Why Trump? Oh My!

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Big Red Car here, y’all. So there’s a debate amongst the Republican legion on Thursday. The top ten candidates are in the varsity debate while the balance are forced to eat at the kids’ table with the rest of the junior varsity.

So The Donald is number one in the polls. How can that possibly be right? Yes, you are asking yourself exactly that.

Aren’t we supposed to believe that The Donald is a buffoon and has no real chance of winning the Republican nomination? Who are these idiots who think otherwise?

Okkaaaaaaaay! The Donald Trump!

Donald Traction Jackson

The Donald is getting traction amongst Republicans for some very discretely identifiable reasons.

He is smart. He is competitive. He doesn’t take shit from anybody. He is outrageous. He is sort of fun.

1. The Donald is saying something that no other politicians have ever said: “Politicians are not competent. They are, in fact, incompetent.”

Note, of course, that no politicians can say that because . . . . they ARE incompetent.

Do you remember the Wollman Skating Rink story from the 1980s? When The Donald rebuilt Wollman Rink for the City of New York?

If not read about it here: The Donald and Wollman Rink

 2. The Donald does not take any shit from the press. People like this because people have come to despise the press.

People love watching The Donald mix it up with the press who are giving him more coverage than all the rest of the candidates combined.

The Donald owns the press. The press is his bitch and he is making them sweat.

3. The Donald does not have to kiss anybody’s ass for money. When the entire Republican field went out to see the Koch’s in California, The Donald stayed home.

The Donald doesn’t have to kiss ass to raise money, he’s rich. [Sure, he’s crass and impolitic but he’s still rich.]

Who else can tell the Koch’s to kiss his ass?

Right, just The Donald.

4. The Donald tells it like it is about immigration. The working man in America gets it — legalizing 20,000,000 low skill, low wage expectation workers is going to destroy any hopes of upward wage movement. For about the next two decades.

That’s one of the reasons the Republicans won so big in 2014.

The Donald is not afraid to take the measure of illegal alien criminals.

5. The Donald is not going to bullshit you about anything. Ask him if he likes to pay taxes — “Hell no, I don’t like to pay taxes.”

Who thinks the same thing? YOU, amigo. You do.

The Donald does not think paying taxes — like Joe Biden, as an example — is a matter of civic responsibility.

 The Donald is tapping into a body of angst and anger that is real.

The Donald is fun and clever

It is hard not to have a good laugh with or at The Donald from time to time.

The guy is quick on his feet.

When Gawker released his cell phone number — an “older” number — The Donald didn’t get irritated or pissed off.

The Donald had a campaign message put on the phone and let Gawker’s jab turn into a campaign booster.

The Donald is a clever fellow.

Who else in the Republican field would have been that quick witted and thoughtful?

Let me “hep” you with that one — NOBODY!

Prediction

It is two days before the debates and The Donald has tried to dampen expectations saying that he is not a professional debater and that his opponents are professional debaters. Dampening our expectations.

Here is the Big Red Car’s prediction — The Donald will wipe the floor with his opponents.

Why?

He is quick witted. He is tethered to reality. He is clever.

OK, enough about The Donald for now. Just know this — whether you like the guy or not; whether you support the guy or not — The Donald is injecting some dialog into the Republican primary that is taking the starch out of some predictable folks’ shirts.

Who would you rather have a beer with and go to a baseball game with?

Yeah, I thought so. Not Jeb Bush. The Donald! [Son of a bitch would get you a date and pick you up in his helicopter. Might let you fly it.]

The Big Red Car is not endorsing The Donald and is skeptical that he will become the eventual Republican nominee but the Big Red Car likes a good time and, right now, the circus is in town and The Donald is the ring leader. Full disclosure: The Donald offered to repaint the Big Red Car in return for an endorsement. “Just business!” he said.

But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Watch the debate on Thursday night. The Donald might give out the Big Red Car’s cell phone number. Have a nice damn day!

 

 

 

8 thoughts on “Why Trump? Oh My!”

  1. “Clever:” Okay, how about “the wall”, that is, The Donald’s claim that he can get Mexico to pay for a wall?

    General Technique: Looks like The Donald likes to come out with outrageous statements. So, right off, he gets headlines. Then for some days later, the newsies keep asking him for details, and he gets more air time, gives a poor or no answer to the question, gets more newsies to ask him the question, lets out part of an answer, etc. So, he uses his original statement to get a lot of air time for a week or so.

    Looks clever. But, he’s been good at getting free publicity from the press for a long time so maybe hasn’t had to think up anything new. He’s been so good at this he’s making all the other Repub candidates look like they showed up to play in a football game dressed for tennis or maybe just a book signing.

    • .
      Whatever The Donald is doing one thing is for certain — it is not accidental.

      The guy is shrewd. You don’t dance with as much success as The Donald has — really in many aspects of his life — without knowing how to dance.

      I listened to some business shlub criticize his financial revelations saying he wasn’t worth $10.5B but only $4.5B whereupon one of the other talking heads said: “Isn’t $4.5B impressive enough?”

      The Donald does not give an inch and I suspect part of the air time he is getting is the press trying to be the one who puts the bell around his neck. Not bloody likely.

      The Donald’s criticism of the competence of politicians as a class of people is brilliant. No politician can criticize another politician as being incompetent because that same mirror will be held up to them.

