Sally Zelikovsky writing in the American Thinker
* * *
* FIRST OF ALL... WHO THE HECK IS SALLY ZELIKOVSKY?
DAMNED IF I KNOW!
(*GRIN*)
* BUT... LET ME ENGAGE IN A ONE-SIDED "CONVERSATION"
WITH HER.
* YOU'RE UP, SALLY!
I’m not a wishy-washy or indecisive person but jumping
aboard the Trump Train has, at times, felt more like riding an emotional roller
coaster than an iron horse.
One day I’m the person talking others into voting for
Donald Trump and then, just when I’m ready to throw my full weight behind him,
he’ll say something or I’ll read an article or have a conversation with
someone, and I start second-guessing myself.
* OK. TWO RELATED POINTS: 1) DON'T RELY UPON WHAT YOU
READ. SIMPLY PUT... MOST FOLKS WHO WRITE FOR A LIVING CAN'T BE TRUSTED; 2) EVEN
IF YOU'RE REACTING TO A SOUND BITE... AND ACTUAL QUOTE... BEAR IN MIND THAT
CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING. I SUGGEST READING FULL SPEECH AND INTERVIEW
TRANSCRIPTS... OR WATCHING ENTIRE "IN CONTEXT" VIDEOS FOR YOURSELF.
* AND THIS ADVICE APPLIES TO EVERYONE!
I am not alone. Millions of conservatives, who supported
candidates other than Donald Trump but are committed to vote for the Republican
nominee, suffer from this affliction. We understand what Trump is doing and
what his appeal is - and we wholeheartedly concur. But, we question his
devotion to conservative principles...
* ME TOO.
* THAT SAID... WHAT IS "CONSERVATIVE?" FOLKS...
IF ANY OF YOU MISSED MY POST FROM YESTERDAY ON JACKSONIAN THOUGHT VS.
"CONSERVATIVE" THOUGHT... I URGE YOU TO READ THAT PARTICULAR POST.
...and have concerns about how he will govern.
* HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON WOULD "RULE" AS A
CORRUPT DICTATOR. WE KNOW THAT. BERNIE SANDERS AND EVEN BARACK OBAMA ARE TRUE
LEFTISTS... THEIR POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS ARE WRONG... BUT NEITHER IS AN HONEST TO
GOODNESS "CROOK" AND PHONY THE WAY CLINTON IS. YOU FOLKS KNOW IT'S
TRUE! EVEN YOU LEFTIES READING THIS KNOW IT'S TRUE!
We want to stand by our conservative convictions but we
also want to be pragmatic.
* I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR
"CONSERVATIVE CONVICTIONS" ACTUALLY ARE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN
BY "PRAGMATIC." ALL I KNOW FOR SURE IS THAT TIME AND AGAIN THE RINOs
HAVE BETRAYED US. AND... THEY WON'T CHANGE UNTIL... UNLESS... SOMEONE FORCES
THEM TO CHANGE. I BELIEVE DONALD TRUMP IS THAT SOMEONE.
* FOLKS. YOU'LL FREE TO BELIEVE RAND PAUL... OR RON
PAUL... OR TED CRUZ... OR EVEN "MY" GUY PATRICK J. BUCHANAN WOULD
MAKE A BETTER PRESIDENT... WOULD VANQUISH THE RINOs... BUT IN THE WORLD OF
REALITY... NONE OF THESE GUYS IS GONNA BE THE GUY RUNNING AGAINST HILLARY (OR
WHOMEVER THE DEMS END UP RUNNING). IN THE REAL WORLD IT'S TRUMP... OR A
LEFTIST. AND AS I'VE EXPLAINED TIME AND TIME AGAIN, IF WE CAN'T WIN BACK THE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH IN NOVEMBER... SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL/DEMOGRAPHIC REALITY SAYS WE
NEVER WILL. THERE'LL BE NO "SECOND CHANCE." THERE'LL BE NO FUTURE
"PRESIDENT PAUL" OR "PRESIDENT CRUZ" ABSENT A PRESIDENT
TRUMP WHO STOPS THE FORWARD PROGRESS OF THE LEFT.
