Just a few thoughts on this Trump thing...
1. I don't think Trump is a Republican, not in the normal sense of the word. I don't think he strictly speaking holds to Republican or conservative values.
2. That is not to say that I think he's a Democrat or liberal... God forbid!
3. I think Trump is most likely a charlatan, a PT Barnum, loudly and proudly proclaiming "There is a sucker born every minute! And I'm here as living proof of that!"
4. That is, I think Trump is in this not for political ideals, just for himself. He'll say just about anything because he knows there's a certain apparently large percentage of the population that will believe just about anything, if you frame it just right and say it with enough bluster and demonize any who disagree with you.
5. This makes Trump potentially dangerous, because you just don't know what he'll do next and he's beholden to no groups, no community, no others but himself and that's all he needs, he thinks. It could well be this whole thing was a joke, to show how gullible a certain percentage of the population is, and how they'll go for anything if the right "leader" shows them the way. As Trump said himself, he could kill someone and his supporters would not stop supporting him. That's dangerous.
6. So, all that to say that the main problem in this Trump candidacy is not Trump himself, he's just an megalomaniacal con man. No, the problem is that so many people could fall under his spell. That's what is scary in all this.
7. Having said that, I'm not worried that Trump will win. I'm certain he's unelectable. Just because there is a large portion of the mostly "conservative" camp that will support him does not mean that there's anything like a majority who'd vote for him across the board.
8. Early on in this election cycle, when Trump was just beginning to establish himself, some GOP spokesperson said that he hoped Trump would be the nominee, just so that he'd get trampled in the general election and hopefully purge the GOP of this wing of their party. Not a bad idea, except that there's a chance that it might just kill off the GOP instead of rebuilding it. Sometimes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but sometimes, it kills you.
7 comments:
To a first approximation, John F. Kennedy was a wealthy playboy who sought office for ego gratification (his own and his father's) and possibly for sexual access to even more females. It will be interesting to see how a Trump presidency--if that comes to pass--will compare to JFK's presidency.
Kennedy was no Trump. And Trump has no real chance.
Trump had no chance of getting the nomination when he first entered the race. Look at him now. Writing him off has been a bad bet. Too bad. The nation is screwed regardless of the outcome of this election. There won't be enough write-ins to do more than hand the White House to one of the other two leftists.
And yes, Trump is and always has been a Democrat. While I agree with most everything else you said with regards to him being a con-man, he has a long history of supporting leftist ideals, to say nothing of his own admission to being Democrat validated by his constant donations to and friendships with Democrats.
But yeah, the future is uncertain with a President Trump. It is far more certain with either a Clinton or Sanders presidency, which ain't a good thing at all. The question is "HOW" will Trunp surprise. For good or ill? Either is as likely as the other, and most likely some of both.
Clearly, Trump did not run as a Democrat or liberal. He ran as a conservative and got where he is by conservative and often evangelical help. To say otherwise is just denied by reality.
Will you be able to vote for Trump?
Keeping in mind your assessment of him as a conman and a democrat, how would you ever vote for him?
First, Trump ran as a Republican who portrayed himself as a conservative with no legitimate evidence to back up the claim. Doesn't matter what he says he is. It matters what he is. He is not a conservative and could not be more RINO than if he had a huge horn out the middle of his face.
That being said, his ascendancy to the nominee of the party leaves me in a quandary. I don't want to not vote. But there is no one for whom I can cast my vote for president on the ballot. Not at this stage of the game, anyway.
But I'm on record as insisting that it is every American's duty to vote. That even if one believes one is merely voting against the other guy, voting for the lesser of two evils is a valid choice given the mitigation of harm that is inherent in doing so. And here's where the quandary comes in: I can't see any one of the three remaining being worse than either of the other two.
It was easy to choose between McCain and Obama. McCain, for all his shortcomings, is an honorable man by all accounts. Obama is an idiot. Romney is also an honorable man by all accounts. Obama is not only an idiot, but not an honorable man based on his first term in office (and now confirmed by his second).
But what do we have now? Sanders (a buffoon), Clinton (totally lacking honor) and Trump (a scumbag). I can elaborate on all these accurate descriptions, but the point is that there is no one better than the next, and no one less undesirable than the next. There is no "lesser" here.
Thus, for the first time since I was first old enough to vote, I believe I will not be casting a vote for president come November. As bad as Obama has helped to fundamentally transformed this nation in the bad way it was predicted he would, as the worst president he has proven himself to be by doing so, any of these three would only further harm the nation in my opinion.
Thanks for the answer. Sorry for your dilemma.
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