Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture, Social Commentary

Thoughts On The Donald

36 Comments

I haven’t had time to write much about it, but fortunately, I agree pretty much with everything Jonah writes:

Yes, I know Trump has declared himself pro-life. Good for him — and congratulations to the pro-life movement for making that the price of admission. But I’m at a total loss to understand why serious pro-lifers take him at his word. He’s been all over the place on Planned Parenthood, and when asked who he’d like to put on the Supreme Court, he named his pro-choice-extremist sister.

Ann Coulter wrote of Newt in 2011: “If all you want is to lob rhetorical bombs at Obama and then lose, Newt Gingrich — like recent favorite Donald Trump — is your candidate. But if you want to save the country, Newt’s not your guy.” Now Ann leads a chorus of people claiming that Trump is our only savior. Has Trump changed, or have Ann and her followers? Is there a serious argument behind the new thinking, or is it “because he fights!”?

It is entirely possible that conservatives sweat the details of tax policy too much. Once in office, a president must deal with political realities that render the fine print of a campaign pamphlet as useful as a battle plan after the enemy is met. But in the last month, Trump has contemplated a flat tax, the fair tax, maintaining the current progressive tax system, a carried-interest tax, a wealth tax, and doing nothing. His fans respond, “That shows he’s a pragmatist!”

No. It shows that he has absolutely no ideological guardrails whatsoever. Ronald Reagan once said, “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” Trump is close to the reverse. He’s a mouth at the wrong end of an alimentary canal spewing crap with no sense of responsibility.

In his embarrassing interview with Hugh Hewitt last night, Trump revealed he knows less than most halfway-decent D.C. interns about foreign policy. Twitter lit up with responses about how it doesn’t matter and how it was a gotcha interview. They think that Trump’s claim that he’ll just go find a Douglas MacArthur to fix the problem is brilliant. Well, I’m all in favor of finding a Douglas MacArthur, but if you don’t know anything about foreign policy, the interview process will be a complete disaster. Yes, Reagan delegated. But he knew enough to know to whom to delegate.

I am as mystified by otherwise-intelligent people supporting Trump as I was by the Perot phenomenon.

36 thoughts on “Thoughts On The Donald”

  1. If you’re mystified then you’re living in a bubble. People are not supporting Trump because they think he’s a good republican candidate, they’re supporting him because he’s a good candidate to destroy the republican party. You know, the corrupt, traitorous party that shits all over their own supporters and votes with democrats against the wishes of the base? They want THAT party destroyed.

    1. And they propose to replace it with what? How does that work, exactly?

      No one is angrier at the Republican Party than I am, but that just doesn’t translate into support for a clown with no political principles.

      1. Anger has no rationality or plan. However, when being led down the primrose path it beats doing nothing.

        As a Republican, I’m with Mr. Black and support the destruction of the GOP if the leadership continues to ignore the base that gave them the keys to the House and Senate.

      3. OTOH, Trump has already opened up what “may be discussed” in the campaign. Sans Trump, IMO Bush would be much further ahead because the MSM would have destroyed any other Republican candidate that attempted to really address open borders, the 51 percent immigrant handout rate and “catch and release” alien criminals. I’m not a Trump supported because he’s another Schwarzenegger disaster. A massive egoist who uses his fame while appealing to the bullied and abused middle class voter – and then stabbing them in the back. The question is there anyone in the stupid “Democrat lite” party that can pick up his chutzpah and leadership.

  2. Why are people supporting Trump? It’s simple. Anger at the leftist crap that is destroying the political and social fabric of this country and the feckless leaders in the GOP who run from the fight. Rightly or wrongly, Trump is seen as someone to willing to engage the enemy.

    Similar to Lincoln being generally frustrated with his generals until he found Grant, who was far from perfect, but was at least willing to engage the enemy to Lincoln’s satisfaction.

        1. Rand, I honestly think…

          Thanks Bob for putting that at the beginning. Your consideration of the desire for efficiency by the population here is admirable. I can understand why you might not want to replace it with “Skip this comment…” but by all means feel free if the mood strikes you in the future.

