Two weeks later and once again the "experts" are shown to be trapped by their own biases as the Trump candidacy marches on. Nate Silver has learned that Fox News viewers are not mindless robots that will digest whatever Murdoch feeds them. Megyn Kelly is on vacation while her image as America's sweetheart is a bit tarnished after risqué photos of her and a raunchy interview with Howard Stern circulated social media.
Shortly after joining the Republican
presidential field, Trump zoomed past the Jeb! juggernaut. Well... at
least what was supposed to be the Jeb! juggernaut. Several political pundits quickly
dismissed the Trump surge as an expected bounce from his presidential
announcement. It is just that Trump is the newest entry, the novelty of the
moment, they said. Yet, there was no Pataki, Graham or Santorum bounce after
they announced. Misreading the initial polls just marked the beginning of a
series misreadings and wrong predictions.
I confess, I was never a Trump
fan. I found him to be too strident and obnoxious. I really thought that, when push came to shove, Trump would again
decline to run. I always saw his threats of running for president as just
publicity stunts. Also, for the sake of the GOP, I was hoping he would not run.
I just did not want to see a repeat of the 2012 Republican primary season
(a.k.a. the clown car).
I have even went so far as to
propose, along with a good friend, that the RNC adopt a rule whereby only
individuals who have won statewide be allowed to seek the Republican
nomination. Now before any constitutional conservative breaks a sweat over the
fact that the Constitution does not place any such restriction on whom may run
for president, I am talking about the Republican Party adopting the rule. As a
private entity, the GOP can establish whatever qualifications it wants for
those who wish to carry the (R) label after their name. Such a rule would have prevented Herman
"999" Cain, Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann from running for the
GOP nomination in 2012. This cycle, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson and, of course,
Donald Trump would be ineligible.
We suggested the rule for two
reasons. First, elections are about winning and the presidential election is
essentially winning several statewide races. If an individual has not - at the
very least - demonstrated that he or she can win one statewide race, what is
the likelihood that he or she will be able to win several statewide races? Second, it
would avoid individuals from misusing the Republican nomination process to
raise their profile so that they can pursue other careers or sell books.
Electing the leader of the free world is a serious matter and should be not the
time for sideshows or vanity candidates.
Boy am I glad the RNC did not
listen to me! Donald Trump has turned out to be a much needed shot in the arm
of our dying democracy. American voters who had given up on the political
system are once again engaged. A record 24 million tuned in to watch the first
Republican debate in the middle of vacation season. Just when millions of Americans thought they
would be facing again a choice between two candidates controlled by the donor
class, Trump comes along and provides voters an donor-free option.
For the decades, the two major
political parties have diligently toiled to make sure that voters have no
choices at the ballot. Through jerrymandering, limiting ballot access, controlling
the money supply, it has become next to impossible for third parties to
challenge the duopoly. Even within the primaries, establishment candidates are well protected against challengers. Only occasionally, when caught off guard
like Eric Cantor, have insurgents been able triumph. Just as Americans were looking at the dreadful prospect of a
Hillary-Jeb race, Trump comes along and gives voters a chance to break up the
status quo.
Not only has Trump revived our
moribund democracy, he has lifted the shroud of political correctness that was suffocating
free speech. Issues, concerns that could not be raised without being ridiculed
or marginalized as a racist are finally being discussed openly again. Yes
America, it is okay to be annoyed by people from other countries violating our
immigration laws. It is not cruel or racist to question whether it is wise to
continue a policy whereby a child born two hours after his mother illegally
crosses our northern border is immediately entitled to American citizenship and
all the benefits that come with it. Yes Republicans, it is okay to challenge
the free trade dogma that has dominated the party for the last three decades. Just
when Americans thought free speech would become little more than a line in the Constitution, Trump comes along and breathes new life into the
First Amendment.
In just two months, Trump has
brought new energy, vitality to our political system. Whether his campaign
eventually implodes - as many of the experts have been predicting - or makes it
all the way to the White House - to the horror of the DC establishment - only
time will tell. I feared another clown car, instead I got a exciting ride on
the Trump Train. I am very happy to be wrong.