* ^^^ THIS... IS... THE... REALITY!
We aren’t #nevertrumpers. We will vote for Anyone But
Hillary. We do not want to stay home on Election Day.
* THERE WE GO... "WE DO NOT WANT..."
(*SMIRK*)
* I THOUGHT SHE STARTED OFF BY SAYING SHE WASN'T "WISHY-WASHY."
(*SIGH*)
We do not want a third-party candidate - and we certainly
don’t want to vote for Gary Johnson.
* AGAIN WITH THIS "WE DON'T WANT" CRAP.
We do not want this vote to go to the House. We do not
want to do anything to hand a victory to Clinton.
* GOOD! THEN SUPPORT TRUMP! PERIOD!
We want to vote for the most conservative candidate who
can win - and that clearly is Trump - but we don’t want it on our shoulders if
he turns out to be a dud.
* AGAIN... I KNOW I SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD... BUT
WHAT IS IT ABOUT DEMOGRAPHIC REALITY THAT SO MANY PEOPLE JUST DON'T GET? WHAT
IS IT ABOUT "IF THE LEFTIST GET JUST ONE MORE SEAT ON THE U.S. SUPREME
COURT" THAT CERTAIN HAND-WRINGING MORONS CAN'T COMPREHEND...?!?!
The schemes of the #nevertrumpers do not appeal to us nor
are they viable. Their never-ending quest for a better, more palatable
candidate is at best a pipe dream. Their insistence that Trump will ruin the
country, fails to acknowledge that that country is already long gone, has been
decimated by eight years of Obama, and will never recover from a Hillary
presidency.
* EXACTLY!
Their concern that Trump would usher in the death of the
GOP is blind to the fact that the GOP is already in a death spiral.
* AND THANK GOD FOR THAT! THE GOP MUST BE REMADE! FROM
WITHIN!
And their fantasies about some kind of spoiler candidate
who would throw the vote to the House, is guaranteed to sound the death knell
for the GOP and ensure that the 2018 elections are a bloodbath.
(*NOD*)
Even worse, they have put their playground politics ahead
of national security by refusing to join forces with the one candidate who
isn’t afraid to say Islamic. Radical. Jihad.
(*NOD*)
If they truly believe that a Clinton back in the Oval
Office, a Democrat-controlled Congress, and a Supreme Court stocked with young,
healthy progressives will teach the rest of the GOP a lesson, then they should
just buy a pitcher of Kool-Aid pitcher and get it over with: they are not
Republicans or conservatives.
* I'D COUNSEL SUICIDE... MASS SUICIDE.
There was a time when we might have been somewhat
sympathetic to some of the concerns expressed by the #nevertrumpers, but their
relentless, tone deaf pushback has only served to antagonize, and drive us
further into the embrace of Trump. A few examples will illustrate.
* NOW SHE'S SINGING MY TUNE!
When Paul Ryan hemorrhages about Trump not being P.C., he
sends a message to the millions backing Trump because of his anti-PC approach,
that he really doesn’t have our six. Not only is Ryan doing the unthinkable and
downright treasonous - siding with the Democrat-Media Complex - but he has
become a general in the P.C. Army, wielding his cudgel of political correctness
against... his own kin.
* AS I'VE BEEN POINTING OUT! (I WARNED YOU PEOPLE ABOUT
RYAN! I TOLD YOU WHO HE WAS AND WHAT HE'D DO!)
Then there is Romney; the Pusillanimous.
* F--KING DICK!
After repeatedly failing to fight back about his wealth,
women in binders, the 47%, and Obama’s lies about Benghazi, it turns out he’s
more Romney, the Raging Pugilist - only he’s throwing punches at the wrong guy.