  3. Whether Trump can be trusted on abortion issues makes no difference to me, as it’s not an issue I care much about. (Except I oppose taxpayer funds for it).

    Trump slammed Walker over not raising taxes, which bothered me a lot (regarding Trump). And then there’s the huge (or, in deference to Mr. Trump, yuuuge) of stealing private property via eminent domain to hand it over to developers, which I find downright fascist and totalitarian.

    Is Trump my preferred candidate? Hell No. Do I have a preferred candidate right now? No, but I’m leaning Cruz, and there are several I simply don’t know enough about to have an opinion on.

    Am I cheering Trump on right now? Yep, because he’s made immigration a focal issue, which is what it needs to be. He’s also providing a voice to those of us furious with the party establishment. I’m also cheering him on because he’s eviscerating Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

    So, my position is that I think Trump is providing a useful and needed role at the moment, because before he entered the race, it was looking like a Jeb Bush nomination.

    Will I vote for Trump in the primaries? No, unless all the alternatives are worse by the time my state has its primary. (for example, if it’s down to Trump, Bush, and Rubio… I’ll never vote for the latter two, in the primary or the general, and they are the only R nomination candidates I can currently say that for).

    Anyway, that’s why I’m cheering Trump on right now, even though he’s very far from being my preferred candidate.

    1. It was never looking like a Jeb Bush nomination. He was never high in the polls. Too much of the Republican Party is non-establishment right now for the establishment to be able to pick the candidate, and that’s how it should be.

  4. Immigration is the existential issue today. If 30M illegals are given citizenship, they’ll vote Dem for Free Stuff, and it’s absolutely game over. Without border control, it’s still game over from birthright citizenship, just a few years later. Trump is the only candidate hammering home the issue.

    And, yeah, the GOPe has lied to the base one too many times. The leadership has been compromised by the crony capitalists. They work with Obama and kick the base in the face. Trump’s the “burn it down” candidate.

    Trump is not a social conservative, but crocodile tears of concern about social issues are wasted. Absent a revolution, gay marriage, abortion, Obamacare, etc. are now enshrined as settled law, thanks to the Nine Black Robers of Mordor on the Potomac. The social conservatives have lost, utterly. The first one has even gone to jail (and she’s a Democrat, apparently). The most conservative President imaginable (and we sure won’t get that!) won’t openly defy the Court to change the situation.

    So stop illegal immigration and/or burn the down the GOPe, those are the choices, and Trump suits both.

    1. I don’t give a copulation whether or not Trump is a social conservative (I hate social conservatives). He is not a conservative in any way. He’s a f**king populist. He’ll say whatever he thinks he needs to to get elected.

      1. You’re assuming he really wants to get elected (don’t get me wrong there’s good reason for that assumption, it’s just not one I am willing to make at this point). My thinking is no one has as yet sat him down and explained to him in unequivocal language just what he would be required to do if he gets elected.

        In the interim I fully agree with AZ and Jeff above; He’s eviscerating Bush and Rubio and stating clearly that immigration is the existential issue today. And I get to watch the reactions. Works for me.

        1. “You’re assuming he really wants to get elected (don’t get me wrong there’s good reason for that assumption, it’s just not one I am willing to make at this point).”

          I don’t think his ego would allow him playing the role you suggest.

  5. I read some other thoughts on Trump from Ed Driscoll over at Instapundit. In those comments, I also found an argument that bothers me regarding Fiorina, who I support for what seems to be the same reason people support Trump (she is mostly an outsider to the GOP and can destroy the establishment if given a voice). Fiorina made a statement in an Ace of Spades podcast that she thought she could use social media to inform her decisions as President. Consider that thought with this comment by Ed:
    “Which, to return to Carr’s theorem, sounds exactly like the nature of Twitter itself, doesn’t it?”
    Ed makes this comment after quoting this from Leon Wolf: “Donald Trump is the political equivalent of chaff, a billion shiny objects all floating through the sky at once, ephemeral, practically without substance, serving almost exclusively to distract from more important things – yet nonetheless completely impossible to ignore.”

    I agree with Ed and Leon, but in so doing, I have to acknowledge that Carly would be fool to use social media to inform her decisions. In fact, I’ll accept that Obama has tried to implement the same thing, and ultimately has been indifferent to the results. I also think Obama is a fool for his implementation and many other things.

