In the not-so distant past, he's come out in favor of single-payer and the Canadian healthcare system.

...he doesn’t really care about our veterans.

I haven't seen him come out with a concrete proposal on the VA. Have you? If it really was important to him, don't you think he would have expressed some specific ideas by now?

...he doesn’t really care about our national debt.

Well let's take a look at Donald's opinion of Xero's early performance in office:

It hasn’t been this way since 1929. So he doesn’t have much choice—he will simply have to be great, which he has a very good chance of being. What he has done is amazing. The fact that he accomplished what he has—in one year and against great odds—is truly phenomenal. If someone had asked me if a black man or woman could become president, I would have said yes, but not yet. Barack Obama proved that determination combined with opportunity and intelligence can make things happen—and in an exceptional way. He is not walking into an easy or enviable situation. As of October of 2008, the U.S. government reported a $237 billion deficit. The good news is that Obama seems to be well aware of the situation. His comments have led me to believe that he understands how the economy works on a comprehensive level. He has also surrounded himself with very competent people, and that’s the mark of a strong leader. I seem to remember exchanges like this with you about Arnold. Don't you?

...he doesn’t want to rebuild the military.

Again, no concrete proposals. He's now taking credit for being against the Iraq war without mentioning that things were pretty quiet there when Bush was done and it was Xero's withdrawal that precipitated the current disaster there. So although it is legitimate to be against the war in the first place, once in we had to win. We did. Xero threw it away. So Trump throws rocks at GWB because he's running against JEB? Really? Seems hardly reasoned or just to me. Do you want a posturing hothead in that job?

...he thinks Obama and company did a great job on the Iran negotiations.

Oh he's good at throwing rocks at anything. So, what specifically does he propose to do to keep Iran from going nuclear? Sanctions have not stopped them and would do less now. Do you really take his threat to borderline embargo Europe seriously if they don't concede to reinstituteing sanctions? How would that work?

...he really doesn’t care about abortion.

HOW deeply does he care with this if he offered his praise for his sister without ANY qualification? Not even, "we don't always agree."

...he really doesn’t object to common core. ...he really wants the Department of Education to dominate education from Washington, D. C.

Here at least he's come out consistently as anti-union and pro-voucher. So I'll give you that one, but it's not much more than boilerplate.

...he really doesn’t care about illegal immigration.

He's in the hotel, restaurant, golf course, and construction business. Hence, he's a big employer of illegals and has said that after supposedly ejecting millions of them (despite that each gets at least a hearing), he'll welcome back "the good ones." What does that mean?

...he doesn’t want to build a wall.

The question really revolves around what will he do to get past the Federal judges that will surely issue multiple injunctions against its construction. Will he then shrug or ignore them? Will he build camps capable of handling that many people waiting for a hearing complete with water and sewage treatment? I have my doubts.

...he doesn’t think our trade deals are bad.

Woopie. Has he told us what he's going to do to deal with China's currency manipulations when we owe them over a trillion? His blandishments aren't convincing.

...he doesn’t care if we are energy independent.

At what price? Does he want gas prices high enough to support total independence? That's what it takes to bear the cost of fracking. I haven't heard ANYTHING thoughtful about the topic from him other than we should be, which is just empty posturing, just like the rest of it.

...and on and on it goes.

You didn't mention taxes, where he's seriously flipflopped more than once.

Seriously?

Seriously.

You don’t trust him at all?

Not a bit.

Yet none of these issues touch on my biggest concern about Trump. He says HE is going to do all these things, without Congress? Are we going to depose one imperial President and replace him with another of the same temperament? What happened to limited government and the separation of powers? He doesn't even talk about that.

What is that distrust built on, the trust-ablity of folks like President Bush, who stabbed us in the back as often as not?

His record.

It’s a carp shoot no matter who it is.

I don't volunteer for a crap shoot by pointing a revolver at my head.

And as for Cruz or the best whoever that is, how do we get them past the Democrats and Moderate Republicans who vote with us in the primaries?

Biden for President! Do I need a sarc tag?

Why is it that you are so motivated by fear? It turns conservatives into chumps. It has been since 1984 that we haven’t elected a Conservative in nomination process. Want to try again this year and see how it works out, until it’s too late, and we have to wait another four years?

I heard this about Arnold too, despite the Gallup data that said McClintock would have won if Republicans had voted according to their ideological preferences, rather than their fears.

Should we just plan now not to participate again next November?

We're months away from the Iowa caucuses and you're trotting out this kind of argument?

I’m not voting for the run of the mill Lefist like Bush. He won’t even tell me he’ll do what I want. So it’s a given he won’t. At least Trump cares enough to lie to me.

So did Bush.

Looks to me like you're getting desperate. Is it time for that yet?

I support Trump, and to be honest, this is a weak point for him.

He still thinks the 45 million need to be covered. The question is, how many of that 45 million are illegal immigrants?

Will 15 million be left to insure?

Here’s another thing to think about. Do folks think people with no insurance were denied treatment at hospitals? They were admitted to E.R.s, and stabilized there.

The government has always picked up that tab if nobody else did. It didn’t pay enough, and this hurt hospitals, and that’s why so many Trauma Centers closed.

Trump did say he wanted to see what the private sector could come up with there too.

One thing that would be good is to provide low-cost catastrophic insurance coverage. Make it a $10,000 deductible, with low premiums. At least the worst part of an illness could be covered on a policy like that, with greatly reduced premiums.

I think there are things that could be done to get everyone insured, where the government wouldn’t have to be the full providor.

And Trumps mention that he wasnted to see what the private sector could do to help the 45 million might be along these lines. They would still have some exposure, but they could also have a cap on the part they couldn’t cover.

If the government had to pick up to where the catastrophic policy kicked in, that would save the taxpayers a lot of money.

Somethings like this could probably be done, and sharply reduce the cost of an Obamacare replacement.

I don’t think we’ll find perfection here. We just need to do the best we can.

I agree that the government should not be in this business, but if we’re honest with ourselves, it always has been.

Coming up with a way to limit that exposure would actually be good.

Do you hold the same standard to every Republican running for President?

Absolutely. It's one reason why I have not selected a candidate.

Heck, I’m a Cruz guy and I’m not happy with his idea to increase H1-B Legal Immigration. I like Trump’s plan.

Educate Cruz and he'll change his tone. He's already backing off on "birthright citizenship." Trump has positions, he doesn't have a plan.

Trump with the help of Senator Jeff Sessions outlines an Immigration Plan that finally rids us of Anchor Babies and the Republican contenders are acting like Trump dropped a Baby Ruth in their Swimming Pool.

As much as I admire Jeff Sessions, I am not a fan of the Federal government having the power to issue work permits. That is what e-Verify really is. Nor is it a power enumerated in Article I. OTOH, to a letter of Marque offering a bounty on illegals is a Constitutional power.

There would be a traffic jam at the border a thousand miles wide.

It’s a long process. I don’t have a Crystal Ball, but I do know that if the Republican Field doesn’t get their act together they will have a heck of a time taking Trump out.

Why is he so far along? Air time. Who gave him the air time? The MSM. They love Donald Trump, because they can use him to starve every other conservative for air time and frame all their discussions in terms of what he says. Trump is a media creation, who started his campaign after that infamous phone call with Bubba. I'm taking that seriously.

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