Add to that his comments about “trickle-down racism” and we are left with a man
who has little regard for the people, doesn’t believe we can think for
ourselves, and openly maligns Trump and his supporters as racists. With friends
like that who needs Democrats.
* EXACTLY!
While an entire cadre of writers at National Review fits
the bill, Jay Nordlinger is this week’s stand out: he’s leaving the GOP because
the GOP left him by allowing Trump to be the nominee.
* DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT... JACKASS.
What rock was this self-proclaimed quintessential
conservative hiding under when the Tea Party was agitating - nay, begging - for
the GOP to adhere to conservative principles?
Where was he the last 30 years when conservatives
reluctantly voted for moderates like Dole, McCain, and Romney, and for some,
both Bushes?
What planet was this National Review sweetheart living on
such that he missed the noise conservatives made whenever a candidate they
supported turned out to be a quisling once inside the Beltway? Got Martha
McSally?
(*SNORT*)
The GOP left conservatism in the dust decades ago, but I
guess Jay Nordlinger’s been too busy typing about being a true blue
conservative to notice.
GOP leadership and punditry can ignore the people they
ask for money, votes, and support, only for so long. They can water down
conservatism only for so long. As some point the masses will rebel and that is
happening with the ascendancy of Donald Trump.
(*NOD*)
But why do so many informed, intelligent conservatives
support a guy who is so unpolished? So inarticulate? So inconsistent? So
unprepared? Someone who, in the words of the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly
Strassel, is clearly winging it?
* FOLKS... TRUMP IS TRUMP. HE'S NOT PERFECT. BUT HIS
INSTINCTS AND BELIEFS AND POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS ARE FAR, FAR, FAR MORE RIGHT
THAN WRONG.
* REMEMBER, FOLKS... HAD THE BUSH FAMILY AND THEIR
"WING" OF THE GOP HAD THEIR WAY... RONALD REAGAN NEVER WOULD HAVE
BEEN PRESIDENT.
* AS FOR KIMBERLY STRASSEL... WELL... I'VE
"OUTED" HER BULL$HIT IN THE PAST. WHEN SHE'S RIGHT SHE'S RIGHT; WHEN
SHE'S WRONG SHE'S WRONG. JUST REMEMBER...
(*HUGE FRIGGIN' GRIN*)
* ...IT'S BILL BARKER WHO IS... USUALLY RIGHT.
(*WINK*)
(*HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND*)
Conservatives and a significant part of the general
voting public have tired of the polished, perfectly groomed candidate. Their
handshakes and slick-talking don’t matter anymore. Their scripted talking
points and sound bites are so rehearsed and predictable, as to be rendered
meaningless.
And what did voting for the “most presidential” or “most
conservative” candidate get us, anyway? An endless string of electoral
heartbreaks.
* TRUTH!
How many times can the average grassroots activist make
personal sacrifices to get out the vote for a candidate who secretly harbors
intentions to betray the very people who got him elected?
* EXACTLY!
Trump is the exact opposite of what we are used to. When
it comes to messaging, conservatives are chronically cerebral with a long
history of appealing to the rational brain as opposed to the emotional brain.
Maybe Trump has the right idea: your average Joe doesn’t have time to decode a
speech, read between the lines in a campaign ad, or research the finer points
of policy. Appeal to the gut. It worked for Obama.
(*NOD*)
Maybe, we just want to believe that the person inhabiting
the White House loves this country, will do his best to keep us safe, will work
hard in the best interests of the majority of citizens, and will seek policies
and a way to govern that balance the most amount of freedom with the least
amount of intrusion. Maybe. It’s. Just. That. Simple.
* GEEZUS... THIS WOMAN IS CHANNELING... ME!
Trump is the same guy we’ve always known - not a pre-packaged
stiff in a suit, with perfect hair and a glimmering smile. A billionaire, yes,
but the kind of guy you really could have a beer with.
