Imagine If Donald Trump Ran As A Democrat - It's Not Too Hard To Do

The Daily Caller ^ | December 14, 2015 | Jamie Weinstein

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Imagine for a moment if Donald Trump made the decision to run for president as a Democrat instead of as a Republican.

As Trump-mania continues to dominate the Republican presidential primary, it's not hard to envision an alternate reality - one where the real estate billionaire is taking the country by storm as a Democrat.

In many ways, it would have been easier for Trump to enter the Democratic primary than the Republican primary. Trump was registered as a Democrat from 2001 to 2009 and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid over the years. (In fairness, he has donated a lot of money to Republican candidates as well.)

As a native of liberal New York City, it's not surprising that Trump has a much longer record of being pro-choice than he does of being pro-life.

"I support a woman's right to choose," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 2000.

Trump was never a staunch opponent of gay marriage either until recently. In fact, Rick Santorum says that Trump chided him in 2011 for being "too hard-core" on gay marriage and abortion.

"I don't know anyone that shares that opinion with you," Santorum said Trump told him.

So it's not too hard to envision Trump running as a socially liberal Democrat. Indeed, it would seemingly be a far easier act for the thrice-married New Yorker to pull off than convincing evangelicals that he is staunchly pro-life and against gay marriage.

On foreign policy, Trump isn't all that different from Barack Obama. To the extent his foreign policy worldview is comprehensible, he comes across as the least hawkish candidate in the GOP field, with the possible exception of Rand Paul, even though rhetoric sometimes masks this. While he says he wants to increase military spending and "bomb the shit" out of ISIS, he regularly makes the case for reducing America's leadership role in world affairs and focusing on nation building at home.

"I'll tell you what, there is going to be nation building. You know what the nation's going to be? The United States, that's what the nation's going to be," Trump told me in September, speaking of his foreign policy outlook.

As Trump also repeatedly highlights, he opposed the Iraq war (though the first evidence of this comes from 2004, over a year after the war began). Such a position is far more endearing to the Democratic base than Hillary Clinton's support for the military action that removed Saddam from power.

Trump wouldn't be out of place on economic issues in a Democratic primary either. At this anti-Wall Street moment, Trump could paint himself as the insider who is ready to turn enemy of his class for the good of the country.

What's more, Trump has a record of favoring proposals that would be far more vexing to the one percent than anything Bernie Sanders has proposed. In 1999, Trump proposed a one-time 14.25 percent tax on wealthy Americans and trusts over $10 million. Even now he doesn't back away from that proposal philosophically, even though he says he doesn't intend to pursue it in the White House.

"At that time we could have paid off the entire national debt and we could have started the game all even," Trump told Sean Hannity in August, noting that the proposal was actually "very conservative."

Trump is also a supporter of universal health care, if not Obamacare.

"I am going to take care of everybody," Trump said on "60 Minutes" in September. "I don't care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're taken care of now."

Trump even praised the single payer health care programs of Canada and Scotland during the first Republican presidential debate in August.

"As far as single payer, it works in Canada, it works incredibly well in Scotland, it could have worked in a different age, which is the age you are talking about here," Trump said when asked by the moderators about his past support for single payer health care.

Of course Trump would have had to made the strategic decision to position himself to run in 2016 as a Democrat way back in 2010, before he went on his birther kick. You probably can't win a Democratic primary as one of the leading birthers in the country.

His rhetoric on immigration also wouldn't fly in a Democratic primary. But if he made the decision to position himself as a Democrat contender back in 2010, he would never have called for the deportation of all the illegal immigrants in the country. In fact, after Mitt Romney lost in 2012, Trump criticized the Republican contender's rhetoric on immigration as "mean-spirited," which suggests Trump's instincts on illegal immigration may be less harsh than what we are seeing today

"The Democrats didn't have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren't mean-spirited about it," Trump told Newsmax. "They didn't know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind."

But if Trump made the decision to run as a Democrat in 2010, he may be even better positioned to win the Democratic presidential nomination today than he is to win the Republican nomination. The Democratic field is far smaller and with Joe Biden's decision to not enter the race, there is no candidate opposing Hillary Clinton who people can actually imagine winning the nomination, even if Sanders could potentially threaten her in a few states.

Trump may have been that guy. He could have successfully branded Clinton as untrustworthy and even criminal over her email scandal and shady Clinton Foundation dealings, just like he negatively branded so many of his GOP foes. And it very well may have worked, just like it seems to have worked with "low-energy" Jeb Bush.

So it doesn't take too much of an imagination to envision a world where Donald Trump is on the verge of winning the Democratic nomination. In fact, it may even be far easier to get your head around than our current reality.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Others, including myself, have made a similar argument.

Donald Trump is a Big Government liberal.

But ALL of this is "old news" to many of his supporters who don't care and fervently cheer him on.

So I must conclude that they're Big Government advocates too.

[Lazamataz]

You’ve never changed, politically? I sure did. I was once a very liberal guy. Then, I saw liberal policies didn’t work — and furthermore, the left got more and more unhinged.

