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Why you got Trump, part 2,398,105

Link here. The author focuses on the “Never Trump” wing of the Republican Party, individuals who have completely abandoned any pretense that they stand for conservative values in their no-holds-barred opposition to Trump, even when he does things they should like.

This quote illustrates however why Trump won, and continues to be popular with the general public:

[T]he main point these [Never Trumpers] whom we have no choice but to refer to as former conservatives miss is that in our political system the choice is still binary. Other conservatives may not like Trump but they understand that the voters preferred him in no small measure because they were sick of the clubby elitism that characterizes the anti-Trump alliance.

Moreover, they understand that, thanks to Trump’s unlikely victory, the choice isn’t between a conservatism tainted by association with Trump and one that isn’t. Rather the choice is between a Trump-led Republican Party that is championing the same issues that the pre-Trump GOP supported and liberals who want a return to the Obama era of high taxes and appeasement of Iran to mention just two key issues on which many Never Trumpers have abandoned their principles. [emphasis mine]

It is that clubby elitism of Washington — and the bankrupt incompetent government it has given us — that most offends the voters who went for Trump. Trump’s actions since his elections, though imperfect for sure, have confirmed the wisdom of this choice. It has also revealed the fake conservatives in the Republican Party who clearly prefer that clubby elitism above any effort that might try to fix the problem.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

20 comments

  • eddie willers

    I guess this conflict (war?) was inevitable.

    The Tea Party arose and gave the Republicans the House.
    They said “but we need the Senate to do anything”.
    So we gave them the Senate.
    Then they said, “Thanks, but we need the President to really do anything”.
    So we gave them the President.
    Then they said, “Not THAT President!” and we watched them turn into everything we hated.

    I go to the same websites, hear the same talk shows, talk to the same people I did before November 2016. I have yet to run into anyone that regrets their vote for Trump. In fact, the most common comment is, “I voted begrudgingly for Trump because I just could not vote for Hillary, but now I am pleasantly surprised and really pleased with the actions he has taken”.

    EVERY election is “the most important” , but I will say the next two will set the table for what kind of country we want to be for the rest on the century. Maybe hyperbole, but I think not.

  • Cotour

    “EVERY election is “the most important” , but I will say the next two will set the table for what kind of country we want to be for the rest on the century. Maybe hyperbole, but I think not.”

    I agree 100 percent, and it all essentially rests on one mans shoulders.

  • Edward

    Trump is not a conservative, but he pretends to look like one. He cannot even describe conservatism, much less explain it like Reagan did. The reason why he looks like a conservative is that he is a 2006 liberal Democrat. Not only have the Democrats gone far left since 2006, but the Republican Party has attempted to go farther left than the Democratic Party. From such a far left position, even a 2006 liberal looks conservative.

    This is similar to leftists saying that the NAZIs are right wing, despite the fact that they were the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party. When you are far left enough, even socialism looks far right wing.

    All through his campaign, Trump had to change new policy positions multiple times before he finally figured out what the conservative position was — or at least a position that didn’t upset the other Republicans. As president, he continues to have a similar problem, in that he still announces a position then modifies it a few times until he gets less pushback. That he eventually gets it close to right does not make him a conservative, just a 2006 liberal. Bill Clinton’s policies may have been farther left than Trump’s, but Clinton has stated that he regrets every one of his policy moves that make up his legacy. Even the liberal Bill Clinton is more conservative than his presidency, so saying that Trump “has been arguably among the most conservative presidents in memory” says little. It is a low bar to step over.

    And he is no Reagan. Not even close.

    We could have had a real conservative for president, but no, a phony conservative — just like Romney, McCain, or either Bush — is all the Republican rank and file wanted.

    Meanwhile, Jonathan S. Tobin seems satisfied declaring Trump to be conservative merely because he isn’t Hillary Clinton, who would have continued Obama’s modern liberalism. Trump isn’t really so great; he just isn’t Hillary.

    I just can’t get that excited about a guy who merely isn’t a muckup. (Sorry, I think I misspelled that word.)

    Why the Republicans chose Trump over an actual conservative is largely a mystery to me, but it seems that even the rank and file Republicans have seen so much leftism in government that they are willing to also pretend that a charismatic liberal Democrat looks conservative.

    Why did we get Trump?

