Posted on 12/28/2015 2:25:51 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Outraged by what Donald Trump says? You are not alone. No high-polling presidential candidate in the modern era has so intrepidly drawn the ire of so many within the American electorate. And there remains no end in sight.
Yet in rendering one voting bloc utterly apoplectic, he has appealed viscerally to another. The balance of middle ground politics is not, shall we say, Mr Trump’s bailiwick. But America is no longer a middle ground country. We are already scared by our division — and it is getting worse.
The simple truth is, the more provocative his language, the deeper and more passionate his support. He is no dummy; there is a method to his proverbial madness. Mr Trump says — to the growing legions who will listen — what tens of millions of Americans are already thinking. Respect or revile him, the man has hit a vein.
I spent three hours in a deep dialogue focus group with 29 Trump supporters. The phenomenon of “The Donald†is rooted in a psyche far deeper and more consequential than next November’s presidential election. His support denotes an abiding distrust in — and disrespect for — the governing elite. These individuals do not like being told by Washington or Wall Street what is best for them, do not like the direction America is headed in, and disdain President Barack Obama and his (perceived) circle of self-righteous, tone-deaf governing partisans.
Trump voters are not just angry — they want revenge.
Mr Trump has adroitly filled the vacuum of vitriol, establishing himself as the bold, brash, take-no-prisoners megaphone for the frustrated masses. They see him as the antidote to all that Mr Obama has made wrong with America. So to understand why millions love Mr Trump so much, you have to take a step back and listen to why they hate Mr Obama so much.
Here, my Trump voter focus group was particularly illuminating. Some still believe the president is not Christian. Many believe he does not love America. And just about all of them think he does not reflect the values the country was built upon. Indeed, within this growing faction, Mr Trump has licence to say just about anything. As we have seen repeatedly, the more outrageous the accusation, the more receptive the ear.
Mr Trump delights in unleashing harsh attacks on Jeb Bush, the Republican establishment and the “mainstream mediaâ€. His childlike joy in ridiculing his critics is tantamount to healing balm for the millions who have felt silenced, ignored and even scorned by the governing and media elite for so long. Is it any wonder that his declaration of war against “political correctness†is his most potent and predictable applause line?
Straight-talking candidates are nothing new in American politics. From Ross Perot in 1992 to John McCain in 2000, from Howard Dean in 2004 to Sarah Palin in 2008, they rise like a rocket on the fuel of their seemingly fresh and unencumbered aversion to traditional politics. They purport to say what they mean and mean what they say — bucking established electoral trends and ruffling established political feathers. Then they crash. The media turn sour. The message grows stale. The electorate gets bored.
Mr Trump is different. The media attacks on him have been fast and furious. Yet he has defied electoral gravity because the blows are delivered by an institution that is distrusted and an elite political and business establishment that is detested.
Meanwhile, voters consistently tell pollsters like me that negative attacks do not work; they hate the ad hominem assaults. Mr Trump? He dines out on them. As his devotees see it, it is not Mr Trump going negative. It is him telling the truth. And when he fights back, he’s throwing punches on their behalf. He said something outrageous? “He’s simply raising an important issue nobody else has the courage to talk about.†He insulted someone? “That’s just him campaigning. He won’t do that as president.†He changed his position? “That was a long time ago. Everyone’s entitled to change their mind.†He doesn’t have many policy specifics? “He doesn’t need them. He’ll surround himself with smart people.†They will justify any action, explain away any contradiction, and dismiss any criticism because they are so personally and passionately invested in him.
And here is the prediction that will furrow brows on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Trump’s supporters today will be Mr Trump’s supporters next November if he is still a candidate — no matter what party banner he runs under. Half will follow him out of the Republican Party if he breaks his promise and declares as an independent. For better or worse, his supporters will follow him to the ends of the Earth — or to the White House. Whichever comes first.
:)
Resistance. Restoration. Retribution.
President Obama told his base not to boo Mitt Romney, rather to vote revenge.
There is little-to-no unusual merit in an Alinskyite's inclinations toward freezing, isolating and ridiculing a candidate. They're entirely given to the politics of personal destruction.
The paucity of mainstream news articles concerning cheering American-based muslims following 9/11 is as good as proof to an opposing Alinskyite that someone claiming it happened is a total liar and fraud, when the only fair argument is one of degree. How many muslims--or better yet, what percentage--were celebrating and smiling?
