Michelle Bachmann, too, although endorsements do not matter a whit. For that matter, none of the stop-Trump anti-endorsements matter. Even if they wheel in Nancy Reagan to inveigh that “Ronnie would never accept Donald J. Trump as the nominee of the Republican Party” — and I do not put it past someone in the GOPe to have her say as much — it would have as much effect on stopping Trump as putting a penny on a rail has in stopping a train.
I’m going to ask a very serious question: What would Trump have to do or say, to get you to stop backing him?
He has boasted that he could kill somebody in the street and his supporters would still back him.
If nothing he says or does could get you to stop supporting him, you are in Jim Jones territory. Adolf Hitler territory.
Seriously.
The Founders relied on checks and balances to stop tyrrany, and they said that without checks and balances corruption is INEVITABLE. This is the very essence of what this nation is. Are you willing to throw all that out to support Trump no matter what?
Nancy greatly admires Chris Chistie.
I’ve posted several times that the electorate today is not the electorate of 1984, they are more like the electorate of 1980.
The electorate of today were children and teenagers when Ronald Reagan left office in 1989.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan was not elected on conservatism. Conservatism was largely unknown as a political ideology in 1980. It was not prevalent, it was not mainstream.
Ronald Reagan in 1980 was elected because he was perceived as a hardliner against the Soviets, as a no-nonsense negotiator with terrorists, and as a stern domestic persona. He was aided by the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the awful economy (15% inflation, 21% interest rates, etc.) presided over by the gross and embarrassing incompetence of Jimmy Carter.
It wasn’t until well into 1983 that the American people became wildly supportive of Ronald Reagan and became proud to realize they had a classy, eloquent President of great wit and tenacity, who was creating an image of prestige and respectability both at home and around the world. Then everyone wanted to be like RR, to be seen supporting him, started talking conservatism, calling themselves conservative and accepting conservatism as a defining brand while castigating liberalism.
Today, so many of the lesser candidates were scripted by advisors who are mired in the largely forgotten era of Ronald Reagan, an era that is largely forgotten because the bulk of the electorate wasn’t around then or were children. Campaigns seem to think that all that is needed is to push the old conservative buttons and the electorate will blindly follow when in fact social media and reporting exposes and amplifies the blatant half-truths and dirty characters behind campaigns. Voters today realize more than ever that those pushing conservatism are often bad self-serving characters seeking power; they are not to be believed no matter how much they tout defunding abortion, Obamacare, or supporting the 2nd Amendment or standing against illegal immigration. People today see so much more.
Ed Rollins is a long-time insider who has been very prominent in GOP politics. His recognition of a new electorate and acceptance of Donald Trump as their standard bearer speaks volumes to what the Beltway culture is starting to wake up to. His commentary here is enormously significant.