As the caissons keep rolling along in the army song - so does Trump keep rolling along ...
Many pundits and others of the commentariat that once dismissed Trump out-of-hand, are slowly coming to grips with the fact that The Donald, after all, may yet become the Republican Party's Nominee to the Office of President of the United States ... and, from there, quite possibly, the next President of the United States.
However, there are many that still hold out hope that the American citizenry will "come to its senses" and start reacting "more responsibly" in time to detain the Trump juggernaut.
That hope is based upon a complete misreading of the Trump phenomenon and his base, and could well lead to the Republican Party's hara-kiri. Observing the denouement of the campaigns, it is not so much a question of the people following Trump, it is far more the case that it is Trump who gets the people.
All things being equal, Trump has actually waged a brilliant campaign. Compared to the other candidates, he has spent almost nothing, yet he dominates the airwaves. That in itself is already fairly impressive, if one of the goals of changing leadership is to reign-in and control government spending. He is doing it in the flesh.
Not only that, once again, I reiterate that the man has long ago trascended the Republican base - indeed, he has achieved what many other Republicans have only dreamt about: attracting minorities to his campaign. And, not only has he attracted them, but the *fervor* of their allegiance to the man and his campaign is quite other-wordly. Furthermore, he has made significant inroads into the Democratic base. Allen West just put up a survey which shows that an astounding 43% of registered Democrats support Trump. As he himself has put it: his is no longer a campaign, but a movement. As Yogi Berra might say, it may be Reagan deja vu all over again.
Not only that, once again, I reiterate that the man has long ago trascended the Republican base - indeed, he has achieved what many other Republicans have only dreamt about: attracting minorities to his campaign. And, not only has he attracted them, but the *fervor* of their allegiance to the man and his campaign is quite other-wordly. Furthermore, he has made significant inroads into the Democratic base. Allen West just put up a survey which shows that an astounding 43% of registered Democrats support Trump. As he himself has put it: his is no longer a campaign, but a movement. As Yogi Berra might say, it may be Reagan deja vu all over again.
Among many other things, the United States has been going through a transformational culture war for some years now. Lately it has also become an economic battleground, with all the tenets that led the United States to being the No.1 political and economic powerhouse of the world, being put into question.Trump gets it. More importantly, he gets it in the people's language. Similar to Sarah Palin, Trump does not speak in policy wonk jargon. He speaks the professional salesman's language which touches and reaches people where it matters to them most. It drives pundits, the commentariat and the elites crazy, but the people love him for it.
Indeed, Trump's total lack of any obeisance at all to the politically correct strait jacket language of the political and other elites, is actually in itself quite liberating. In an effort to be sensitive, political correctness actually stifles any meaningful debate about important issues, and, as recent events have proved, has actually become dangerous to the security of the American people. Again, Trump gets it. So much so, that there were some on Twitter, who on the aftermath of Paris, tweeted that that was the day Donald Trump got elected President of the United States ...
Again, beyond all his bluster and bluffing, the one thing Trump has that most other - if not all - candidates lack is credibility. And not just any credibility, but a verifiable, visible credibility. He may have "evolved" on any number of issues throughout the years, but his real estate and other businesses worldwide attest to his "I can do it" mantra, and people are quite desperate these days to believe in a leader who will actually deliver results and not just a lot of empty promises shrouded in vaporware.
A British commentator remarked over the weekend - rather arrogantly - that Trump's days were numbered (where have we heard that before?) because, how on earth could a billionaire connect with blue collar, middle class voters???
Well, that is exactly the point: The Donald is connecting with a wide swath of the American electorate. And, that shouldn't be so surprising: he has thousands of people working for him, all across the economic spectrum; he not only speaks their language, but he tends to keep tabs on their well-being, frequently promoting employees on merit. Many of his blue collar workers have been working - and rising through the ranks - at the Trump enterprises for a life time.
Not only that, while as a businessman he has curried favor with politicians of all persuasions to advance his business interests, as a billionaire candidate, he has proven to be pretty hard to control by special interests ... another big plus in many eyes ...
A British commentator remarked over the weekend - rather arrogantly - that Trump's days were numbered (where have we heard that before?) because, how on earth could a billionaire connect with blue collar, middle class voters???
Well, that is exactly the point: The Donald is connecting with a wide swath of the American electorate. And, that shouldn't be so surprising: he has thousands of people working for him, all across the economic spectrum; he not only speaks their language, but he tends to keep tabs on their well-being, frequently promoting employees on merit. Many of his blue collar workers have been working - and rising through the ranks - at the Trump enterprises for a life time.
Not only that, while as a businessman he has curried favor with politicians of all persuasions to advance his business interests, as a billionaire candidate, he has proven to be pretty hard to control by special interests ... another big plus in many eyes ...