It's as it is with cockroaches and termites. One dare not think if you've killed one in your home that you've gotten all of them. Even more, if you see and kill a hundred cockroaches or termites on a given day, that you've killed all of them.
So, too, with muslim celebrating 9/11. One may readily look at the polls of the percentage of American-based muslims that refuse to assimilate into American society, or the percentage that want Shariah Law to become American Law. That's the percentage we can take to the bank that were celebrating 9/11, whether ululating loudly in the streets or rooftops, or merely quietly backslapping and smiling at each other in their mosques concerning 9/11.
People with their eyes opened--often those support Trump or Cruz--know that if merely scores or hundreds were caught and reported to be celebrating, that really represents the mere tip of the iceberg of those actually celebrating in their hearts.
It's just like the adage of moderate muslims versus radical islamists. The radical Islamists are ready to pick up the AK-47 to shoot you or the knife to behead you. The moderate muslims are pleased to see the radical Islamists do the job.
Just as with a poll of of a mere thousand likely voters, one can often scientifically extrapolate percentages to millions of votes in an election, so too, we may be confident about the very high number and percentage of American-based muslims that support terrorist violence against "the infidel" in America while simultaneously see the self-serving dis ingenuousness of the Alinskyite opposition.
HF
They are so angry they are not going to show up to vote. They are so angry they are going to abandon Trump any day now and vote for Jeb.
I just like that Trump refuses to play by MSM rules. They always mock us, and we stay silent or apologize. We are polite, and take what they dish out.
Trump takes what they dish out, crams it back down their throats, and will not let them have the last word.
Isn’t he the one that wears sneakers with a suit, had a nervous breakdown after the last election and wouldn’t go out in public for months?
Ping.
“As embarrassing as it is to say, Bernie Sanders gets it as well.”
Yeah, Bernie gets it but we don’t like his socialist solutions.
I don’t want revenge. I would very much prefer to watch Obama and his socialist voters to see the light, turn away from evil, and join decent people in supporting freedom. Then we could work together to deport illegals, repeal Obamacare, and restore the Constitution as written and restore the rule of law.
Failing that, I want revenge!
He is the candidate of the people who don’t like the direction the country is moving in. Cruz seems to *say* the right things, too, but the “I’m fed up and this country is going in the wrong direction” crowd amongst my friends are genuinely energized by Trump.
Just an anecdotal observation.
Agreed REVENGE is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!!! CONTEMPT, HATRED, I LOATH each and EVERYONE of these SOB’s I want my damned FREEDOM back!!!
LOL!!
I don’t think that Trump has enough political savy to exact revenge. Cruz would be much better on that score. I remember Cruz telling the IRS not to destroy any of the records connected with the IRS scandal. That is a clue that he’s going to follow up on that and he’s just the one to do so. I cannot believe that after 8 years there are no corruption scandals from this Obama bunch. They wrote $8 trillion in debt. I suspect a lot of it went into the pockets of Obama cronies.
I heard her in that interview, SCREAMING at TV about being one of the most informed voters on this great earth, is she kidding me??? VERY wishful thinking on her part, it is the MOST INFORMED voters that want want PAYBACK we are ALL sick to death of being lied to and living under ALL of these SOB’s rules and regulations!!!!
“When the ballot box ceases to work, we have but one box left to turn to”
An Ammo Box?
Revenge? Yes, I want to see any “educator” who teaches American History from a “textbook” by Howard Zinn out of a job. “Would you like fries with that?”
More and more I fear such talk will lead to an attempt to stop Trump with a bullet or bomb. Trump supporters—what will you do then? They will blame it on Mexican Cartel—or ISIS or KKK but —if that should happen people should take to the streets! It should be like Cairo when they booted out the Moslem Brotherhood. or maybe a march on Washington and do like the British did in the war of 1812. Revenge—stop the Liberals and Communists! Burn the left wing newspapers and new media NBC—ABC—CBS—!!!
“The blows [against Trump] are delivered by an institution that is distrusted and an elite political and business establishment that is detested.”
True. Frank Luntz understands. His book “What Americans Really Want” (2009) is insightful and clear.
What do Americans really want? Accountability.
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