Friday, March 29, AD 2024 2:15am

Trump the Cockroach

Trump_Roach_300x262-300x262

I’m not sold on the idea that Clinton is unbeatable, least of all by Trump who, when it comes to the Clintons’ variety of thermo-nuclear scorched earth politics, is the equivalent of a cockroach.

Ernst Schreiber

Hattip to commenter Ernst Schreiber for the idea behind this post.

As faithful readers of this blog know, I am a strong opponent of Donald Trump.  I view him as an ignorant blowhard, a Democrat in a skimpy Republican disguise, and a disaster in the making of epic proportions if he should be elected President.  I will not vote for him if he is the Republican nominee, an easy call for me since if Illinois is in play Trump is heading for a landslide win in any case.  However, unlike many Trump critics my opposition to him does not have anything to do with his electability in the fall.  If Clinton is the Democrat nominee I think it likely that Trump will win.  Here is why.

1. Clinton Smear Machine-Unlike most candidates I think Trump is largely immune to smears.  Throughout his career he has been subject to a largely bad press.  Except for cannibalism and incest Trump has been charged with every crime imaginable and with some that truly do tax the imagination.  I doubt if there is much more that could be revealed to harm him.  Like Huey Long, the Kingfish of the Depression Era, he thrives on bad press and attacks.

2.  Colorful Career-As loathe as I am to admit it, there are elements in Trump’s career that will probably play well with the voters, including this incident, go here to read it, where Trump intervened to stop a violent mugging in progress.

3.  Wrong Clinton-I always said that Clinton had preternatural political skills, however that was Bill Clinton, who could probably have won an election after being discovered in bed with either a live boy or a dead girl.  His spouse on the other hand is a miserable politician who got beaten like a drum by Obama in 2008 and who has struggled to beat an elderly socialist this year.

4.  Empty Promises-Democrats have thrived over the years on making empty promises to voters with a straight face.  No one can out empty promise Donald The-Mexicans-Are-Going -To-Pay-For-The-Wall Trump!

5.  Outsider-This is clearly a year when the voters want an outsider.  Trump, the croniest capitalist, would seem to be the consummate insider, except when compared to Hillary Clinton.  In the primaries Trump has been able to paint himself as an outsider, and compared to Clinton it is not quite so laughable a claim.

6.  Scandals-Beltway pundits clearly underestimate public anger over Benghazi.  Tie that in with the e-mail crime scandal, and doubtless a lot of juicy tidbits being excavated by Trump’s opposition research, and Clinton will be on the receiving end of endless negative attack ads that would have bounced off her husband but likely will do damage to her.

7.  Jugular-Republicans frustrated by a too gentlemanly form of campaigning by their candidates will have nothing to complain about from Trump.  He will begin with throwing the kitchen sink against Clinton and proceed on from there.

Do I think Trump is a shoo in?  By no means.  He has given the Democrats plenty of ammo to ramp up Black and Hispanic turnout, the Ace in the Hole for Democrats. A fair number of Republicans like me will be sitting this one out.   However, Trump is not the usual type of Republican that Democrats campaign against.    Trump will be campaigning as a populist Democrat and I think frustrated Democrat strategists will often feel like they are fighting against themselves.  If Trump is the Republican nominee, God forbid, throw out the rulebook for the fall campaign, grab some popcorn and fasten your seatbelts, it will be an election campaign straight from the Bearded Spock Universe.

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Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 6:11am

Satan in a Hillary costume and a Godless socialist, both of whom think murdering babies up to the moment of delivery is just fine and dandy. It’s an easy call to vote for Trump if he’s the only alternative to one of them.

Don L
Don L
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 6:33am

As I asked decades ago in Psychology-100 class; how does one resolve an avoidance, avoidance, conflict?
The answer might well be to avoid both, since voting for the lesser of two evils has brought us to where we are. Then again, a voice in the back of my head keeps whispering…the devil you know…..
I’ll keep praying on it.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 6:42am

As to the mugging incident, I and my wife were at that exact Paula Abdul concert that night and were in her dressing room after the concert and after Trump was in her room prior… because my wife is Chinese and knew Abdul’s Chinese acupuncturist who traveled with her to keep her knee in perfect condition for dance moves. My wife at that age was stunning and petite and Abdul was pretty and petite and I thought Abdul was going to kidnap her so centered on my wife she became out of identity connections…and the exotic angle too.
My worry with Trump is North Korea. Although …that young madman might thrive on polite adversaries and he may be far more realistic as to what unleashing Trump may give our military….and mainly the air force which is not the macho ground fight Kim dreams about.