    Because he took a stand when Kathryn Steinle was randomly murdered, which put him on the map. He claimed that he would repeal (not replace) Obamacare — but then, so did everyone else, even Senators and Congresscritters who later voted against repeal. He led everyone to believe that multi-felon Hillary Clinton would finally pay for her crimes — that he was pro law and order and anti DC swamp. And he had a popular TV show which led people to believe that he would fire those who make up the DC swamp. He was the primary candidate most able to convince the American people that he could drain the swamp.

    But. When the rubber hit the road, he failed and gave up with sanctuary cities — now even states are declaring themselves as sanctuaries — and his wall is still a wet dream. He hasn’t drained the swamp and wouldn’t even prosecute Hillary Clinton or Lois Lerner, the easiest part of the swamp to drain (the low hanging fruit). When all he could muster was the elimination of the individual mandate portion of Obamacare, he declared total victory and went home.

    Once again, everyone is all agog over Trump only because he isn’t Hillary or Obama, but he sure looks a lot like Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, any other of the Republican primary candidates also would not have been them, either.

  • Cotour

    I find this very, very interesting:

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/389843-gowdy-i-have-never-met-or-spoken-to-trump

    Given Gowdy’s media exposure of late, what might be going on here? Is he attempting to remain or appear to remain neutral? For what reason? Ready to fill Sessions place? Ready to help take Trump out? Just a good ol boy not interested in the lime light? I scratcheth my head.

    Gowdy has been a kind of pit bull related to Hillary, but has never been able to get to where he needs to get.

    One of my concerns in this entire current and on going political situation is that if things play out at a 7 to 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, the Democrat party has a real existential threat that exists. They could really be destroyed in the minds of the public for 50 years related to their true treachery being revealed in the coming I.G. reports and the Huber investigation for all practical purposes.

    Q: Will this real threat to the Democrat party result in some political realm solution that allows them to continue on a bit less fatally wounded? Is Gowdy a party to this possible “Necessary” political accommodation? Instead of finishing the Dems off the Republicans symbiotically need them for contrast and context. Who or what would take their place? Just noodling with it.

    Yes, very, very interesting to me. (I really trust none of them, nor IMO should you)

  • Phill O

    eddie willers
    “I voted begrudgingly for Trump because I just could not vote for Hillary, but now I am pleasantly surprised and really pleased with the actions he has taken”.

    This truly was a sentiment of many. However, there are a lot of my friends who believed this would happen and voted for Trump especially since he was running against Hillary. They were able to see through the rhetoric put out by the dems and RINOs. I see no problem for people to change their priorities. One astronomer family I know who came from New York moved from the dems to the GOP after 9/11 because of the response the dems would not do. They are strongly GOP now. So be it with Trump!

    If there is anything the dems have done, it is to solidify Trumps popularity when people see (tangible) evidence that his policies are working for them.

  • Cotour

    SOME PERSPECTIVE:

    If the people are willing to give them these very, very expensive modes of transportation, then so be it. The power of the human mind when properly incentivized to convince and be convinced is the most powerful force on the planet (Other than volcano’s and hurricanes that is). Religion, like politics looks for people to lead in order to fulfill their real and imagined needs, whether they be spiritual or political.

    https://youtu.be/hiHghDYvpBU ; Have a good belly laugh and try to see yourself in both the position of the B***s to the wall holy rollin preacher and the people who willingly choose to grant them their wishes, tax free of course. Religion and politics, there is little difference between them.

    Some data related to the hourly costs to operate the Falcon X7 (without a charter) is aprox. $6400.00 PER HOUR.

    And costs between $600K to $700K dollars per year to operate.

    The plane itself costs $54 Million dollars new, which they apparently paid cash for.

    Don’t bother to make it up, because its true.

  • BSJ

    Yeah, what Edward said! “Trump is no Conservative!”

    He only plays one, poorly, on TV…

  • Cotour

    Gowdy retiring and overtly remaining neutral and not associated directly with the president in preparation for Supreme Court gig?

    The way that Gowdy is talking and acting like I said is very, very interesting to me.

    We know that there are several Supreme Court occupants who are at the end of their terms, one way or another. If you know what I mean. Trump is set up to appoint at least 2 to 4 justices in his own administration, and this fact will cause the left in the country to do who knows what? Might Gowdy, a career prosecutor, be one of these inevitable replacements on Trumps SC list?

    I still scratcheth my head on this one, something is different.

