Posted on 01/22/2016 2:41:08 PM PST by Isara
The rise of The Donald has been remarkable. He is, it seems, supported by conservative Republicans and independents. At least that is the what they claim to be. He is supported by people who impose strict litmus tests on politicians-ready to denounce them as RINOs or liberals at the drop of a hat. And yet, those litmus tests don’t appear to apply to Trump.
On the contrary, he can do no wrong. And everything he says must be good-because he is “speaking his mind” and “telling it like it is.” Trump supporters have excused his flip-flops (something they would have never done for Mitt Romney) on issues like abortion and guns. Trump supporters have ignored his current faults, including his continuing defense of single-payer healthcare. Trump supporters have also ignored his personal and business failings, including but not limited to: his fake brand of Christianity, his three marriages, his four bankruptcies, his four draft deferments, his use of eminent domain, and his unabashed buying-off of politicians (including the Clintons).
Trump supporters are rightly angry about the state of the country, but they have also bought into a cult of personality. Personality cults are always dangerous, especially when someone as charismatic (and wealthy) as Donald Trump is at the helm. If Trump decides to run independent ala fellow-protectionist Ross Perot, you can be sure millions of people will follow him and torpedo the Republican candidate.
Let’s give credit where it is due: Donald Trump was smart enough to make this happen. Despite never holding office, he knows how to be a politician. Jeffrey Tucker summed up Trump’s strategy best (please read his entire article):
As of this writing, Trump is leading in the polls in the Republican field. He is hated by the media, which is a plus for the hoi polloi in the GOP. He says things he should not, which is also a plus for his supporters. He is brilliant at making belligerent noises rather than having worked out policy plans. He knows that real people don't care about the details; they only want a strongman who shares their values. He makes fun of the intellectuals, of course, as all populists must do. Along with this penchant, Trump encourages a kind of nihilistic throwing out of rationality in favor of a trust in his own genius. And people respond, as we can see.
Rick Perry has tried to tell the truth about Trumpism. Now Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is taking up the baton. I hope they are successful, and they should be commended for standing up against The Donald and his lynchmob.
But people were sounding the warning bells back when Trump was last threatening a presidential bid in 2011. Among them was the now-deceased Andrew Breitbart. Here is what he had to say:
Of course, he's not a conservative. He was for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), before he was against Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)...celebrity is everything in this country if these guys don't learn how to play the media the way Barack Obama played the media last election cycle and the way that Donald Trump is playing the election cycle-we're going to probably get a celebrity candidate.
Ironically, the Breitbart website has seemingly been the online driving force behind Trump’s candidacy. Andrew Breitbart, if he were still alive, would have never allowed that to happen.
Michelle Malkin has had a very public feud with Trump going back to 2011 as well…and it has continued. She wrote a devastating column about “Donald Trump’s eminent-domain empire.”
Trump has attempted to use the same tactics in Connecticut and has championed the reviled Kelo vs. City of New London Supreme Court ruling upholding expansive use of eminent domain. He told Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto that he agreed with the ruling "100 percent" and defended the chilling power of government to kick people out of their homes and businesses based on arbitrary determinations:
"The fact is, if you have a person living in an area that's not even necessarily a good area, and government, whether it's local or whatever, government wants to build a tremendous economic development, where a lot of people are going to be put to work and make (an) area that's not good into a good area, and move the person that's living there into a better place - now, I know it might not be their choice - but move the person to a better place and yet create thousands upon thousands of jobs and beautification and lots of other things, I think it happens to be good."
Like most statist promises of bountiful job creation, government-engineered redevelopment math rarelyaddsup. Trump's corporations have backed casino industry bailouts and wealth-redistributing "tax-increment financing" schemes - the very kind of taxpayer-subsidized interventions we've seen on a grand scale under the Obama administration.
Undoubtedly, hardcore Trump supporters will read this piece and add Breitbart and Malkin to their hate lists. But it is my hope that their conservative credibility will help open the eyes of others who may be considering Trump. It would be a grave mistake to put an ego-driven, pro-government New York billionaire anywhere near the White House (yes, that also applies to Michael Bloomberg).
Now is the time to #DumpTrump.
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And you’re OK with a Real Estate shyster having his finger on the button?
The guy is unstable, explosive, and spoiled rotten.
His YUGE Business and his management are enough to support it!!! Also the lifetime spent raising his children who have been raised VERY conservatively!!!
Wow, what an inspiring intellectual response.
I wonder if Trump has something on Rush.
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Bub Dull was always known as the “hatchet man” in congress.
Looks like he still has his stuff, huh?
Destroy the Republican party... I hope that mean get the RINOs out and bring in conservatives.
Yeppir. That’s exactly right. It was shocking. (Vector Control knew by the droppings).
Free Republic has only a very small fraction of the Trump supporters out there. Look at his rallies. And yes. They will vote.
We are in a war with Marxist globalists and we are at war with Islam and we are losing both wars. The country needs a leader that is unabashedly an American first. A leader that will defend America, rebuild the military, secure the border, defend Christianity, bring back manufacturing jobs and deport illegals. Prior to Trump getting in, NO ONE was talking about any of these things. NO ONE.
If we do not fix immigration this election cycle the country is done, the constitution is dead are we the people are screwed. That is why we the people are getting behind Trump. It got zero to do with right/left. It's survival.
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Rush’s employers have something on Rush.
He can’t get away with telling all about Trump without loosing his big gig.
OMG are you kidding me with this statement!!! Chill out!!!
Yes.
20 million illegals here.
20 trillion in debt. 60 trillion more in unfounded future liabilities.
A million Muslims coming this year alone to U S. 300k refugees and rest via legal immigration.
We are in a fight for survival.
Throw out all existing politicians and start over.
Build a wall. Deport illegals. Ban Muslims. Rebuild America. Stop sending jobs away. Sound familiar?
Whatever just pointing out that Cruz drew first blood.
Which really says something important. Trump is a billionaire who can hire all the spamers he wants and not even claim it. His people can FReep polls 24/7. They can pounce on every right wing site on the net. Money is no object.
Cruz can't do that. Those for Cruz have to speak for themselves. Cruz even took a loan out on his own house to help with his campaigning, so those who comment on Cruz's behalf certainly aren't on the time clock. We can't say the same for the paid Trump supporters.
Actually, I thought the Trump supporters had the same negative attitude as Trump, as if maybe they've been coached on his Alinski "Search and destroy" tactics. FR isn't usually that abusive, but the Trump supporters don't debate - they just attack.
Simply telling people to shut up won't help Trump one bit. The liberal progressives already do enough of that to us and we're still talking.
That’s actually not true. And Carson did go after Trump first—but then he quickly backed off, as did in return Trump.
I was part of a team that investigated internet attacks on a certain organization. The name of the organization is unimportant but what we did find was that of 300+ attacks by 300 different “people” they mostly traced back to 3 individuals. Something like 90% were phony accounts. This sort of tactic is more common on the internet than most suppose.
First mistake is believing Trump will do any of that - or anything else he says today, as opposed to what he said yesterday.
Second, you’re not going to “throw out all existing politicians and start over” by nominating Trump.
Cruz can’t win the general. Trump can.
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