Interestingly, Donald Trump was not complaining about the nomination process, about how it’s rigged, how it’s a dirty system, and so forth
(Fox News) Donald Trump completed a five-state sweep in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primaries, strengthening his shot at avoiding a contested convention – while Hillary Clinton scored convincing victories but was denied the same bragging rights of a primary sweep by a surprise Bernie Sanders win in Rhode Island.
Of the two front-runners, Clinton – who won four states Tuesday – remains closer to clinching the nomination. She now has nearly 90 percent of the delegates needed to secure the party nod, even as Sanders vows to keep fighting.
On the Republican side, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich still can potentially hold Trump under the 1,237 delegates he needs. But the billionaire businessman’s Super Tuesday III run-of-the-table reinforces his aura of invincibility going into the next round.
“I consider myself the presumptive nominee,†Trump said at Trump Tower, with ex-candidate and now-supporter New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie standing behind him. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.â€
But, he did whine and complain and trash talk during his “victory” speech, rather than be gracious and show he’s of presidential timber. At this point, he will most likely make it to 1,237, and, even if he doesn’t a majority of people in exit polls from yesterday’s primary states think that the person with the most votes should get the nod.
However, very disturbing is an exit poll from NBC, which, for the question on whether Pennsylvania Republicans would vote for Trump in November, 55% said yes, 21% said probably, and 23% said “no way”. The same question for Hillary has 62% yes, 23% maybe, and 14% “heck no”.
One big question will be whether Trump can unite Republicans/Conservatives and get them to rally to his cause. But, what is his cause? Here’s Brent Bozell, very much a reliable and consistent Conservative, who was allowed by Breitbart to publish an open letter (sigh)
Sarah Palin, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee and Phyllis Schlafly—you are friends and allies, serious men and women for whom I have great respect. You and other conservatives disagreed.
I pen this open letter to you.
Even those of us who oppose Trump understand that he’s tapping into something that has exploded onto the national scene: disenchantment, even white-hot rage among the Republican base with the party’s establishment and the Washington status quo. You and I understand this because we were taking on the weak-kneed GOP leadership many, many years ago, back when Donald Trump was donating to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
He wants to know if Trump is the answer
Many critics have outlined the innumerable left-wing positions and candidates Trump championed before he got in this race. It’s worth recalling some of them now: Trump not only supported but bankrolled amnesty. He supported taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. He supported not just abortion but partial-birth abortion. He was open to gay marriage. He supported government-funded universal healthcare.
He supported eminent domain for (his) private gain. He supported the Wall Street bailout. He supported “assault weapons†bans. He applauded President Obama for doing a “great job.†He congratulated Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for doing a “good job.†He financially helped the Democrats pass Obamacare. Trump was a registered Democrat when that party was being led by the likes of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), donating heavily during President Obama’s tenure. He’s bankrolled Democrats like Jimmy Carter, Rahm Emmanuel, Anthony Weiner, Terry McAuliffe, Chuck Schumer, Charlie Rangel, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, to name a few.
But Trump said he’s changed. On everything. Overnight. Just in time for the GOP nomination fight.
This did not sit well with so many of the Breitbart Tumpistas, as you can imagine, just like any questioning of Trump’s conservative, heck, even just plain old Republican, bonifides sends them into a rage on social media. I can understand Republican voters wanting an outsider. I can understand how many were very excited over his verbal plan to build a wall (while ignoring that he also backed “touch-back” amnesty). I can understand how they were thrilled when Trump refused to be cowed nor humbled when he was attacked by the media, how he fought back, something we’ve wanted from Republicans for quite some time.
However, what accounts for backing Trump when you learn his left leaning positions? When he continues to take Liberal positions this late in the nomination process?
Let’s look at Mr. Trump’s record during this campaign. He’s declared his support for single-payer healthcare. That puts him to the left of Obamacare. He’s re-declared his support for Planned Parenthood. He’s re-supporting tax increases. He’s supported crony capitalism. He’s endorsed “touchback†amnesty. He wants the U.S. to break the Geneva Convention. He’s “neutral†on Israel and Palestine. He wants South Korea and Japan to have nuclear arsenals.
He supported the Democrats on North Carolina’s HB2 gender confused bathrooms law just two weeks ago, before having to walk it back a little bit. He announced he’s pro-abortion and wants pro-life removed from the GOP plank. I thought Bozell should have ended here
What will you tell your supporters when the man you endorsed enacts an agenda that horrifies them?
