Posted on 11/20/2015 11:30:00 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
As has been made abundantly clear by his incessant mewling and pathetically thin skin, Donald J. Trump is not in fact an unwaveringly resolute tough guy of the type you would hope to find standing next to you in the trenches, but an insecure attention seeker who cannot help but pander to his audiences' prejudices. In the past few days, Trump has been asked variously whether, if elected, he would use his power to close mosques; whether he believes that Muslims should be registered in a special government database; and whether or not it would be a good idea to suspend the Fourth Amendment for anybody who prays to Allah. In all cases he has either demurred completely or eschewed the more traditional "yes" and "no" categories in favor of some choice hedging. "That may have to be done," Trump says. "There's no doubt." "We'll look at that." "We'll consider all the options." "We're going to have to look at a lot of things very closely."
So painful has this tendency become that I have begun to hope his interviewers will get a little surreal, just to see what he says:
"Will you replace your hair with spaghetti and your fingers with soup spoons?"
"Sure. We're going to look at everything."
"As president would you consider taking suspected burglars and parachuting them naked into lava?"
"That's something we'll consider. You can't have all this crime. Terrible."
"Do you think it's fair to say that you are the egg man, that you are the egg man, that you are the Walrus?"
"We're going to examine a range of possibilities."
"GooGooGooJoob?"
"I'll be looking into that."
Perhaps the only thing that is worse than Trump's silence is what he does say.
The most common defense of Trump's perpetual acquiescence has been that he did not explicitly say "yes" to the more controversial among the questions, and that he cannot therefore be accused of endorsement. In truth, this isn't quite right; speaking to NBC last night, he did seem to suggest affirmatively that Muslims would be required to sign into his hypothetical database or face consequences. Either way, I'm struggling to see how this defense can be acceptable to his admirers. Trump, recall, is supposed to be courageous. He's supposed to be steadfast. He's supposed to be a no-holds-barred badass who will make great deals and stare down enemies and Make America Great Again. How, one wonders, does a chronic inability to say "no" fit into that mien?
If there is one quality we need in a president, it is the ability decisively to say "no" - especially, I would venture, if that president hopes to advance conservative goals. When a sane person is asked whether he would institute a tracking database for Muslims or force one religious group to carry special ID cards, he says, "Of course I wouldn't." If Trump is unable to manage even this, how would he rein in spending or limit illegal immigration? More to the point, as Trump might ask sneeringly of others, how would he deal with Vladimir Putin?
Perhaps the only thing that is worse than Trump's silence is what he does say. Even if we are generous and assume that the man does not actually believe any of the specific proposals to which he has given his tacit consent, the attitude he is exhibiting is positively Wilsonian in character. In Trump's world, America will be restored to glory when his handpicked team of experts is permitted to experiment upon the public outside of the usual constitutional limits. Nowhere in his rhetoric will you find any reference to America's pre-existing cultural and legal traditions, or to the necessary bounds that free men insist be imposed upon the state. There is no talk of "freedom"; no reflexive grounding of ideas in the Declaration and the Federalist Papers; no conceptual explanation or underlying philosophy. There is nothing, except will to power. By his own admission, Trump's are the politics of doing enthusiastically what works in the moment; of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt; of the administrative state and of bureaucratic expertise; of the Prussians and the French and the Singaporeans. Whatever he might claim before his adoring crowds, Trump is not in fact an antidote to Barack Obama. He is his parallel.
Calvin Coolidge said "no" over and over and over again because he understood that the federal government existed for a handful of specific reasons, and that any action it took outside of its carefully delineated tramlines was inherently suspect. Donald Trump's only visible constitutional opinion is that someone strong ought to make sure the trams run on time. There's a word for men like that, and it sure as heck isn't "conservative."
Ask yourself, will Trump be sympathetic or stand with the muzzies? Has Trump ever uttered the words “my Muslim faith” ? I didn’t think so. Go Trump!
I don’t care if Trump’s getting better....Commander in Chief is not an entry level position when we’re at war and crisis Internationally.........the fact people even see that he’s “getting better” evidences that will also follow him into the Washington...I don’t want a President who “keeps getting better”.....had enough with Obama!
Hillary has some head problems that may very well be further exposed before she gets there....they will structure debates so she can “handle” them mentally... Her snaps aren’t exactly in good shape.
Make no mistake though...it’s a two for the price of one...Ol Billy boy waits in the background.
Billy boy is a dried up old geezer with ties to Under Age Island via the Loloita express! No thanks!
That’s not what Hillary supporters think...though I agree with you.
My fear is all the obamanites that will vote for hillary because she worked for obama’s administration(hoping for a third term by proxy)
Just wait until Trump pounds her with that! She’s a champion for women, although she stands by her rapist husband. He is a liability now!
LOL: Evidently that ISN’T above her pay grade...
People will vote according to what ever reasons they think Hillary can offer. ...even if for no other reason then pushing the Democrat button..
The idiots that voted for Obama will do likewise....the nation is full of uninformed and easily led idiots.... after all the illegals do vote and their countries are sending all their undesirables here.
His pay grade...
Thank you MinuteGal. I appreciate it.
= :^)
I agree with your comments there.
Thanks.
D1
....”Just wait until Trump pounds her with that!”.....
Trump needs to give more than “poundings”....some people are going to be listening to what he has to say about issues they are concerned about.....and this in relation to what Hillary might say.
Nobody cares about infidelities....it’s considered today as “normal” and “private” behavior among politicians.
I hope it’s on the ticket.
Thank you.
Not it’s not sarcasm....her supporters will be listening to what they want to hear her say and she will deliver. Trump will be an “interruption” to that but she’ll be well prepared for how Trump operates.
Cincinatus’ Wife
:)
LOL!
Rape is not a mere infidelity. Many of the young voters don’t even know about this history, but they will if it’s Hillary. Not to mention the underage girls that happened after bill left office. No female staffers would be safe if Hill gets elected! Imagine the new oval office scandal when bill is caught, yet again, with his pants down, smoking cigars!
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