Posted on 02/29/2016 9:18:43 PM PST by Kaslin
The "Super Tuesday" primaries may be a turning point for America -- and quite possibly a turn for the worse. After seven long years of domestic disasters and increasing international dangers, the next President of the United States will need extraordinary wisdom, maturity, depth of knowledge and personal character to rescue America.
Instead, if the polls are an indication, what we may get is someone with the opposite of all these things, a glib egomaniac with a checkered record in business and no track record at all in government -- Donald Trump.
If so, the downward trajectory of America over the past seven years may well continue on into the future, to the point of no return.
Democrat Susan Estrich says that it is "fun" watching Donald Trump. She may be able to enjoy the spectacle because Trump is Hillary Clinton's best chance of winning the general election in November. Even if the FBI's investigation leads them to recommend an indictment, the Obama administration is not likely to indict Hillary.
No doubt "The Donald" is entertaining, and he has ridden a wave of Republican voter anger against the Republican establishment, which has repeatedly betrayed them, especially on illegal immigration.
But these political problems are a sideshow, in a world where Iran is guaranteed to get nuclear weapons and North Korea, which already has them, is developing long-range missiles that can reach American cities. Iran is also developing long-range missiles.
Then there are the international terrorist organizations from the Middle East -- many sponsored by Iran -- whose agents have had easy access to the United States across our open border with Mexico.
We will need the cooperation of nations around the world to keep us informed of these terrorist organizations' activities, and to help disrupt the international money flows to terrorists.
Those nations know that helping the United States makes them targets of terrorism. So they have to weigh how much they can rely on America, before they risk their own national survival by cooperating with us against the terrorists.
Is Donald Trump someone who would inspire such confidence among leaders of other countries? Already Trump's irresponsible rhetoric has caused a backlash in Mexico and there has also been an attempt in Britain to ban him from setting foot on British soil.
We need all the allies we can get, from countries around the world, including Muslim allies in the Middle East. The last thing we can afford, at this crucial juncture in history is a president who alienates allies we have to have in a war against international terrorists.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump's theatrical talents, including his bluster and bombast, may be enough to conceal his shallow understanding of very deep problems. But that will not cut it in the White House, where you cannot clown or con your way out of problems, and where the stakes are matters of life and death.
Trump's acting like a bull in a china shop may appeal to some voters but, in the world as it is, he may well cost us our last chance to recover from the great dangers into which the Obama administration has gotten this nation.
We already have an ego-driven, know-it-all president who will not listen to military or intelligence agency experts. Do we need to tempt fate by having two in a row?
Despite Donald Trump's string of primary vote victories, he has not yet gotten a majority of the Republican votes anywhere. But although most Republican votes are being cast against him, the scattering of that vote among so many other candidates leaves Trump with a good chance to get the nomination.
Everyone understands that the best chance for stopping Trump is for that fractured majority vote to consolidate behind one candidate opposed to him. But who will step aside for the good of the country?
When we think of American military heroes who have fallen on enemy hand grenades to save those around them, at the cost of their own lives, is it really too much to ask candidates -- especially those who present themselves as patriots -- to give up their one political chance in a zillion this year for the sake of the country?
Voters have a responsibility too. They might well ask themselves: Do I plan to use my vote to vent my emotions or to try to help save this country?
A vote for Reagan was both an intellectual and an emotional vote.
You are making the mistaken, media-influenced assumption that people are boring for Trump ONLY out of anger.
Your hatred for him and his supporters clouds your ability to see there are other motivations.
I wonder who wrote it, and why he allows his name on it.
“Voting”. Not “boring”. Definitely not boring. :)
I don’t hate anyone....I do not waste the energy to do so.
I simply observe and comment on what I see.
What I see today is a mob. A unthinking, irrational mob.
Well you’re wrong if you ‘see’ only an unthinking irrational mob. There’s more to the Trump movement than what meets your particular eyes.
Think about it.
Psychologists are going to have a field day with this election.
What you and what seems like a thousand other Trumpers on this board are doing every day is rationalizing, irrational behavior.
If this is as wide spread as it appears to be, then the republic is lost. But I came to that conclusion when the same sort of thing elected Obama twice. In 2012, I decided that the republic was lost.
There was a glimmer of potential in electing the 1st conservative since Reagan, but if these poll numbers are correct, this will not likely occur.
Well then, if that is the case, then I am certainly not responsible for it and I will do what I can to keep and hold onto what is mine and keep my loved ones as safe as I can.
But it's not going to be pretty. One can only hope that a new republic rises from the ash.
Oh I have.....I have thought about it in great detail.
Unfortunately my understanding of what is occurring, will not fix it.
Irrational behavior sometimes is difficult to diagnose by the irrational.
other times, the irrational think that the rational are not.
This republic certainly is sinking, and some see a possible way out, vs simply sucking in one last breath of water and going to sleep.