What will the Trump supporters say when he enacts a leftist agenda? When he fights with a Republican Congress over Republican legislation passed by said Republicans? When he potentially picks pro-abortion left wingers for the Supreme Court and federal judges?
Will you take ownership if a Donald Trump shows his liberal stripes? Because this rests on you, Trump supporters.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
You can easily stop Trump. Hillary 2016!
Trump has called for increased taxes on the wealthy. Has Raunch Previous called for the Donald to pay back taxes to the extent he advocates? If not, why not? Politics!
Yeah, the Hag is the answer.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/state-department-hid-key-clinton-benghazi-email-from-judicial-watch/
Unless they simply drop dead, it will be Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton in November, and Mrs Clinton will win the general election. We will have two New York liberals running against each other.
Jeffrey wrote:
Does he owe “back taxes,” or are you asking if should just voluntarily pony up to the levels he advocates? If it’s the latter, then why were you arguing against the same thing in the “Red Meat” thread?
But me, yeah, I think that if he is going to advocate higher taxes, then he ought to lead by example. But I’d be willing to bet a case of Mountain Dew that Mr Trump has an army of accountants seeking out every last deduction he can possibly claim.
Add to that his four previous bankruptcies, in which he stiffed people a lot poorer than himself. Donald Trump is not an honest man.
As a public service, I maintain a “Voluntarily Pay More Taxes” icon, via which the higher tax advocates can put their money where their big mouths are, and make an additional donation to the Treasury. I believe that Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton and Senator Sanders and the J Boys ought to visit that site, and show us that they are willing to lead by example.
How many solar panels do you have, Jeffrey? John, do you have windmills providing sparktricity to your humble abode?
Don’t tell other people what they ought to do unless you are first doing so yourselves!
Teach asked if I, being someone who plans to vote for Trump, will take ownership if Trump show his liberal stripes.
Yes.
I really don’t see either party being conservative. We have the extreme totalitarian democrats and the left leaning so-called moderate republican party.
Both would nominate a pro-abortion justice. The dems need no explanation. The repubs because they refuse to fight the culture war.
I’ll be happy if he closes the border and works toward balancing the federal budget. Anything else is pure gravy.
If he doesn’t, then we’ll end up with what we would have ended up with anyhow, a corrupt WH, open borders, and a soon to be bankrupt country busy arguing over the next stupid subject that follows trans bathrooms.
Back in elementary school, the boys would offer up the no-win question: if you were standing up to your neck in [insert slang term for feces here] and someone threw a bucket of [insert slang term for urine here] at your head, would you duck?
That’s pretty much how I feel about the upcoming presidential election.
Dana,
I’ll voluntarily pay even more taxes (I bet I pay more than you now) when you can assure us that you will stop receiving any government services including direct payments, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, contracts enforcement, driving on our roads, drinking clean water, breathing clean air etc. You’re already sponging off us 1%ers, now you want me to pay more so you can pay less??? I’ll obey the laws that I advocate, but I’ll be damned if I’ll pay one penny more to allow conservative deadbeats to get by paying less.
You should lead by example and not accept anymore government largesse at the expense of us makers.
If you deadbeat conservatives want to cut government spending, stop accepting it!!
Trump, and to a lesser extent Senator Sanders, have tapped into the angst that middle Americans feel about our deteriorating way of life – our deteriorating standard of living. Jobs going overseas, wages stagnant, bailouts for the wealthy, crumbling infrastructure, education costs through the roof, proposals to gut Social Security and Medicare, and the rapidly worsening inequality of income and wealth.
They see the beltway policies of the last 4 decades helping everyone but them. Trade deals that enrich the rich, depress wages and put American workers in direct competition with much lower paid foreign workers. A patent system made more and more regressive, rewarding big pharma and big tech at the expense of consumers. Monetary and fiscal policies that are designed to serve the investor and political donor class. An immigration system that puts laborers and craftsmen in competition with lower paid immigrants, but that protects doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants and execs. A buddy system in corporate boards that show a whopping increase in not only execs but especially corporate exec pay – all while cutting their taxes and keeping workers wages stagnant.
They don’t much give a damn about abortion, birth control, LGBT issues or the so-called war on Christianists (topics that conventional Repubs pay lip service to, to attract red meat voters, but rarely act on).
Sanders/Trump 2016! That’s a winning ticket!