      The Donald can and he can trumpet his own achievements to support his hypothesis. If any politician tries to question The Donald’s competence, he falls into the trap of having to match his CV v The Donald’s.

      What The Donald is doing is saying what everyone is thinking. Leaning forward in his saddle. Jutting his chin out and saying the magic words — Make America Great Again.

      The big revelation? Nobody is arguing that America IS great. Everyone has conceded that America — under Obama — is NOT great. He did that without breaking a sweat.

      How does he get Mexico to pay for the wall?

      BRC
      https://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

      • His “Make America Great Again”. Terrific example of how to puncture and take advantage of political correctness: It’s totally politically incorrect to say that Obama is a loser because the statement might be evidence of racism. So, don’t argue Obama is a loser. Don’t even mention Obama. Instead, just say “Great Again”. Smart play.

        How will The Donald (TD) get Mexico to pay for the wall? First, don’t clearly explain for a while so that get more free time for publicity, e.g., to criticize Mexico. Also, as a side benefit, say that the leaders in Mexico are smart, smarter than our leaders as a way to stick it to Obama and the Democrats without even mentioning either of them.

        I suspect that eventually TD will say something, maybe threaten to get rid of NAFTA, to put a tariff on cars and auto parts, find a way to pressure Mexico, maybe some international rule on trade, over the flow of drugs from Mexico to the US.

        Maybe TD will use some analogy: When your neighbor’s dog is making a mess in your yard, it’s up to your neighbor to build a fence to contain his dog, not you. Ah, borrow from FDR and his remark about neighbors and garden hoses!

        Yup, for TD to push on Mexico over paying for the fence, TD comes across as no loser, pussy, softie, pushover, e.g., like Obama was in the Iran nuke negotiations, like W was in throwing trillions of dollars and thousands of US lives at rag heads, in Iraq not getting the oil, in Akrapistan leaving the Taliban back in power, and leaving Iraq de facto partitioned in a civil war with about a third of Iraq too close to Iran, etc. Nice work TD.

        I wonder just when and how TD thought of that, that is, as you put it, “lean forward in his saddle”, all on his own, with some friends, just from his own frustration at seeing the US lose, just from what he’s done in business all along, e.g., not look like a loser so that others can have confidence in his ability to deliver as promised, so that he doesn’t look like a wuss on his side of the negotiating table, etc.

        In comparison, the other candidates look like losers: They had their mini-debate; TD didn’t show; and the press said that it was boring. They look like they are carrying water for the Koch brothers and for a substantive answer on any issue would have to call back to one of the Kochs for instructions. On issues, they won’t be serious. not on small or large ones; e.g., they won’t really address immigration. So, TD gets real and talks issues.

        I’m beginning to see his hat as a smart move: Now he’s nearly always photographed with his hat, red or white, with “Make America Great Again”. So, his hat might have the effect of a distinctive and attractive ‘brand’ or some such. My guess was that the hat was mostly for his supporters, but so far it’s been part of his ‘brand’. Maybe in time a lot of people in his crowds will be wearing his hat — that could be powerful.

        TD seems to think that his approaches will work; so far they’ve worked great, from the polls, attention from the press, poor responses from the other candidates, etc.

        I like what I’ve seen so far. He should be careful not to make a gaff or put his foot in his mouth, but I believe you are correct — he’s thoughtful, not really shooting from the hip or incautious, and more careful than he looks. Maybe he will go all the way. Someone will — who else?

        It’s a long time until the primaries, conventions, and elections — maybe somewhere in there one of the candidates will find a way to bring down TD. Somehow I doubt it: TD is looking like he knows what he’s doing, by analogy, he’s not just showing some architect’s drawing of a new building and instead is fully serious about making the new building real with a solid track record that he can.

  2. The Donald is the best thing to happen to politics in a long time. I hope he totally destroys the competition in all future debates, and then gets destroyed by Bernie Sanders in the election. ha!

    • .
      For some reason, we have reached backwards this cycle. Don’t know why.

      That would be an interesting debate, wouldn’t it?

      I always respect anyone who is “pure” in their governing philosophy.

      I find the older I get the more liberal some of my views become. As an example, I am completely in favor of universal health care. When I ran public/private companies, I always provided comprehensive health care — health, vision, dental, life and wellness programs.

      I don’t particularly like the delivery system for Ocare.

      That would be a clash of purity.

      I think The Donald is going to do just fine on Thursday for many of the reasons I wrote about.

      BRC
      https://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

        • .
          Could be right. I think Trump has some “Chinaman’s chance”? but I don’t think Sanders does.

          I think Sanders is going to force Clinton far to the left from which she may not recover.

          I wonder how Jeb is going to create any excitement? He is a very plain guy. Might actually be his charm.

          I am so unexcited by the prospect of another Bush as to sit out the election. I also don’t think he can overcome his brother’s enormous negatives.

          If he can start out with Florida in his column, he has a good head start. But, maybe, Rubio brings that. Bush speaks very good Spanish, is married to a Latina, and that will count for something in one or two states that would swing his way.

          None of this speculation is any more informed than a boiled egg. Just baloney really.

          It is several life times before the election. Intellectually not much has changed with the electorate since 2014 wherein the Republicans managed to not defeat themselves.

          BRC

          https://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

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