Lots of political activity this week. We've been watching various primaries, of course the debates were excruciating, the speeches and accusations continue, and the candidates are starting to jockey in a more serious manner for a position. I think really they all can see a scenario that leads to a brokered convention and then all bets are off. Then the fireworks will really fly and the outcome would very much be in doubt. Trump continues to exhibit such an unpresidential persona that it's a bit scary. I'm just not sure how he would fare as President. Sometimes folks grow into a job and maybe this would be the case, but it's difficult for me to see it.
We also saw Mitt Romney give a speech decrying Trump as President. It was interesting, but it really didn't turn out well. In fact, I think it was one of the biggest backfires of all time. Because right after the speech the Trump folks trotted out a video from 2012 in which Mitt was endorsed by Trump and Mitt praised him effusively. It was a pretty bad. And I think it made him look pretty small. I've said before that there are just so many folks in the establishment and the media who just don't get the Trump phenomenon. I saw a letter pasted below over on INFOWARS.com (hat tip to DC) and it pretty much sums up the Trump phenomenon:
Dear Representative,
From the time I was able to vote, I voted Republican. I am 80 years old, and have a great deal of respect and influence with hundreds of senior ball players who also network with thousands of others around the country.
I received your questionnaire and request for money and strongly agree with every question, as I have since Obama was elected. Unfortunately the one question that was missing is “What have the Republicans done for the American people?” We gave you a majority in the House and Senate, yet you never listened to us. Now you want our money.
You should be more concerned about our votes, not our money. You are the establishment, which means all you want is to save your jobs and line your pockets… Well guess what? “It’s not going to happen” You shake in your boots when I tell you we’re giving our support to TRUMP and he hasn’t asked for a dime.
You might think we are fools because you feel Trump is on a self destruction course, but you need to look beyond Washington and listen to the masses. Nobody has achieved what he has, especially in the liberal state of New York.
You clearly don’t understand why the Trump movement is so strong, so I’d like to share with you an analogy to help explain the Trump phenomenon. By the way, it’s not just the Republicans who feel ignored and disrespected, there are plenty of Democrats and Independents who also feel let down by the Washington elite. You seem to have forgotten about “We The People” and who hired you to represent us.
So here it is, the best analogy I could come up with. Here is the reason so many Americans have boarded the Trump Train, and why you’re pleas to come back to the party who deserted us, is falling on deaf ears:
You’ve been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately…You call the city and four different exterminators, but nobody could handle the job. There is this one guy however, who guarantees you he will get rid of them, so you hire him. You don’t care if the guy smells, you don’t care if the guy swears, you don’t care how many times he’s been married, you don’t care if he was friends with liberals, you don’t care if he has plumber’s crack…you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He’s the guy. He’s the best. Period. Here’s why we want Trump: Yes he’s a bit of an ass, yes he’s an egomaniac, but we don’t care. The country is a mess because politicians have become too self-serving. The Republican Party is two-faced & gutless. Illegal aliens have been allowed to invade our nation. We want it all fixed! We don’t care that Trump is crude, we don’t care that he insults people, we don’t care that he had been friendly with Hillary, we don’t care that he has changed positions, we don’t care that he’s been married three times, we don’t care that he fights with Megan Kelly and Rosie O’Donnell, we don’t care that he doesn’t know the name of some Muslim terrorist.
This country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being invaded by illegal aliens and bringing tens of thousands of Muslim refugees to America, while leaving Christians behind to be persecuted. We are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo and Hasid is part of a special group with special rights, to the point where we don’t even recognize the country we were born and raised in; “AND WE JUST WANT IT FIXED” and Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what the people want.
We’re sick of politicians. We’re sick of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. We just want this thing fixed. Trump may not be a saint, but he isn’t beholden to lobbyist money and he doesn’t have political correctness restraining him. All we know is that he has been very successful, he’s an excellent negotiator, he has built a lot of things, and he’s also not a politician. He’s definitely not a cowardly politician. When he says he’ll fix it, we believe him because he is too much of an egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar.
Oh yeah…I forgot…we don’t care if the guy has bad hair either.
We just want those raccoons gone.
Out of your house.
NOW!
So that pretty much explains it. The folks who are rabidly for Trump don't give a crap what the establishment, the media, the party, or anyone else thinks. They just want things "fixed". I still believe that Trump would not be a good President, but I understand their point.
If you've been reading for awhile, you know my focus and interest really lie in national security issues. I'm certainly not a social scientist or an economist (although I don't hesitate to offer a few opinions in those areas) but I do have some expertise and a good bit of passion around our standing in the world and how we go about helping to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren. One of the blogs I routinely peruse, War on the Rocks, has published an open letter from GOP National security leaders on their opposition to Trump as President.
You can read it here and it's copied below.
We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America’s role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous. We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria. But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency. Recognizing as we do, the conditions in American politics that have contributed to his popularity, we nonetheless are obligated to state our core objections clearly:
His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.
His advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars is a recipe for economic disaster in a globally connected world.
His embrace of the expansive use of torture is inexcusable.
His hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric undercuts the seriousness of combatting Islamic radicalism by alienating partners in the Islamic world making significant contributions to the effort. Furthermore, it endangers the safety and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of American Muslims.
Controlling our border and preventing illegal immigration is a serious issue, but his insistence that Mexico will fund a wall on the southern border inflames unhelpful passions, and rests on an utter misreading of, and contempt for, our southern neighbor.
Similarly, his insistence that close allies such as Japan must pay vast sums for protection is the sentiment of a racketeer, not the leader of the alliances that have served us so well since World War II.
His admiration for foreign dictators such as Vladimir Putin is unacceptable for the leader of the world’s greatest democracy.
He is fundamentally dishonest. Evidence of this includes his attempts to deny positions he has unquestionably taken in the past, including on the 2003 Iraq war and the 2011 Libyan conflict. We accept that views evolve over time, but this is simply misrepresentation.
His equation of business acumen with foreign policy experience is false. Not all lethal conflicts can be resolved as a real estate deal might, and there is no recourse to bankruptcy court in international affairs.
Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world. Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States. Therefore, as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.
Phew! Pretty powerful stuff. And I generally agree. But there are a couple of unknowns that give me some solace. Like I said before, perhaps he'll grow in the job. Others have. And perhaps his bluster is aimed at primary voters and he'll moderate as the general election grows near. Others have. But from a national security perspective, it's a risk.
Another phenomenon has occurred in the last week. I'm not sure if it's because of Trump's increased vitriol or Rubio's inability to get traction or Cruz's advisors have told him to soften his image, but I've started to see Cruz moderating a bit and becoming more acceptable. I still don't like him. I still think he's a bit of a sleaze. But I could actually see myself supporting him if he moves a bit back from his stridency. And as I said above, most do when they get to a general election, so we'll see.
And finally, there is one fundamental truth. As has been the case all along and will be until election day, any of these guys is better than the criminal or the socialist. Infinitely better.