.Anzlyne
.Anzlyne
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 6:51am

During the run up to an election, Mr. Obama is still in the Oval Office and still powerful. I don’t know how he will influence the election since nothing at all is business as usual anymore.

Branch
Branch
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 7:40am

Father of Seven said it well. I will vote for whoever opposes Hilary. This is quite simple.

BPS
BPS
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 8:35am

All due respect to Don and his postion, but I’m with Father of Seven and Branch on this one. Voted in VA primary for Cruz last night and hope and pray he can pull it out. But if in November it’s Trump or Hillary, I’m voting Trump. My ONLY excuse will be “He’s better than Hillary”.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 8:48am

Thanks Donald for giving us more confidence about The Donald’s inevitable progress to the Presidency. Trump is the greatest transformative opportunity Republicans have had in years. They would be smart to recognize it and jump on the band wagon.

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 9:23am

“…it will be an election campaign straight from the Bearded Spock Universe.”
Good God yes.

Unless a miracle occurs and the Electoral College fulfills the duty envisaged by the Founders by rejecting our sociopaths, Americans who love their country will face four years of the agony booth.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 10:21am

Trump is the greatest transformative opportunity Republicans have had in years.
.
Sure. If you want to turn the Republican Party into the Democrat Party.
.
Unless a miracle occurs and the Electoral College fulfills the duty envisaged by the Founders by rejecting our sociopaths, Americans who love their country will face four years of the agony booth.
.
That’s the only scenario more unlikely than the brokered convention scenario.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 12:23pm

Ernst S.

Are you saying we need more of what we’ve got with the Republican party? Making the same mistake over and over is a sign of insanity.

Do you think Trump is any worse than Obama who is the process of completely destroying the country who would be followed by Hillary who would finish the job?

Trump is an independent and beholden to no one but the voters. If he wants to get reelected he will have to make the country a little better than he found it. That’s all we should ask.

Let’s give the guy a chance. Besides that his Presidency will be a great show for everyone.

Magdalene
Magdalene
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 1:24pm

Trump is a democrat masquerading as a republican. He is not pro-life either. Recall also the Clintons at his third marriage to the model who has nude pictures of her floating around. To vote the lesser of two evils is still to cast a vote for evil. Like Donald, I will not vote for president this time either but will vote the rest of the cast as best as I can.

Yet Trump the blowhard chump and his immoral wife really do , in a sense, capture what America has become.

Yes, the Clinton perhaps is more wicked. Not to mention inept. A sad choice if these are two.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 2:08pm

I’m saying that Trump is more of what we already have got with the Republican Party. Expecting a leopard to change its spots is the definition of insanity. I think Trump is Obama in white face. I’ll grant that he isn’t the rigid ideologue Obama is, but all that means is that Trump doesn’t like the results of Obama’s policies, not that he objects to them in and of themselves. To my mind, Trump has yet to demonstrate any understanding of why those policies fail, and why they are doomed to always fail, regardless of intentions or expertise or how much money is thrown at the problems those policies are ostensibly intnded to solve. Trump is a deal maker constrained by economics, just like the rest of us. Trump wants to “buy” our votes in exchange, it seems to me, for tough talk about borders and trade and greatness. Should he be elected, he will then have to deal with the Congressional and bureaucratic powers that can enact policies based on that tough talk. He will also, as you point out, needsome kind of record of success (however defined after the fact) to run on when he seeks reelection and for that he will also have to first deal with those powers. My guess is that they won’t deal as cheaply as the electorate seems to be willing to deal.

Fr. Frank
Fr. Frank
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 2:10pm

Trump vs Clinton = Malignant Narcissism Disorder vs Borderline Personality Disorder

“Put not your trust in princ(ess)es.” Ps. 146:3

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 2:37pm

Ed Driscoll citing Jonah Goldberg explains the Trouble with Trumples.