    As for Trump, he’s the closest thing to SMOD IMHO. That said, I’m not sure if a Trump Presidency would be any worse than a McCain Presidency for the US on the whole. I wouldn’t support Trump for the candidacy, as I didn’t support McCain. But, I did vote for McCain against Obama, and as it was a doubly futile gesture (Obama of course won, but McCain easily carried Texas where I voted), I regret casting my vote for McCain (and John Cornyn who was down ballot). I see no reasons to have such regrets again this year. Texas isn’t in play for the Democrats (remember when Wendy Davis had a chance? Neither do I).

  7. Rand, the problem with wanting a “traditional” candidate to wreck the GOP is they all need the GOP and it’s money and networks to get elected. They become part of the system in the process and they have no motivation to do anything to upset the system that gets them elected. Trump does not need any of that, he can spit on the GOP and still have more money to spend than any other candidate in history. He is outside the system and does not need to negotiate his way past the GOP power structure, he can go directly to the people, and he is.

    What comes after him, who knows. He’s a wrecking ball, we’re the builders who come in later to fix things up. If we vote for the same corrupt political class to fill that void again, then we’ll get what we deserve. But maybe we can do better.

  8. Rand, the GOP base is vastly more conservative than the leadership, and feels stabbed in the back and spat upon by said leadership. The GOPe-approved candidates are not acceptable to the base. If the GOP base were mercenary, like the Donkey base, they’d shrug and vote for the GOPe candidate. But the GOP base *is* principled, and will not do so. That’s what’s tearing the party apart. About 1/3, maybe even 1/2, the most conservative of the party, are showing their anger.

    I dropped my GOP membership because I refused to acknowledge loyalty to the GOPe any longer. I’m done with them. I may vote for the eventual GOP candidate in 2016… or I may sit it out, or I may vote Dem, depending on how angry I am with the GOP on election day. My state will vote for the Dem candidate, so my vote will actually not matter. To a member of the GOP base, there is so little difference between the GOPe–“the elites”–and the Dems that a vote for one is as good as a vote for the other. Both want crony capitalism, which dovetails so nicely into financial fascism that I’m not sure there’s much difference; both want vast amounts of illegal immigration; both are now in favor of big government. And neither will do anything significant that the GOP base wants.

  9. If required to list my favorite non-fiction writers in order Jonah would probably find himself at the very top. But I think he’s a little over-baked on this one.

    Trump’s assaults on the press have only one standard: whether the journalist in question is favorable to Trump or not.
    Jonah, I assure you, his “assault” on Jorge Ramos was something people of ALL political persuasions were cheering.

    And if the conservative movement and the Republican party allow themselves to be corrupted by this flim-flammery, then so be it. My job will be harder [No it wouldn’t] my career will suffer [No it wouldn’t] and I’ll be ideologically homeless (though hardly alone) [Jonah, you’ll need to expand on that. Most people would consider it self-contradictory] That’s not so scary. Conservatism began in the wilderness and maybe, like the Hebrews, it would return from it stronger and ready to rule. [History is full of things that have returned from wilderness stronger for it. The Hebrews are but one example] But I’m not leaving without a fight. If my side loses that fight, all I ask is you stop calling the Trumpian cargo cult “conservative” and maybe stop the movement long enough for me to get off. [Deal]

  10. So Trump has in the past expressed many not so conservative views and so has Bush. From reading the comments, one might assume Tump might be rather ok with crony capitalism or chamber of commerce demands for open borders and same with Bush.

    The only difference I can see between a RINO like Bush and a RINO like Trump is that Trump is at least willing to pander to the base while Jeb would rather pander to people who shouldn’t be voting because of their citizenship status.

    Tell me, what is different between Trump and a RINO establishment candidate? Looks like just how they campaign. Trump wouldn’t be any different than Bush or McCain. None of these people are guided by what the base views as important. So why not pick the flashy showman panderer who likes to insult everyone and who ignores criticism?

    Trump figured out that as long as he doesn’t quit, he isn’t out of the race. You can’t make him quit. How many times have we seen the media make someone quit? Remember Herman Cain? Trump just decided not to play by the Democrat media’s rules.