  • Dick Eagleson

    Edward is right that Trump is not a conservative. But he’s also not a liberal – 2006-vintage or any other kind. He has, in fact, no particularly coherent philosophy of politics because he is of neither the intellectual nor ideological frames of mind. That makes him a part of probably the single largest plurality in American politics. To the extent he has any “philosophy” at all it is that of hard-headed pragmatism and the shrewdness of the lifelong deal maker. I think he comes by his obvious “common touch” because much of America is roundly tired of being condescended to by self-defined “cool kids” in the coastal leftist elite. Despite being born wealthy and getting much more so over the years, Trump is from Queens and the “cool kids” in Manhattan looked down on him too.

  • wayne

    Dick-
    Good stuff.
    (it is that simple and that complex, all at the same time.)

    Victor Davis Hanson
    Taking Stock of Trumpism:
    Where It Came From, What It Has Accomplished, and Where It Is Going
    Hillsdale College event (May 2017)
    https://youtu.be/pzXJi9-1SUs
    1:03:30

  • Cotour

    A very apt description of Trump. Trump actually sets goals and aggressively moves towards them come hell or high water, totally goal and accomplishment oriented, in this case American interest oriented. Totally useless concepts in the corrupt and perverted political control abyss that is Washington D.C..

    Someone like Trump appears in Washington D.C. much less than in once in a life time, maybe once in a century. he will certainly go down in my book anyway as at the top of the heap as American presidents go.

    A funny aside: Another one of my confused friends in an email conversation with me points out: The people that Trump surrounds himself with are not good people!

    My response: Define “good” people.

    A totally subjective view of politics that hears and sees only rhetoric that they personally / morally connect to and never bother to see the executed actions in total. Obama, Hillary, Bernie and Warren tell you right to your face: I am a socialist, I am a Globalist, America is the problem in the world. And from what I can see most of them do not agree with any of that. And why is trump being so successful and will continue along that path? Because he shows them without any ambiguity that they are wrong.

    Q: How successful has the Socialist V the American Constitution / Capitalist model been? No need to answer.

  • Cotour

    And this is why Trump will be reelected:

    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/maher-presses-bernie-sanders-whats-the-democratic-message-that-could-fit-on-a-hat/

    The Democrats have what they have, and that’s it, goin nowhere with the same old BS Leftist crap that they went with last time. Note Mahers characterization of Obama and Hillary as being a “Centrist’s”. He leaves out that both of them are open borders, flood the country with illegal immigrants like MS13 members, Soros Globalists.

    In other words they want to “fundamentally” change America to the wonderful EU model of Socialist wonderfulness. Liberals love leaving out the important details. Whats wrong with America as formed? Their politics demands that the Constitution be perverted and hollowed out in order to “properly” rule the masses.

    Keep it.

  • pzatchok

    Not one republican candidate running against Trump was a ‘true’ conservative.
    No matter how you define it.

    I don’t want someone who is welded to their philosophy and will NEVER bend.

    If a president will never bend to make a deal then he will get nothing done. Nothing. Good or bad.
    But if a president bends at every whim and wish of “the people” he will be an even worse president than an inflexible one.
    Trumps conservative leaning, America First positions are what drew me to him. As long as he upholds the law, pushes America First around the world and picks away at those ‘liberal’ things enacted in the past. Like Oboma care, illegal immigration, the EPA and the department of education.

    Two years in, and even with all the opposition, he is making advances. So far hes doing better than I expected in just about everything.

    If you expected him to have the wall built in two years your a fool, if you expected it started in 4 years your in my camp. If he gets it started, and the Dems eventually agree to keep building it, then its a total win. And they might agree to that just to get elected again.

  • Cotour

    IS THIS REALLY WHY WE GOT TRUMP?

    This is one way to spin Obama’s Leftist ideology and actions as presidents.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/opinion/sunday/obama-ben-rhodes-world-as-it-is.html

    He is just too good for us, too intellectually idealistic, too paternal, too even handed in how he saw his charge as the president of the United States. (Obama was sooo even handed that he thought it a good idea to ensure the Iranians have nuclear weapons by paying for them and guaranteeing it with an agreement that no one signed. After all whats fair is fair, right?)