Thus, when you put all of that together, the Republican Party would absolutely be committing hara-kiri if it sets about trying to bring Trump down. They need to take a deep breath and let the process work its way through to the election. In American lore, there is no more favorite candidate/contender than an underdog. Consequently, even though Trump is leading in pretty much all the polls, if the establishment is perceived as going after him, the public will root for him all the more as the underdog candidate. It's a bit like telling your daughter or son she/he cannot date "x" young man/woman - it'll practically guarantee she/he will find a way to so so ...
Plus, it is not like he hasn’t already received quite a lashing from multiple quarters - right and left - and the more inevitable he might be increasingly perceived, it is highly likely Trump will continue to receive an even more stepped up thrashing, again, pretty much from all quarters.
Yet, the American electorate has never witnessed a candidate who has taken so much grief - some of it quite serious, with the full intention of inflicting severe harm to his business interests - and, still, he has kept going. The Donald has proved he can stand quite a hot kitchen, when other candidates throughout the ages, have withered at the first change in temperature . . . He is literally living Winston Churchill's adage "if you are going through hell, keep going."
It would appear to be a tough call for the Republican party: there are those who say that if Trump winds up being the nominee, it will kill the party. And others who, appreciating the depth and breadth of Trump's support, think, as detailed in this post, that such a base would not take kindly to the RNC intervening in the process, most especially given the current anti-establishment mood of the country. The fact that the man has stayed at top of the polls - in some cases, by a wide margin - in a field of 17 candidates, whether one likes or agrees with him or not, is fairly impressive.
In deciding how to proceed, the RNC needs to recall that the United States is supposed to be a representative democracy, where the voters supposedly make the final decision. American voters are tired of all the simulations - if the establishment has a candidate it wants to impose - a la Dole, McCain & Romney on the Republican side, Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side - why have primaries at all? It would save the taxpayers a lot of money if the elections were held directly between the anointed candidates by each party.
Plus, it is not like he hasn’t already received quite a lashing from multiple quarters - right and left - and the more inevitable he might be increasingly perceived, it is highly likely Trump will continue to receive an even more stepped up thrashing, again, pretty much from all quarters.
Yet, the American electorate has never witnessed a candidate who has taken so much grief - some of it quite serious, with the full intention of inflicting severe harm to his business interests - and, still, he has kept going. The Donald has proved he can stand quite a hot kitchen, when other candidates throughout the ages, have withered at the first change in temperature . . . He is literally living Winston Churchill's adage "if you are going through hell, keep going."
It would appear to be a tough call for the Republican party: there are those who say that if Trump winds up being the nominee, it will kill the party. And others who, appreciating the depth and breadth of Trump's support, think, as detailed in this post, that such a base would not take kindly to the RNC intervening in the process, most especially given the current anti-establishment mood of the country. The fact that the man has stayed at top of the polls - in some cases, by a wide margin - in a field of 17 candidates, whether one likes or agrees with him or not, is fairly impressive.
In deciding how to proceed, the RNC needs to recall that the United States is supposed to be a representative democracy, where the voters supposedly make the final decision. American voters are tired of all the simulations - if the establishment has a candidate it wants to impose - a la Dole, McCain & Romney on the Republican side, Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side - why have primaries at all? It would save the taxpayers a lot of money if the elections were held directly between the anointed candidates by each party.
If Trump can continue to make his case to the electorate throughout the primaries and into the general election, and the electorate buys it with their actual votes, so be it. If he fails to make his case, so be it as well. Why not just let the voters weigh all the pros and cons (and, as stated above, there will be more than plenty of people pointing out the cons), and make the ultimate decision as envisioned by the Founders and the Constitution?
So Trump doesn't play by the rules and has turned the "conventional wisdom" on how to run a winning campaign totally upside down. However, the Obama administration has not been playing by the rules either, thoroughly and totally ignoring the Constitution and its division of powers, ramming legislation down people's throats, when they have made it overwhelmingly clear they don't want it, targeting citizens who disagree with the liberal creed through IRS investigations, emitting regulations which border, if not cross the line, on abuse of power, etc., etc. All with the tacit - if not very active - approval of a complicit mainstream media.
Thus, maybe the times are such that a Donald Trump has become necessary to right the ship of state again. In that regard, there is a sense that notwithstanding all his hard rhetoric, he might actually be more centrist than he lets on - he is, after all, a deal maker, and deal makers don't make deals by sticking to extreme positions - as Obama has proven for the last 7 years.
In any case, having said all the above, Mr. Trump had better be very cognizant of the enormous responsibility he is taking on, along with the enormous political capital he is being bestowed by a people whose faith and trust he holds in his hands - and, if he does get to sit in the Oval Office, he better not let them down.
In any case, having said all the above, Mr. Trump had better be very cognizant of the enormous responsibility he is taking on, along with the enormous political capital he is being bestowed by a people whose faith and trust he holds in his hands - and, if he does get to sit in the Oval Office, he better not let them down.
ACEPUNDIT
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