MichaelD
MichaelD
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 3:14pm

Ranking of outcomes for conservatives from best to worst:

1. Cruz or Rubio win primary and then general (Happily ever After scenario)
2. Trump wins primary. 3rd party Perry or Romney wins general (Cavalry scenario)
3. Cruz or Rubio win primary, unite the party but lose a close race to Clinton (Triumphant Clinton scenario)
4. Cruz or Rubio win primary, party is not united, Clinton wins (At Least We Saved the Party to Fight Another Day scenario)
5. Cruz or Rubio win primary, Trump wins as 3rd party (What are You Going to Do scenario)
6. Trump wins primary, Clinton wins general (It Could Be Worse scenario)
7. Trump wins primary, wins general (It is Worse scenario)

Obviously Cruz and Rubio or Romney and Perry are not exactly the same, but I just treated them as equal for simplicity.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 4:16pm

I’m not sure a Rubio win counts as a good outcome for conservatives, now that he’s the darling of the Republican establisment .

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 8:41pm

Ernst S: “That’s the only scenario more unlikely than the brokered convention scenario.”

Yeah, no foolin’

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 8:45pm

“Satan in a Hillary costume and a Godless socialist, both of whom think murdering babies up to the moment of delivery is just fine and dandy. It’s an easy call to vote for Trump if he’s the only alternative to one of them.”

How do we know that he never procured an abortion? His previous, uh, activities provide no confidence that he never did.

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, March 2, AD 2016 8:52pm

Fetus, you’re fired!

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 6:37am

I don’t know. However, the other two have a track record. So, voting in such a way that one of the two known, murderous psychopaths gets elected( for example: Hillary has happily won the Margaret Sanger award) is simply not a moral choice in my mind. I have no illusions about Trump. But maybe, just maybe, he will be somewhat accountable to those who elected him. Again, that’s my fear about the other two.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 9:10am

A concern I have about not voting for either candidate, if it’s down to Hillary v. Trump, is that a no vote would help the Clinton Death Express. I agree that Trump is at the very least a possible help to Life. Hillary… never!
I cringed when she told a group of killing machines; “Religions must change their views on abortion.”

A no vote is a vote for more killing of the innocents.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 9:22am

Philip is correct, of course.

MichaelD
MichaelD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 9:45am

Trump has zero credibility as a pro-life candidate. He is already defending Planned Parenthood in the primary. What happens when he veers to the left in the general?

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 9:56am

MichaelD.

I do not trust The Donald one iota.
But throwing the dice, sadly to say, is what it might come down to.
Hillary is a committed “snake eyes,” but with the billionaire boar there is at least a slim chance. I’ll take slim vs. none all day.

MichaelD
MichaelD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 10:14am

The problem with the slim chance is that you limit your ability to fight another day. I’d rather surrender a 1% chance at a pro-life president but with a 0% chance at one in 2020 for a 50% chance at a pro-life president in 2020.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 10:44am

Shame on my pessimistic outlook, but I can’t imagine that we as a nation will be standing upright after another four years of abortion on demand.
By then, another few million dead?

You may be correct however. After all, we have a Very Merciful Father.

Politically, this rift in the GOP is a wide vote of NO confidence. Hence the popularity of Trump. To say Donald is a Democrat is to say the GOP is Democrat lite. Both assumptions are correct. Hillary however is the worse kind of politician. One who believes her own lie’s to be Truth. The salesmen might be humbled into seeing his wrong, and working to fix it.
I don’t see that ever happening in Hillary’s lifetime.

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 11:08am

One other aspect of this is the truism from Reagan that “Personnel is policy!” As bad as a Trump presidency would be, the fellow travelers populating a Hillary or Bernie administration will cause more damage than that of a “Republican” Trump administration. Now, Ted Cruz still could pull things out, but I’m not counting on it. If not, I really don’t see any other choice if Trump is the nominee.

TomD
TomD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 11:10am

Anyone who is rationalizing a Trump presidency as a possible improvement over a Madame Clinton presidency is fooling themselves. We are making the same incremental acts of surrender to delusion that committed Clinton and Sanders supporters have already made.

If you want to vote for Trump to avoid Madame Clinton, fine, like Don McClarey. I can see some logic in it. But let’s not play pretend. Please, just stop the rationalizations!

The only simple way to avoid acts of surrender to fantasy would be for us to sit out a Trump-Clinton general election, or else mount a write-in campaign in the absence of a good third party candidate. We need to think seriously about national Reconstruction after the upcoming years in the agony booth are over. We can’t be serious of we fool ourselves.

TomD
TomD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 11:10am

IF we fool ourselves

Just me
Just me
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 11:43am

I agree with father of seven

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 11:45am

TomD.