I hope to live to witness the next five years. I will keep you posted
:-)
“American revolution and French revolution don’t even come close to describing it. Those revolutions were limited to individual nations.”
I am not sure I agree entirely. They are both seminal revolutions in thought, not merely on a national, physical scale.
One was a revolution for individual liberty under limited government which became an ideal people have sought to emulate the world over from that time (with varying degrees of understanding and success); the other spoke of liberty, but was ultimately a revolution for statism. The communist revolutions owe much to the latter, little or nothing to the former.
They ultimately define two conflicting world views which are fighting worldwide today. We probably ought to assess Islam as a third sort of revolution in the mix.
What I take you to mean by nationalist may fit with what I mean by a strong limited government allowing maximum individual liberty, but it is a loaded term, and can be easily turned into the exact opposite of that.
A better spectrum is that between anarchy and totalitarianism. There was an unfortunate Conservative Treehouse essay posted here the other day that equated anarchy with right wing and totalitarianism with left wing, which got me started on this train of thought, btw. Nice guys, I am sure...
Back to the discussion - both ends are injust. Our republic tried to balance the competing interests to preserve the inalienable rights of as many people as possible. Modern man has learned to tweak the system a good bit, mostly by de-educating us, to rob us of that liberty.
You are right in one aspect about the ballgame now: the contest between the nationalists and globalists could have the same results for the entire world as it did for Poland in 1939.
.........
On another tangent - perhaps another distinction for the direction that the concentration of power is taking is that of the corporation (an aspect of your globalism?) versus the nation state.
A lot of Sci-Fi from a while back posited that Corporations would be the entities that took man to space, and warred with one another, etc. Those authors probably put some thought into this.
In light of this thought - does it make sense to champion the idea of electing someone who is not beholden to the “corporate interests”* by choosing the head of a corporation?
But I am now four hours less sleep than I should have had. Have a good day.
*Ahh, how the mighty have fallen. Did we ever dream that “conservatives” would sit around arguing over “crony capitalism” and “corporate interests” or any of a slew of ivy league trustafarian terms, Ike and his military industrial complex notwithstanding...
Hope and Change was in reality, Plunder and Pillage.
You won’t need to keep me posted.
I will be too busy preparing for what is to come.
Donald Trump is not nor will he be the savior of the republic.
In short, he’s incapable of it. He does not even understand his own position papers written by HIS campaign.
Politically, he is a Classic Liberal. he is steeped in the bad tea that has poisoned this country and continues to kill it.
He could well be, (if elected) the last president of the US as we know her today. just as Pope Francis may well be the last Pope.
I made this call before this primary ever started and before Cruz announced. I also announced who I would be voting for and why, and that I was never going to cast another vote for a non conservative candidate.
I have not wavered nor do I intend to.
It’s not worth losing my dignity.
Have a nice day...
I think you made my point by example, showing one of the many irrational rationalizations that occur here in multiples, everyday, 24/7 since Trump announced.
There is no excuse sufficient to fully explain this, except for hysteria.
A most excellent post.
But these political problems are a sideshow, in a world where Iran is guaranteed to get nuclear weapons and North Korea, which already has them, is developing long-range missiles that can reach American cities. Iran is also developing long-range missiles.
What he does not mention, is that 8 years of Clintonood and 8 years of Obamahood GAVE BIRTH to these monsters (North Korea & Iran) who have now been forgiven by the likes of Hilliary and the Democrats...
Very good slice & dice.
I remember about 15-18 months ago this man came out with two or three ‘articles’ that said we have to vote for the establishment RINO that could get elected. I was particularly incensed about as were some others here.
So now he’s saying that while Trump has won some primaries he’s never gotten a majority of Republican voters anywhere. That’s somewhat duplicitous since there have been near a dozen candidates on the slate and still have about 5 going into today’s contest. Notably, Trump, Rubio and Cruz (much in that order) are taking over half the votes.
Until Cruz gets bested by Rubio tonight in more than just one state, perhaps we’ll see some reduction of the slate either after today or March 15.
Either way, I stopped taking Sowell’s thoughts seriously over a year ago.
Much of our current mess is caused by career politicians. I've long been of the opinion that we need businessmen, not lawyers, to run the government. No one becomes as successful as Trump without understanding a thing or two about the economy.
On another thread, someone pointed out to me that Trump understands finances, not the economy. I would counter that the economy is finances on a larger scale.
People may come out in droves and vote for Trump.
He has the highest unfavorable ratings ever. Welcome a prison inmate as your next president as Republicans snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
0bama and Clinton unleashed the dictators around the world and enabled their boldness against us and created ISIS. That said, talking nicely to those types is NOT what you do and projecting machismo is actually how to control them . So well is wrong here though I’ve been a fan of he and Dr Williams for many moons...even talked with Williams on the phone once.
Don't give them the advantage of having an ideological principal because you reduce corruption and incompetence to a conflict of visions. They are frauds and crooks.
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