Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Campaign 2016 How is he doing it?

How is he doing it? I did a little self-directed, nonscientific poll of my own to try and figure out why. I talked with 10 people, 5 Dems and 5 Conservatives (being a republican in MA is like being in a closet. People tend to brand themselves a (something) conservative. I picked these people because I knew their phone numbers and knew their politics to a certain extent. All but 2 disliked Hillary, but 4 of the 5 Dems would hold their nose and vote for her. What surprised me was the respect that Donald Trump got. Everybody thought he was a loose cannon, nobody thought he could have gotten this far and 6 out of 10 thought he could win in Nov.

Donald Trump is proving the pundits wrong. When he first got into the race for the Republican nomination the pundits laughed. After he claimed Mexico was send her criminals and rapists to America they all proclaimed that Trump was doomed. It has been a meteoric rise since he uttered that statement. Forget that it was taken as a stand-alone statement by the press, his original statement was not “quite” as bad. What everybody forgot was that there was a kernel of truth in that statement.
“"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," Trump said. “They're not sending you…They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/po...ists-across-border-hed-make-country-pay/
Since he made that statement he has made similar impolitic statements that have either been ignored or embraced by his supporters. Every time he makes another political misstep, the press proclaims him DOA and his poll numbers climb. But, unlike with other candidates, time does not correct the obvious mistake that the polls seem to have ignored. It is a conundrum for candidates of both parties. Can you imagine a world where PC thought and action was no longer enforceable? Where common sense, at least what the Donald thinks is common sense, rules over politics? Where the leader of the free world actually told the unvarnished truth? What could we possibly do?

Now, the press is crying about what a disaster a Trump Administration would be. What would our allies think? How badly he is scaring the GOP leadership. Yet, he only gets stronger. I have an experiment for all of you, I did the same experiment myself; ask anybody who is politically aware who they believe is actually telling the voting public what he really thinks. I asked 10 people, all them told me Trump. They were people I know followed politics and only a couple admitted to supporting Trump. There in lay the brilliance and the danger of the Trump candidacy to the establishment. Trump comes across as loose cannon without any filter, but a candidate who is telling people exactly what he really feels. The problem for the establishment is a majority of Americans probably agree In part with what Trump is saying.

As the candidates fall by the way side, the most surprising event is that Trump is not one of them. But, what to watch for is where those disaffected votes go. So far, the only big gun to go has been Jeb Bush, the original milquetoast candidate. I had hopes for Carley, but she couldn’t break through the noise. I kind of like Kasich, but his position on immigration makes him kind of a no-go to most of the people I talked with.

I am not a Donald guy. He is a caricature, not a serious leader. But his campaign is amazing and America is encouraged and excited (or depressed and horrified) by what they are witnessing. Somebody who does not fit the mold, somebody who does try to fit the mold, somebody who not care if he fits the mold is leading the race for President in a major political party. The closest I can remember is Ross Perot, and he was more of a protest candidate. The Donald actually believes that he can win, and so do his supporters. If America is not careful, we have a Trump Administration, and I have to admit I am curious what that would be like.

Germans say he's a little too close to an Austrian painter they once knew for their own comfort.
I tend to take Germans at their word when they spotlight proto-fascists in training.
Michael Godwin just announced that it's okay to dispense with Godwin's Law when talking about Trump, just so long as you understand what national socialism really is.

My own mother once poked fun at him back in the late 80's when he was strutting around Mar-A-Lago on TV.

"He acts like he's an Il Duce!"
My Mom oughta know, her family fled Mussolini.

Watching him incite thug beatings at his events, I'm even more convinced that he's not just a bad choice, he's downright dangerous.

He has already ticked all the checkboxes for fascism, so what's left? An enabling act?
He'll demand it. He's accustomed to having his way, and it sure does seem like his constituents are accustomed to having theirs.

I always knew that there was a budding proto-fascist underbelly in this great nation of ours.
I just didn't realize that the last thirty-five years had been a super-gestation period for the Baby Huey monstrosity it has become now.

Between the rabid, foaming at the mouth Christian Reconstructionists who want to toss out the Constitution and replace it with the Bible, and the Trump-a-holics who would gladly hand Reichsmachen fuehrer powers directly to The Donald, I no longer think that Americans who understand the importance of a secular constitutional republic governed by an elected bicameral legislature and balanced by a tripartite system of checks and balances hold a majority.