A write in candidate in absence of a third party candidate would be a solution if we as a overwhelming mass could unite. In your opinion could that happen? Fantasy is never a good idea over reality, and I do see your point.
So what about it Tom? How do we get the numbers to agree on a write in?

The good news is that we have a common ailment to work against. This, if Trump is the nominee. I’m all for reality and a tangible solution. Keep searching for an answer is a good idea. Thanks.

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 12:30pm

A write-in candidate is not playing pretend?Talk about rationalizing a vote for the party of death. Yes, there is logic in avoiding a Hillary presidency. I fail to see any logic in making it a certainty.

William P. Walsh
William P. Walsh
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 12:49pm

If you reside in an overwhelmingly Democratic Party controlled state, a vote or non-vote on principle is an option and a political statement. Elsewhere, your vote, or your not voting, has effect. In that case a vote against Hillary Clinton is obligatory in almost any conceivable situation. She is the standard bearer for the pulling down of all the traditional standards of Western Civilization. She describes herself proudly an early Twentieth Century Progressive. Thank you Madam, for the fair warning.

TomD
TomD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 5:11pm

No, a write in candidacy is not pretend, if people see it as a means to promote someone for 2020. I agree it would have little to no impact on the 2016 race. If that race is a Trump – Clinton race then it is lost no matter who wins.

BTW, when I conceded that there is “logic” in voting for Trump, I concede that only for the purpose of denying the election to Clinton. Elect Trump and you will get Clinton with testosterone and bluster. That’s not a real bargain, and so that “logic” does not extend past the election.

TomD
TomD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 5:14pm

Reagan said that “Personnel is policy!”. Well, look, his successor gave us David Souter. Given Trump’s comments on Federal judges, it is highly unlikely that his judicial nominees would be much different than Clinton’s.

James Sammon,Des Moines, Washington
James Sammon,Des Moines, Washington
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 6:16pm

You won’t vote! Not acceptable to me. We absolutely know that if Hillary Clinton wins she will get the opportunity to add a few Liberal thinking judges to the Supreme Court. At least with Don Trump, thought it’s unknown at this time, he might actually appoint a Conservative or two.

Babies are dying hourly and you say, “I’ll sit this one out rather than take a chance with Trump!
Our Constitution is under attack and you say, “I’ll sit this one out rather than take a chance with Trump!
The future of our country is in jeopardy and you say, “I’ll sit this one out rather than take a chance with Trump. I am disappointed in your attitude, especially since you have so many readers.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 8:36pm

Aug 5th 2010. Chili. 2000 feet of solid rock between the trapped miners and their families.

Prayer. Perseverance. Faith.

Sixth nine days they hung on hope. They prayed. They persevered. God did not abandon them.

God will not abandon faithful souls.
God will hear our prayers. We must pray for our country. We are forgetting that we alone cannot have victory. He who can do all things can salvage the wreck. For 69 days these men faced a hopeless future, yet they didn’t give in.
They prayed. The families prayed. The world prayed too.

Least we forget.

Hope is not lost unless we forget.
These forty days should be a good reminder that in our bleak journey across this dessert, we are not alone. Thirty three miners. International help. Relentless Faith.

Let’s have that Faith as we face November.

Peace.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 8:58pm

October 13th they were rescued.

On the 93rd anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun in Fatima.

TomD
TomD
Thursday, March 3, AD 2016 10:23pm

Philip, you are basically right. Your last two posts describe where we need to be headed. This is not just about the outcome of one election, it is about our spiritual standing. This is where I wanted to head from my earlier posts on this thread.

There is a charismatic web site where the most Christian posters are admitting that Trump’s advance is showing that many self-described evangelical voters are really not that religious. These voters are not conservative because they are evangelical, they are evangelical (but only to a degree) because they are conservative. They are waking up to the fact that we Americans have much less faith than we thought we did.

We need to be better, but not just for this election. If we don’t turn back to God and reality we will keep getting candidates who will tell us the lies we want to hear, and those lies will grow and consume more of our moral imaginations. Only God knows what will happen if this is not arrested, but I think we can all hazard good guesses on that matter.

Philip
Philip
Friday, March 4, AD 2016 5:20am

Oh my goodness.
Desert not dessert.
&
Sixty nine days.

TomD.
We must call on God as if our lives depend upon it, since they do. Not just our own lives, but the future lives of the tiny one’s threatened by an abortion at all cost society.
I apologize for my many grammatical errors.

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