Posted on 01/09/2016 12:39:15 PM PST by Mariner
The Republican Party is facing a historic split over its fundamental principles and identity, as its once powerful establishment grapples with an eruption of class tensions, ethnic resentments and mistrust among working-class conservatives who are demanding a presidential nominee who represents their interests.
At family dinners and New Year’s parties, in conference calls and at private lunches, longtime Republicans are expressing a growing fear that the coming election could be shattering for the party, or reshape it in ways that leave it unrecognizable.
While warring party factions usually reconcile after brutal nomination fights, this race feels different, according to interviews with more than 50 Republican leaders, activists, donors and voters, from both elite circles and the grass roots.
Never have so many voters been attracted to Republican candidates like Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who are challenging core party beliefs on the economy and national security and new goals like winning over Hispanics through immigration reform. Rank-and-file conservatives, after decades of deferring to party elites, are trying to stage what is effectively a people’s coup by selecting a standard-bearer who is not the preferred candidate of wealthy donors and elected officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“The idea that immigration and citizenship could be limited never entered his mind”
This is the enemy’s greatest weakness. They believe they’ve already won, while we are still 70+% of the voters. All this nonsense about “appealing to Hispanics” is rubbish. End the 53-47 white split and we will never lose another election.
See my previous post.
Sometimes anecdotal evidence will lead you astray. A big proportion of the Trump supporters seem to be disaffected democrats and independents. If you no longer consider yourself to be conservative perhaps you fall into that category.
In 1976 and 1980 I was a Reagan democrat. The difference between Reagan and Trump is like night and day. There is no real comparison.
Finally, some of us think the Clintons are pulling the same crap all over again but with Trump rather than Perot.
Nixon was was fine and brilliant, but hounded by Commies, FELLOW TRAVELERS, PINKOS,the MSM, and DEMS from the time he put out flyers on pink paper about Helen Gahagen Douglas and beat her, in California.You really have to look at his WHOLE life's story to understand President Nixon!
It was a choice between Nixon and Humphrey...would you have sat that one out?
All of you idiots who claim that Trump is a "stalking horse" for Hillary are just nuts; remove that tinfoil!
It's all of 20% of DEMs who are supporting Trump.
Lots and LOTS of GOP/HARD CORE CONSERVATIVES support Trump !
I was happy to see Humphrey defeated but my first presidential election was in 1972. Nixon was a staunch anti-communist but he was no Conservative. In 1960 he sold out to the Eastern Republican Establishment and Nelson Rockefeller in the infamous Treaty of Fifth Avenue.
We will soon find out how many true conservatives support Trump or Cruz. If Trump’s support is heavily democrats and independents his poll numbers are being oversold.
Reagan had been a liberal democrat in his earlier years and voted for FDR four times and admired FDR.
books.google.com/books?id=U2cs7IHERBwC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Ron+Reagan+voted+for+FDR+four+times&source=bl&ots=iYmMp0EL0c&sig=YJl3eWma9XLzKjJPCMd9nXhUunw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF4YDJmvfJAhUU3mMKHaptA0UQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=Ron%20Reagan%20voted%20for%20FDR%20four%20times&f=false
Your logic would have been to throw Reagan out and to the dogs.
Fortunately, people like nopardons and I refused to stab Reagan in the back. He won the nomination and became a great president in spite of being a democrat and really liking FDR!
[Trump wants the middle-class to survive. Glad someone does.]
What amazes me about Trump is 2 things I heard him say that show he is in touch with average Americans. He said once that the fed holding down interest rates left Americans with nowhere to invest their money but the stock market, which was risky and bound to fall again. And another time he said the Obamacare deductibles were so high that it made any care unaffordable.
Now a multibillionaire probably isn’t affected by those things but the fact that he recognized what millions of Americans face was surprising to me, after decades of politicians that are so far removed from the people- and couldn’t care less.
add amnesty to your list of traitorous stances
Yes, Nixon was a virulent anti-Commie, which was and still is a VERY important thing to me. Also, I HATED and still do hate the hippies, yippies, etc. of that time. And Humphrey was just awful !
I voted for Reagan twice and if I had been old enough would have voted for him three times. He was the best President in my lifetime. How in the hell is that stabbing him in the back?
Trump isn’t worthy to clean Reagan’s latrine. It’s like comparing a mule to a thoroughbred, a genius to a dunce, or Raquel Welch to Rosie O’Donnell.
My first election was 1980. I voted for Reagan. I would like to take credit for that wisdom, but truth is the credit belongs to my dad. He drove me to the polls and told me who to vote for. LOL.
I am as hardcore conservative as anyone I know. I have the Gadsden snake on my chest, and I converted the tattoo artist to the tea party as he was putting it on.
I’m with Trump. If we are to have even a fighting chance, he is the force of nature we need at this hour of reckoning.
Break the media stranglehold. Stop the invasion (Mexican and Islam). Fight the forces who would tear down the pillars of the West.
It’s all so improbable - drama filled, good vs seemingly unstoppable evils. Enter Trump. Donald J Trump, for crying out loud! Cue the Welcome to the Jungle music and watch the fight to take back America begin in earnest.
I love it- it’s an American story all right.
Thank the NYT for their concern.
I'm with ya ! :-)
Trump is like the Founding Fathers? Really? He is only about 1000 times below them in intellect. He’s just winging it. He has an idea of some outcomes he desires, but he hasn’t even the patience to study and ponder the big issues, theories, and processes of government. He is a learn as you go and fly by the seat of his pants kind of man. The Founding Fathers were analytical, principled and deep. Trump is an instant gratification gambler who lays his losses on others and moves on. He is vengeful. And he is not to be bothered with weighing the long term ramifications of anything other than his own pocketbook. Pledging his life, fortune, sacred honor for this Country? I don’t think so.
No GOPer can with with only those kinds of votes and trump is bringing in new blood, never voteds, disaffected/Reagan type Dems,blacks, whites, Hispanics, young, old, the middle aged, wealthy, poor, middle class, you name it...his supporters are it. Well, not the La Raza nor the BLM gimmedats, nor the snobby GOPEers...but you know what I mean.
I agree.
Retirees have very little place to take their investment cash these days.
Banks and lending concerns charge us 14 to 29%, and we get less than 1% on our money.
He can address that for us.
Can’t imagine all the apparatchiks tossing away their sinecures.
Destroy the GOPe. Throw out the RINOs.
Remake the party so that Cruz is a moderate. Get Trump in the White House. Cruz on the Supreme Court. Put up conservatives to primary the GOPe with Trump flying around the country to help out.
Take over the party. Take over the country!
You think that all of the FFs were "pure", majestic men, without any quirks, foibles, and problems? That's not true. Were they intelligent? More or less. They understood human nature, know what politics were like in Europe, and did the best they could ( which was pretty damned good !) to set up this nation.
Like them, Trump understands human nature, he is also pretty prescient, and no, doesn't "fly by the seat of his pants". You make up the picture of Trump that you want him to be, NOT what he really is.
To "save" this country, he has given up his normal life, his time with his family, has losses in his business, and has had serious threats to his life and reputation. That sounds like the FFs to me.
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