* YEP...
When he wears his hat, it looks at home on his head - not
out of place like Al Gore in lumberjack garb.
* THAT IS TRUE, FOLKS! TRUMP IS MANY THINGS, BUT PHONY...
HE'S NOT!
And his speech is his - not that fake preacher drawl
Obama acquired halfway through his campaign or the “I ain’t no ways tired”
other worldly thing that came out of Hillary’s mouth.
* GEEZUS... I HOPE TRUMP RUNS THAT AS A 15-SECOND
NATIONALLY TELEVISED AD... OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!
Sure, Trump has a shtick. But there is an authenticity to
his shtick. It isn’t feigned. It isn’t newfangled. Donald’s political shtick
today is the same shtick he had as a real estate developer, a casino builder,
and a reality show host.
(*NOD*)
Truth be told, Trump is as much a cult of personality as
Obama is - and maybe that is how we win elections in the 21st Century. Obama
had little to no real political experience, but was uber-successful in
marketing the persona of Barack Obama. He accomplished little in Illinois and
the Senate but he used his election successes to leap frog to the presidency at
warp speed. He is the penultimate empty suit whose penchant to divide borders
on OCD. He is a master at condescension and insulting his political rivals and
their supporters, and is adept at sleight of mouth and doublespeak. He has no
compunction manipulating everything that happens in the world to promote his
agenda. But mostly, he is a marketing phenom who stirs emotions, instills
pride, and promises something greater than each of us.
He does sound a bit like Trump. Obama might be a cocky
empty suit with an answer to everything, but for Democrats, he was their empty
suit. And he promised them Hope and Change.
Trump might very well be a brash political novice with
answers that sometimes make us cringe, but he’s our political novice. And he’s
promised to Make American Great (Again).
* AND UNLIKE OBAMA... AND INDEED UNLIKE PRETTY MUCH ALL
POLITICAL CANDIDATES... TRUMP HAS A SOLID RECORD OF NOT JUST SUCCESS, BUT
INCREDIBLE SUCCESS, IN THE REAL WORLD!
* ROMNEY BUILT HIS FORTUNE ON MOVING MONEY AROUND; TRUMP
BUILT HIS ON... BUILDING! (AND BILL AND HILLARY? THEY'RE JUST CROOKS.)
We’ve tried it the formulaic way time-after-time and
things have only gotten worse.
(*NOD*)
At least this time, if Trump wins the election but fails
as president, we can shrug our shoulders and walk away knowing we gave it the
old college try, but didn’t get hoodwinked in the process.
Trump is the mirror image of everything political that
has been thrown our way - he is not politically correct, he is not rehearsed,
he is not scripted, he is himself, and he doesn’t care about the press.
* HE SEES THE PRESS FOR WHAT THEY ARE! AND GOD BLESS HIM
FOR HAVING THE BALLS TO IDENTIFY THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE!
While he might over-promise and under-deliver, we’ve
already factored that into the calculus. We know the risks of a Trump
presidency and we’re okay assuming those risks rather than throwing in with the
known risks of what a Hillary presidency will bring.
* EXACTLY. THE UNKNOWN VS. THE KNOWN. WE KNOW BEYOND ALL
DOUBT THAT IF ANOTHER LEFTIST IS ELECTED THEN THERE'LL BE NO REVERSING THE
"FUNDAMENTAL TRANSFORMATION" OF AMERICA.
In a Venn Diagram world with conservatism one circle and
Trump the other, a distinct area of overlap lies where the two intersect.
Juxtaposed with Hillary’s circle, however, the circle with conservatism is
light-years apart.
I remain wishy-washy no more.
With 49 dead in Orlando, the Supreme Court hanging by a
thread, a country more divided than ever, and an economy on the verge of
collapse, it’s hard to imagine how the #nevertrumpers couldn’t see the obvious…
unless, of course, they’ve already drunk the Kool-Aid.
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