* * *
“The two living Republican past presidents, George H. W.
Bush and George W. Bush, have no plans to endorse Trump, according to their
spokesmen.” So said the lead story in The Washington Post.
Graceless, yes, but not unexpected. The Bushes have many
fine qualities. Losing well, however, is not one of them.
And they have to know, whether they concede it or not,
that Trump’s triumph is a sweeping repudiation of Bush Republicanism by the
same party that nominated them four times for the presidency.
Not only was son and brother, Jeb, humiliated and chased
out of the race early, but Trump won his nomination by denouncing as rotten to
the core the primary fruits of signature Bush policies.
Twelve million aliens are here illegally, said Trump,
because the Bushes failed to secure America’s borders.
* DAMN RIGHT! (OF COURSE, IT GOES BACK TO 1964/65, AND OF
COURSE EVEN THE GREAT REAGAN GOT BAMBOOZLED BY THE DEMOCRATS OF THE 80's, BUT
BOTH BUSHES - FATHER AND SON - BEAR A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
CONTINUING DECLINE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.)
America has run up $12 trillion in trade deficits and
been displaced as the world’s first manufacturing power by China, said Trump,
because of the lousy trade deals backed by Bush Republicans.
* YEP.
The greatest strategic blunder in U.S. history, said
Trump, was the Bush II decision to invade Iraq to disarm it of non-existent
weapons of mass destruction.
* YEP. (AND FULL DISCLOSURE, I MYSELF INITIALLY SUPPORTED
THE RECKLESS DECISION. I WAS WRONG TO DO SO.)
The war Bush began, says Trump, produced 5,000 American
dead, scores of thousands wounded, trillions of dollars wasted, and a Middle
East sunk in civil-sectarian war, chaos and fanaticism.
* YEP.
That is a savage indictment of the Bush legacy. And a
Republican electorate, in the largest turnout in primary history, nodded, “Amen
to that, brother!”
No matter who wins in November, there is no going back
for the GOP.
Can anyone think the Republican Party can return to open
borders or new free-trade agreements like NAFTA?
Can anyone believe another U.S. Army, like the ones Bush
I and Bush II sent into Afghanistan and Iraq, will be mounted up and march to
remake another Middle East country in America’s image?
Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom are history.
What the Trump campaign revealed, as Republicans and even
Democrats moved toward him on trade, immigration and foreign policy, is that
Bush Republicanism and neo-conservatism not only suffered a decisive defeat,
they had a sword run right through them.
* WELL... NO... A BIT OF WISHFUL THINKING ON PAT'S PART;
AFTER ALL... HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON IS A LEADING NEOCON AND BELIEVER IN THE NWO.)
They are as dead as emperor-worship in Japan.
* AGAIN... NO... THEY'RE NOT. THEY SHOULD BE... BUT
THEY'RE NOT.
Trump won the nomination, he won the argument, and he won
the debate.
* ONLY WITH THE PEOPLE; NOT NECESSARILY WITH THE ELITES;
INDEED, DEFINITELY NOT WITH THE ELITES.
(*SIGH*)
The party is now with Trump — on the issues.
* NO. THE PEOPLE MAY BE. THE PARTY ISN'T.
For GOP elites, there can be no going back to what the
grass roots rejected.
* I WISH THIS WERE TRUE, BUT, I FEAR IT'S NOT. TRUMP
SUCCEEDED BECAUSE HE'S TRUMP. YES, THE IDEAS ARE POWERFUL, BUT, SEE HOW RON
PAUL FAILED... SEE HOW RAND PAUL FAILED... SEE HOW BUCHANAN HIMSELF IS A HERO
TO ME AND YES, MILLIONS OF OTHERS, BUT, NOT TO THE NATION AS A WHOLE. THERE ARE
FAR MORE "LOOTERS" (AND WOULD-BE/WANNA-BE "LOOTERS") THAN
THERE ARE "RANDIANS."
What does this suggest for Trump himself?
* HE HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT FOR HIM. I HOPE AND PRAY HE
"FORGIVES" BOTH PAUL AND CRUZ AND SEEKS THEIR ADVICE AND COUNSEL
SHOULD HE BE ELECTED!
While Trump ought to keep an open door to those he
defeated, the greatest mistake he could make would be to seek the support of
the Establishment he crushed by compromising on the issues that brought out his
crowds and brought him his victories and nomination.
* IT'S GONNA BE A FINE LINE TO WALK. WE SHALL SEE.
Given Trump’s negatives, the Beltway punditocracy is
writing him off, warning that Trump either comes to terms with the Establishment
on the issues, or he is gone for good. [But...]
History teaches otherwise.
* YEP!
Hubert Humphrey closed a 15-point gap in the Gallup poll
on Oct. 1 to reach a 43-43 photo finish with Richard Nixon in 1968.
President Gerald Ford was down 33 points to Jimmy Carter
in mid-July 1976, but lost by only 2 points on Election Day.
In February 1980, Ronald Reagan was 29 points behind
Jimmy Carter, whom he would crush 51-41 in a 44-state landslide.
Gov. Michael Dukakis left his Atlanta convention 17
points ahead of Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1988. Five weeks later,
Labor Day, Bush had an eight-point lead he never lost, and swept 40 states.
What this suggests is extraordinary volatility of the
electorate in the modern age. As this year has shown, that has not changed.
How then should Trump proceed?
Unify the party, to the degree he can, by keeping an open
door to the defeated and offering a hand in friendship to all who wish to join
his ranks, while refusing to compromise the issues that got him where he is. If
the Bushes and neocons wish to depart, let them go.
* AMEN!
Lest we forget, Congressman John Anderson, who lost to
Reagan in the primaries, bolted the party and won 7 percent of the national
vote.
Ted Cruz, who won more states and votes than all other
Trump rivals put together, should be offered a prime-time speaking slot at
Cleveland — in return for endorsing the Trump ticket.
* CRUZ SHOULD HAVE ENDORSED TRUMP FROM THE SAME PODIUM HE
USED TO "SUSPEND" HIS CAMPAIGN. SHAME ON TED CRUZ.
As the vice presidential nominee remains the only drama
left, Trump should hold off announcing his choice until closer to Cleveland; for
while that decision will leave one person elated, it will leave scores
despondent. And the longer Trump delays his announcement, the more that those
who see themselves as a future vice president will be praising him, or at least
holding off from attacking him.
* MAKES SENSE...
Ultimately, the Great Unifier upon whom the Republican
Party may reliably depend is the nominee of the Democratic Party — Director
James Comey and his FBI consenting — Hillary Rodham Clinton.
* YEP...!
No comments:
Post a Comment