So I can change. Others can change. Perhaps even you can change.

But Donald Trump?

He can never change. It’s in the TDS handbook.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Thanks for the good post. Will the republicans following him be able to accept the truth?

[Berlin_Freeper]

OH!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The point is, he hasn't changed.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

"I am going to take care of everybody," Trump said on "60 Minutes" in September. "I don't care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're taken care of now."

So you want him to take care of you?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” - Sherlock Holmes

[Telepathic Intruder]

Once you have a “R” next to your name, liberals will hate your forever. You’re forever a racist, a bigot, a sexist, a homophobe, and a xenophobe. Trump can never hope to get a single lib vote.

[Jim Robinson]

garbage

[Talisker]

Trump can beat Hillary. No one else can, because of the absolute brainwashing of liberal women into total mouth-breathing zombies.

Hillary is the end of America. If she gets her way, she’d be the end of all human life on the planet Earth.

Therefore, Trump is it.

[Olog-hai]

Weinstein has no problem writing for the NYDN and Business Insider. Looked back after putting hand to plow.

[SamuraiScot]

Imagine If Donald Trump Ran As A Democrat - It's Not Too Hard To Do

Okay. So why didn't he do it?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Once you have a "R" next to your name, liberals will hate your forever. You're forever a racist, a bigot, a sexist, a homophobe, and a xenophobe. Trump can never hope to get a single lib vote.

Well, Trump started out as a "D," then was an "R," then went "Reform," then was a "D," then was a "R," then was an "I," - currently a "R."

So, as Hillary would say, "What difference does it make!?"

[caww]

You know how hard we all worked to reveal the truth about Obama as he ran....yet his supporters were on the same sort of Hype and it didn't matter what Obama had said or done before his run....and they said so. So have Trumps supporters regarding his history.... They don't care about his past and they're willing to "risk" that trump won't fail them....how do they measure that????

The thing which concerns me is that many voters will cast their votes to get the "reality" that they want.... instead Trump will continue to pander to those desires even if in the end it means a grimmer outcome then what they hoped.

The big problem is that we have no record on which to judge Trump on what he says Now...... He has never held political office, has never been a major contributor to pro-rights efforts, and has never used his power and influence to advance the debate on rights issues..........we have nothing but his statements .... which have changed over the years. That’s not all that reassuring.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Weinstein has no problem writing for the NYDN and Business Insider. Looked back after putting hand to plow.

And Trump has no shame.

It must be pointed out that Donald Trump continued to support Hillary Clinton after Benghazi.

Nov 11, 2012 Benghazi attack

"In 2012, as Obama was running for re-election, Trump called Clinton "terrific" again in an interview with Fox News, saying she performed well as Secretary of State."....

July 15, 2015: Donald Trump" .."When I needed Hillary, she was there."...

Dec 9, 2015: Hillary Clinton's most repugnant lie

"The lie's even in her words at the Sept. 14 [2012] ceremony: "We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with."

Dec 9, 2015: Email Released by Judicial Watch Shows Military Forces Were Immediately Ready To Move Night of Benghazi

"....It should be noted that at least one survivor of the attack waited for 20 hours on top of a roof before the assault was over and before help arrived..."

But....

July 15, 2015: Donald Trump" .."When I needed Hillary, she was there."...

[Carry_Okie]

But Donald Trump?

Too many too recently with no consistent record of actions according to said converted preferences with which to demonstrate credibility. Reagan had been a Democrat too, but spent decades writing and taking actions otherwise, including as governor of California. Trump has no such record. It is therefore reasonable to question his sincerity.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Don’t get discouraged, just keep speaking the truth. Good job!!!

[Olog-hai]

Doesn’t help Weinstein. Makes him sound more like the GOP-e chorus, who supports all of those liberal things themselves.

[Bobalu]

I was once a very liberal guy

I actually voted for George McGovern!

The stupidest thing I ever did.. :-)

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Another piece just out today:

Is Trump a Democrat?

"From The Hill last July:

"I probably identify more as a Democrat" so sayeth Donald J Trump a few years ago during a CNN interview. During the same interview he opinionated (he does a lot of that) that "It just seems that the economy does better under Democrats than the Republicans". He confirmed his views just a few months ago on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" when he said 'I identify with some things as a Democrat."

Further back, he proclaimed Republicans "too crazy right."

These are not just one-time gaffes since he had practiced what he has preached since that interview. Is Trump a crypto-Democrat?

He certainly has put his money where his mouth has been. Democrats have been the primary beneficiaries of his political donations until a few years ago when he started giving to Republicans. (See below.)

He has had high praise for the Clintons and opened his wallet to them.

In 2007, Hillary Clinton was on course to build support for her presidential run and he expressed confidence in her talents: "Hillary's always surrounded herself with very good people. I think Hillary would do a good job" when predicting she would make a good deal with Iran. She was, Donald said, a "terrific woman."

As Ariel Cohen writes in the Washington Examiner, "Trump and the Clintons have a cozy past":..............." [much more at source]