Heh.
Ames, Iowa (CNN)Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump Tuesday at an Iowa campaign stop, delivering a raucous speech full of Palin-isms during her return to the presidential campaign trail.
The Trump phenomenon sure is interesting. He has a lot of support and yet I don’t personally know anyone who is a Trump supporter – and I know a lot of conservatives. As far as I can tell, Trump supporters fall into the following categories:
Democrats – they want a Democrat to win the general, so they are pushing for Trump to win the Republican nomination. They figure he’s the easiest of the lot to beat.
Populists – Trump is singing the populist tune, which is funny since he’s a Manhattan billionaire. But some folks are buying it.
Anarchists – they hate the two-party establishment and just want to roll Trump into it like a grenade with bad hair to see what happens.
Idiots – this includes the conservatives who have bought his bullshit.
Opportunists – this is probably where Palin falls – and Rush and Hannity. Trump is rich and popular right now and they want to glom onto that popularity for their own purposes. Palin is a fallen star and this is a chance for her to be relevant.
I’ll quibble: the Democrats want Trump nominated so THEY can win, either way. Besides, HRC and The Bern can not win, and do you really think that Uncle Joe Biden (the one you usually keep in the attic) is a contender?
Fair enough. I’d buy that
Palin just threw out any conservative credentials she had.
The Donald is pro unborn baby killing, pro eminent domain for private use, donated heavily to Clinton’s, and is the ultimate crony capitalist!
His past positions might be less conservative than Hillary!
Palin is dead to me, when it come to political endorsements.
Which leads me to ask, do the Republican and Democratic parties represent the will of the people or the will of the parties? A person can’t possibly run as a third party candidate and expect to win due to how the Republicans and Democrats have the deck stacked. The only way for someone to have a chance is to run as either a Republican or a Democrat. They need to look at where they stand the best chance of winning when they decide to run as either a Republican or Democrat.
Does the establishment wing of either party want Sanders or Trump representing the party? Hell no. But that’s the system they designed. But may they represent the will of the people? Very possibly so.
A case in point would be, could David Clark win an election if he ran as a Republican in Milwaukee county? Probably not. Could David Clark win an election if he ran as a Democrat in Washington county? Hell no.
Pat,
Liberal media problem.
They praise Trump, Sanders, Hillary with skewed coverage, the 3 worst candidates in the race, but savage on very different standards, good candidates like Walker, Paul, Rubio, Cruz, or Fiorina.
That is the problem.
The liberal media has been extra exposed in this election.
Owen must not have a wide circle of friends because Trump supporters are real and numerous.
One poll showed people who favor elimination of virtually all immigration AND are opposed to any cut in Social Security and Medicare account for 20 percent of voters. Just that one pair of policy preferences consumes one-fifth of the electorate even though it’s hard to find a single Congressman who holds both positions. Trump speaks to a significant slice of the population that’s virtually unrepresented in elite politics.
I’ll also include an anecdote, which I realize is different from polling, but here it goes. A high school classmate of mine, a long-time Republican voter, has two teenage daughters, and he worries about them “being a minority in their own country.” Want to guess who he supports?
Kevin,
What you’re saying has nothing to do with the questions I raise.
Pike,
The one proud Trump supporter I know is usually very ignorant of politics and hardly ever votes.
Pat,
Sure it does. Liberal media insures the worst possible choices for change rise to the top in perpetuating the two party system.
The so called liberal media has nothing to do the the Republican/Democrat lock on elections.
Pat,
If Libertarians were covered like Republicans/Democrats were…might be a different story.
There really is no need for Socialist/Communist Paty since Democrats have literally adopted the entire 1928 Socialist Party Platform.
Kevin,
“If Libertarians were covered like Republicans/Democrats were…might be a different story.”
No it wouldn’t.
Pat,
Then solution is to work through the Republican Party to nominate someone good. I’d consider almost anyone other than Trump in this category in this field of Republicans (with serious concerns about Carson’s debating ability.)
Democrats are in impossible to reform, they are hoplessly big government and want to even destroy the 1st amendment now.
My problem is that both the Democratic and Republican parties are corrupt by basically having a monopoly on the election process. Neither party is better than the other.
Republicans with Trump as president…agreed, no difference between parties.
Republicans with Rubio, Cruz, Paul, Fiorina, or Kasich as President, there is a difference.
It’s also tough to argue there was no difference between Obama and George W.
Again Kevin, what you’re saying has nothing to do with the questions I raise.
kev:
So Rush and Hannity are part of the liberal media ? Please expand on that so the rest of the world understands.
“Democrats have literally adopted the entire 1928 Socialist Party Platform.” Really? Please compare and contrast the two.
“It’s also tough to argue there was no difference between Obama and George W.” Really? You will have to provide some proof of this claim as well.
Baldy,
Rush and Hannity talk about Trump, but have not endorsed him. It does make me a little ill they give him so much coverage, especially to the fakest conservative of them all.
kev:
Well Owen disagrees with you.
Any proof of your other claims?
I guess I am both an idiot and a former classmate of Northern Pike.
I likely vote Cruz come April but think the fact a segment of the Wisconsin online conservative intelligensia don’t get Trump and blame his supporters, sort of explains why we are at this point.
As I have noted many times on here, with the dissolution of the traditional media by the internet, it has been a good time career wise to be a conservative pundit like Sykes, Jonah Goldberg, etc. For those in other industries fhe past decade hasn’t been so great.
And I think it goes well beyond the debates we would have on here ten years ago regarding the US population just needing to leave the horse and buggy era and reinvent themselves in the new digital economy and everything will be fine.
At the end of the day there are probably a few billion people outside the US who are willing to work for peanuts in unsafe conditions; and they’ll do the work either in their home countries or get imported into this country (with the side benefit of being ready made Democratic voters).
I don’t have the answer to it but I know the solution doesn’t involve open borders, unfettered free trade, no antitrust enforcement and more tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts, which is what many of us have gotten as answers……..from GOP politicians.
And I think you can be seriously concerned about these issues as I am and also be a strong supporter of conservative reforms such as Act 10, Voter ID, school choice, etc.
Owen’s can’t find any Trump supporters? Let me guess. You didn’t know anyone who loved Sarah, either.
SA
Interesting thoughts as always .
I’m convinced Trump and Cruz are toxic in the general , even against an incredibly weakened HRC
I also think Rubio would win a general but
Doesn’t work the street hard enough to beat a retail , organized candidate like Cruz or a media phenomenon like Trump
I’m not a fan of Hillary but I am a fan of the prosperity of 1992-2000 .
I’m not voting for sainthood, I want our roads and bridges repaired , our schools improved
And for us not to nation build in 15 countries at a time .
Put that nativism in the closet and come up a reasonable immigration plan and quit talking so much about religion and act morally toward others
Have a great army and be smart enough to use use it wisely and rarely
And quit deciding what my daughters and wife can do with their bodies . If you do , you can have the guns you want
I’d vote for a left handed leprechaun if they had that platform
Mark:
Trump really doesn’t have a plan, just a lot of talk without substance.
Cruz is dangerous, like the second coming of Tailgunner Joe McCarthy.
A family member who works inside the beltway says that Rubio has made significant enemies within the republican establishment due to a long tail of backstabbing friends and staff. Word is he will never get the big $$ from traditional big donors.
And I am with you on the leprechaun. They have my vote with that platform.
I truly have no sympathy for you. Trump, Cruz and Palin are all creations of the Republican party. You reap what is sowed.