Hell Toupee

Grating on America Again

Grating on America Again

 

With the Iowa Caucuses now upon us, the phenomenon that has been the candidacy of Donald Trump is about to be put to its first real test. When he announced his intention to run for the GOP nomination last June, no one took him seriously, and rightly so. He’s made a career out of hyping his real estate ventures and mostly himself as a celebrity business guru for well over 30 years. In between all of that, he’s floated the idea of running for president, as well as governor of New York several times over that same span of time, and was allegedly considered as a running mate for George H.W. Bush back in 1988 (just who exactly did the considering is, as you might expect, debatable).

But a witch’s brew of circumstances – the disaster that has been the Obama presidency, distrust of the media, loathing of the Republican establishment’s backstabbing of the voters and its collusion with the Democratic Left, abject fear about the direction of the nation – collided into a perfect storm of opportunity that, to the shock and awe of everyone has put him on top of the polls and kept him there for over seven months. Let’s face it, when he said he’d build a wall and would make Mexico pay for it and told the truth about the dangers of an open, unchecked border, he touched a raw nerve. Ever since, he’s uttered a number of faux pas and gaffes that would have destroyed other candidacies. Not Trump. His fans and supporters would have none of it. Even I, as a Ted Cruz supporter, was loving Trump’s presence in the race. Instead of resigning myself to Jeb Bush or Chris Christie being rammed down our throats and then slouching their way to a thumping by Clinton or Sanders, the Establishment was having their collective clock cleaned. For a while, I thought, well this is a good run but the fun can’t last. He’ll say or do something that even he won’t be able to extricate himself from and clear the way for Cruz or perhaps Ben Carson.

Then the egomania kicked in and for me, I started becoming less and less enchanted with the man. Since meeting with Cruz last July at his New York offices, both had yet to lay a finger on one another (perhaps an indication Trump was considering Cruz for the veep slot). But by late summer, when Cruz emerged from the pack and steadily climbed to the number two position, Trump went off the rails. Instead of attacking Cruz on the substantive issues of his record, he went full Alinsky and smeared him with birtherism and being in the pocket of Goldman Sachs because of his campaign loans. All through Trump’s meteoric ascendancy, when issues of his past support and contributions to people like the Clinton’s and Mitch McConnell, as well as his past views on abortion, the second amendment and immigration were brought to the fore, many of his supporters that I encountered on other blogs turned into the same sort of mind-numbed drones that showered Obama with blind adoration back in 2008. Instead of reacting or responding with cogent explanations and rebuttals, I was either met with attacks on Cruz or even questioning of my own sanity by not backing the man who would make America great again.

Last week during an interview on MSNBC, Trump was crowing about how he was good friends with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer and that he could make deals with them – unlike Ted Cruz who no one gets along with and everyone hates. Reaction from Trump supporters? Crickets. Then, at about the same time as that interview, Trump claimed that he’s so loved and admired that he could literally shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and it wouldn’t change people’s support for him. That is alarming, to say the least.

So, if Donald Trump wins tomorrow and then again in New Hampshire, the conventional wisdom is that he is on an unstoppable path directly to the White House. I would caution his supporters that the election is not the end. It’s the beginning. If he is a deal maker with the likes of Pelosi, Reid and Schumer, as well as McConnell, Hatch and Ryan, then he will only be negotiating the speed at which the nation is destroyed, not its trajectory. Or, if he decides to use a hammer and chisel on granite to overrule Obama’s pen and phone, then whither the Constitution and the rule of law? Here is a man of supreme ego who does not take failure and humiliation well (sound familiar?). Do we really want to go through this again, despite the fact that he’s allegedly running on our side?

No one can predict the future, But a Trump presidency will either be the tonic this nation needs or a deep and abiding disappointment, if not worse. It may poison electoral politics irreparably. There really is no middle ground considering the personality involved and the state of the nation he will lead should he win. It’s why I am hoping against hope that Cruz wins. G-d help us all, no matter what.

Point of Personal Privilege:

This is my first blog post in quite a while. An increased workload and, truth be told, being burned out by the daily flood of depressing news has kept me from these pages. A word of thanks to those who’ve noticed my absence and contacted me and a promise to try and post more frequently. Especially now that we’re a big hit!

7 comments to “Hell Toupee”
  1. “But a Trump presidency will either be the tonic this nation needs or a deep and abiding disappointment, if not worse. It may poison electoral politics irreparably. … It’s why I am hoping against hope that Cruz wins.”

    I see it differently. If Trump isn’t the tonic, it only confirms the poisoning had already been done and done by the overwhelmingly large brood of Dem and GOPe corrupticrats.

    Let’s hope for Cruz.

  2. I’m very wary of Trump, especially over the past couple of months. Not sure if I fleshed out my thoughts well enough, but the nub of the post is just the cult of personality that’s brewing behind him and what will happen should he fail, as I expect his presidency ultimately will.

    I don’t discount out of hand the possibility that he could be quite good at “getting things done.” But if past history is any indicator, I’m not so sanguine about him.

  3. I don’t discount out of hand the possibility that he could be quite good at “getting things done.”

    What I would very much like is that phrase used to describe the next president, with the addition of “within the context of our constitution.”

    I’m not holding my breath.

  4. I would also like a Cruz Presidency because I feel like he would at least make a show of obeying the Constitution.

    Reagan was a President who made an attempt at obeying the Constitution, but he also realized that sometimes you do have to work with the other side. Reagan’s mistake was in believing that the other side would act in good faith, which they didn’t.

    Trump is a wild card. I honestly believe he does want to make America great again, but perhaps he’s unrealistic in what he will be able to achieve as President.

    As far as it goes, I’m voting for Cruz in the primaries and whom ever wins the GOP in the general election, unless of course, it’s the Jebster or Kasich. I would have to go third party then.

  5. It’s been interesting watching some people’s evolution with respect to Trump’s candidacy.

    You might enjoy this post by Petey:

    http://lettersfrommy.blogspot.com/2016/01/encyclopedia-trump-and-curious-case-of_31.html?m=1

    I’m praying Cruz can withstand the multi-front assault he’s facing so far, because he’s pretty much my last hope in the primary. His fundraising and cash-at-hand numbers (formally released yesterday) are excellent, so that’s encouraging.

  6. Cruz’s fundraising and especially his very strong ground game might prove to be the difference, at least in Iowa.

    The more that is revealed about Trump, and the more he shoots his mouth off, the more he turns me off.

    No matter what happens, after today and certainly after New Hampshire, the complexion of the election will change completely as more candidates are sure to drop out and their supporters choose between either Trump or Cruz (I don’t expect Rubio or any of the others to pull out a shock victory here).

    In any case, the prospect of a Sanders or Clinton as president is just to horrible to contemplate, but it is a real possibility. And no one knows exactly what a Trump presidency will look like, his statements and that of his supporters notwithstanding.

    Fasten your seat belts.

  7. Cruz voter here. But i have to admit, some of the Horde over at the HQ got me to consider Trump as a big poke in the eye of the GOP, but with his “I can make a deal and get things done” and subsequent mild endorsement by the GOP’s Grand High Poobahs, I don’t know if I will be able to pull the lever for him should he get the nomination.

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