    All this Trump controversy shows is that people are willing to vote for a RINO that tells them what they want to hear.

    1. One potential difference between Trump and Jeb Bush, the former might actually take a whack at the political bureaucracy. There’s a few lifers that need to hear “You’re Fired!”

    2. It is refreshing, at least, to have a frontrunning candidate who does not go scurrying in a tither at even the slightest criticism from the MSM, and whose supporters likewise do not abandon in the face of the hand-wringers’ onslaught.

      A couple of movie scenes pop into my head thinking about it. The Donald as Jack Napier in “Batman”, saying “This country needs an enema”, and blowing on a party favor. As Professor Terguson in “Back To School”, with a vein popping howl into their faces, “Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhggghhh!”

    3. I find all this comparison to Bush stuff very annoying. Bush is not the leading Republican candidate and never has been. What is happening is that the real candidates, the ones who would have been acceptable to the base, are getting swamped by this idiocy. Thanks.

      1. I used Bush/Trump because Trump is portrayed as not-a-real-Republican when in reality, he is like a RINO establishment candidate with the exception of having a personality and media savy.

        Trump is a real candidate. Nothing will make him quit except the voters, just like Hillary. Who knows how things will shake out when the voting starts?

        The other candidates have to make their own case and run their own campaigns. They can’t, or shouldn’t, expect gatekeepers to exclude those they deem unworthy.

        That the media doesn’t give much air time to others than Trump, is both a blessing and a curse. The media isn’t going to give any GOP candidates a fair shake Trump or no Trump.

  11. Why is Trump winning? In a word: celebrity. Name recognition and an illusory sense of camaraderie instantly give any reasonably well regarded celebrity a leg up. Arnold, Jesse, Cooter and Gopher and Sonny and Al … I’m sure there are others. They all won with little past experience or gravitas.

    I have significant reservations re The Donald. But, I am almost to the point of surrender that he will be the nominee, and 45th President of the United States. So, the next line of battle becomes influencing who his #2 will be, and who he will chose for his cabinet and advisers.

  12. Regarding the Trump phenomenon of some of his support coming from people who just want to give the finger to the party establishment, IMHO it’s interesting that the same sort of thing seems to be going on over on the Dem side, only moreso. Over there, you’ve got a flaky old Nazi freak show who isn’t even a member of their party gaining ground fast on Hillary (Tied with her in Iowa, too). Part of that is explainable due to voters fleeing scandal-plagued Hillary, but if that was the only part, I’d expect to see O’Mally doing better than he is.

    1. Good point. Is it the internet, where no matter how flaky your view, you can always find a community to give you external validation, that has driven everyone to extreme polarization and anger, to the point that they want a champion who will inflict punishment on the other side?

      1. Hrmm. I think you may have a point, Bart, in the role of the internet regarding polarization. However, IMHO what’s going on here can’t be explained by any one factor, so it’s got to be more than one.

  13. Ann Coulter wrote of Newt in 2011: “If all you want is to lob rhetorical bombs at Obama and then lose, Newt Gingrich — like recent favorite Donald Trump — is your candidate

    I can rest easy knowing that Ann Coulter’s deep understanding of culture and politics make her an excellent judge of just how the future will turn our depending on which candidate becomes president.

    This is the sort of empty-headed prediction I’d expect from Noonan.

  14. There was a huge amount of hand-wringing over the fear that Trump might, if he lost the nomination, run as an independent. That is a sensible concern to have, because such a run would hurt R chances, a lot. (I’ll also note that the pledge he signed doesn’t actually stop him from doing so).

    However, why isn’t anyone, anywhere (not that I’ve spotted, anyway) talking about a far greater likelihood of a primary looser running as an independent. The person in question has a history of running as an independent (many, many times, in fact) and still is one. I’m talking about Bernie Sanders, who isn’t even a member of the party whose nomination he’s seeking.

    IMHO, it’s the Democrats, not the Republicans, who face by far the biggest risk of being torpedoed by a sore-looser independent run. I’m just astounded that no one seems to be talking about it.

Comments are closed.