In other words, I am becoming convinced that we are ripe for transformation into the Fourth Reich.

The photo below is from a parade in GERMANY:



Oh, did I mention that he "loves the poorly educated"??

Haw haw haw...
It's fun to watch trump pick the GOP's pockets of their hick vote. I think he knows a good thing when he sees one and watching the tea party challenge the party establishment and win, by stirring up the hicks, showed him the way.
Watching the exasperated party leaders all slack jawed and red faced as their hand raised haters follow him over the hill has got to be one of the biggest political hijackings I've ever seen. As of today he's even bagged his first congressional endorsement, Collins of NY.
Republican's political strategy has been stirring up righteous indignation and fear for years. Trumps beating them at their own game.

A Trump administration will be less fun to watch than the campaign. But it'll only be four years....

I don't think there ever will be a Trump administration. There are enough sensible Republicans who would sooner vote for a Democrat or just stay home, than vote for Trump. Or maybe they will get to a brokered convention, Rubio will prevail, and Trump will go Third Party resulting in a massive Democratic rout.

chunkstyle is right: The Republican Party made these folks. Trump just came along and decided to show how weak the party really is, in that he could grab 35% of their votes and get to the convention ahead of the real Republicans.

Really? You actually believe this? Have you forgotten how much they hate Hillary Clinton? Republicans don't vote FOR anything. They vote against everything.

Sensible Republicans.....uh huh....no oxymoron there. Have you forgotten just how much they hate you and me and everything we stand for? And we're old white guys just like them. The hate Blacks, Hispanics and Muslims even more, and their hatred doesn't stop there. Their hatred knows no bounds anymore. Donald Trump has set them free.
I don't think he will win in the general election either. But it's not because I think Republicans won't vote for him. They will vote for anyone with a R beside their name no matter how despicable, no matter how racist, no matter how unqualified. Republican voters are better educated, wealthier, and much whiter than their Democratic counterparts. Trump will lose because poorer, less educated, and less white people outnumber them. And the less affluent voters have a bigger stake in this election than just the hatred that motivates the right.

I think he has a better than even chance at winning in Nov. His constituency is pretty broad, and pretty deep. If he can keep himself from stepping on his dick, he will be the Republican nominee and a Trump/Clinton election would be a "Who do you like least" election.

I was shocked at how much my friends actually liked his campaign, although they were outraged at his lack of restraint. What they most appreciated was the fact that he had no filter. One Dem told me how refreshing it would be if he were a Dem. Almost to a person they did not trust Hillary.

It is going to be fun. Just imagine what Trump will say about Bill and Hillary in the general election. Just wait what Hillary will say about Trump in the general election. It will be the wild wild west of elections. The debates will be must watch TV. Who says politics is boring?

Tim

If I remember correctly Trump is a guy who, for years, supported single payer healthcare. He is also for fixing, and increasing Social Security. For years he has been for choice (but not currently). The problem with Trump is pretty simple, he is not real big with facts and truth. My own thought is that he is a stalking horse for the Dems. Just think. He wins the Republican nomination and then declines, and proceeds to point out that the Republican candidates, AND voters, are bat sh*t crazy and ignorant. That, I suspect, would leave the Republicans in a REALLY bad place?

I guess I should mention that Rubio, as far as truth is concerned, wins handily over Trump and Cruz, neither of which are real big on the truth:
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/ted-cruz/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/marco-rubio/

I always get the hiccups whenever I read that they are better educated. I have real problems trying to swallow the concept of people who believe in crap like [size:17pt][color:#FF0000]this[/color][/size] being better educated.

Not because it pisses me off, but because it defies logic.
They want to create an entirely NEW class of undocumented people while extolling the virtues of deporting the ones we already have!
And, these new ones won't have ANY country at all!
To say nothing of the single moms who got knocked up due to rape.
This must be a brand new PRO LIFE idea!

But they're better educated? Naaah, no way. They went to better schools, they boinked wealthier cheerleaders, they drank at better frat parties, they cheated on better exams, they bribed better university regents, but they are not better educated than their liberal counterparts.

Which is why GOP conservatives can relate to The Donald and side with him.