    Too bad that “WE” all live in the reality of the here and now where these Socialist, idealistic, intellectual imaginations in the end only cause weakness and the destruction of freedom in the ever growing “It Takes A Village” government model. Maybe on another planet, maybe even in another dimension there is another Obama that is very successful in his social engineering efforts. And I wish him and them well, but please not here, not on this planet, please, no more.

    (This article was of course written by a dedicated Obama adherent and close ally who must find the best light to cast Obama in in the extreme contrasting age of Trump. He is going to have to do a lot more, much more very creative writing in the near future)

  • Edward

    pzatchok wrote: “Not one republican candidate running against Trump was a ‘true’ conservative.

    But there were a few who were close enough.

    If a president will never bend to make a deal then he will get nothing done. Nothing. Good or bad.”

    Obama got plenty bad done by pretending that he was king, by ignoring Congress, and by making phone calls and writing with his pen. By this time in his administration Obama already had Obamacare passed and the bogus Stimulus Package in operation. Trump has fallen down on all of his big promises.

    Indeed, we have to be careful not to bend our way into progressivism and tyranny, as has been happening over the past century.

    As long as he upholds the law, pushes America First around the world and picks away at those ‘liberal’ things enacted in the past. Like Oboma care, illegal immigration, the EPA and the department of education.

    America first is getting us tariffs and trade wars. Apparently Trump has redefined “first” to mean “only,” which is what our allies had feared.

    Two years in, and even with all the opposition, he is making advances. So far hes doing better than I expected in just about everything.

    Except for Felon Hillary, whom he let remain at large just days after his election; Sanctuary Cities, which he botched so badly that now there is at least one sanctuary state; The Wall, which has made absolutely no progress despite Trump’s supposed ability at deal making; and Obamacare, which I’m sure you expected to be repealed by now. All other Trump promises were so wishy washy that he could have done anything and still be said to keep a promise.

    And nibbling at the edges of the deep progressivism that is Obama’s America will not make much progress in eight years. He needs to start taking large bites and to convince others to join in on the feast. He also is not making any effort in combating Obama’s deep state government. The FBI, DoJ, IRS, and much of the intelligence community are still untrustworthy and not being cleaned up. Indeed, they are learning that their treachery of We the People goes unchallenged, which is why the FBI, DoJ, and others have joined the IRS in interfering with our elections.

    If you expected him to have the wall built in two years your a fool

    Hah! Having it built was unlikely, but he doesn’t even have a blueprint or plan, much less any prospect for funding, just some vague slogan. Expecting the king dealmaker to be making deals on the wall already is hardly foolish.

    Some people may be impressed with Trump, but he has fallen down on the important stuff and barely moved on the fringe issues. Apparently he is very good at looking like he is making progress and fooling most of the people most of the time, but then he does have plenty of experience with show business.

    Maybe it was that show business experience that is the main reason we got Trump.

  • Cotour

    Being a big drag, is a big drag. Stop being such a damn drag.

    Trump, like him, “Conservative” enough or not is the best we have had in 30 years.

    Trump has accomplished more given what opposes him than any other politician could only dream of. I have people complaining to me that “Trump is not doing things the way that they used to be done, he is breaking protocol!”.

    Yeah, that’s the point!

    The extension logic is that they desire what has gone on for the past 30 years then? That is the preferred mode of operation? People naturally fear change, nothing different here, its a kind of political Stockholm syndrome IMO.

    The problem with Trump as he relates to the internal workings of Washington D.C. is that he in a short while may be seen as being too successful and that threat to the status quo will result in bad things happening.

    The first two weeks of June may turn out to be very significant, lets wait and see.

  • Cotour

    Bill Clinton? No longer relevant.

    Russian collusion involving Trump? Did not happen.

    Impeachment? Not happening.

    Subpoenaing the president? Not happening.

    Indictment of the president? Not happening.

    What must and will be happening? Revealing the activities of government agencies lead by political operatives who clearly mad moves against a political candidate and a president not of their choosing.

    https://youtu.be/xfHjD6EJ964

    Plain and simple, Joe DiGenova is the go to guy who lays it out plainly as it is. My concern? Simple, how far the political realm will be willing to allow this all to go.

    IT IS COMING. (And I will be reasonably willing to accept a 7 or so out of 10 in the degree this is legally dealt with, allowing the political realm some room for their purposes of manipulation, corruption and political survival of the Democrat party. The Democrat party is dying, the only question is how far the Republicans are willing to allow them to die. All of their own doing by the way.)

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