I have to admit that Trump motivated me to start posting here a lot more recently.
Whenever any major news occurs, be it political or just current events I always stop by FR to see what people here are saying about it because being conservative I want to hear other conservative viewpoints which you don’t get in the news media. In fact sometimes I hear news first on FR before I hear about it anywhere else.
Usually I don’t feel a need to post any comments because usually my point of view is already represented by a large number of posters anyway.
But in recent weeks I’ve been outraged at the personal attacks on Ted Cruz by Donald Trump. If he wants to say Cruz shouldn’t be president because he was born in Canada, fine. Reasonable people can disagree but the fact is cruz was born in Canada.
If he wants to call out Cruz for failing to report a loan on the proper form, again that’s legit. People can accept or reject Cruzs explanation.
But then Trump starts saying things like Cruz is owned by the banks - give him money and he will do whatever you want (I saw him say this). He starts calling Cruz names - he is a nasty person, nobody likes him, he looks like a jerk, he is worse than Hillary, he is a liar he is the same as Obama. And all because Cruz has the audacity to challenge Trump on things Trump has actually said or did in the past.
Not content with disputing with Cruz on the issues, he wants to personally destroy his reputation in such a way that if Trump’s accusations stick in the mind of the public, Cruz will be so damaged that he will never be able to serve in public office again.
Then I come to FR, the premiere conservative site and half of the people here are cheering on the personal destruction of not only Cruz but any conservative who dares disagree with Trump.
I believe Ted Cruz is the best candidate running for president and has been a consistent advocate for the constitution and conservativism and I disdain Trump for what he has been doing.
I came here for the same reasons in 2000, and haven't left since finding it. I signed up the day after the Bush-Gore election and have been pontificating even since. :-)
My earliest statements about Cruz and Trump from last summer were basically that 1) Trump fights while the GOPe cowers and we need a fighter, 2) Cruz has too many enemies to win.
Expanding on Cruz, I wrote that he'd be better off staying in the Senate because he may not make it through a Senate confirmation for a Cabinet position with McConnell in control. That was before McConnell refused to allow a McCain-like resolution on Cruz' eligibility. For me, that confirms that McConnell would interfere with a Cruz confirmation, making the VP slot the only other non-confirmation choice for Cruz. Since the VP is a largely ceremonial position, Cruz would be more effective in the Senate as an agent for a President Trump.
Personally, I've been in the camp that a natural born citizen is a child of two citizen parents. I'm on the fence as to where the child is born, but not to both parents being citizens. That rules out Obama and Cruz with single citizen parents, and Jindal and Rubio as anchor babies with no citizen parents.
Expanding on Trump, I believe that his wealth does innoculate him from a lot of what ruins people in Washington. He really is beholden to nobody. I believe that he is sincere in trying to fix the country, even if he sees that as making better deals that don't give away the store as our starting position, stopping unregulated immigration, restarting domestic manufacturing and the jobs that go with it, restoring a market-based health care system, returning power to states regarding education and maybe other things, and fixing veteran affairs.
I contrast that with people like the Clintons, Pelosi, Reid, Boxer, and Feinstein, who used their positions to grow their family wealth at the expense of the country; and Boehner, McConnell, Lott, the Doles, Hatch, McCain, and Graham, who just want to keep their power at the expense of the country.
One perhaps unfair comparison I will make is that the currently richest President we ever had was George Washington. Washington married his wealth while Trump earned his, but that wealth might have been a motivating factor when he retired from the military, and again when he declined to run for a third term when he was elected by acclamation. I'm not suggest ing that Trump is the next Washington, but I am comparing his personal wealth as a motivator to do what he said he wants to do out of love of country, and then leave.
-PJ