Explaining the Trump Phenomenon: Part I
By Growltiger*Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign with a broadside against the received wisdom (1) that maybe letting people cross the border illegally might not be such a good idea since many who enter the country illegally are involved with drug smuggling, rape, and once they get here...murder.
In a competition for mining the expanding Hispanic community for votes, representatives of both parties immediately denounced Trump's claims, adjuring that the millions who illegally jumped the border to live and work "in the shadows" contribute uncounted, untold and innumerable benefits to the United States. No mention of the new diseases they bring such as: dengue fever, hepatitis, malaria, Chagas disease; and the old diseases thought to be eradicated like tuberculosis, measles and polio.
Worse than refusing to acknowledge that having millions of people enter the country illegally is a good thing, when the the enlightened tried to educate Mr. Trump, he refused to be educated. In an interview in which CNN's Don Lemon tried to explain to the billionaire businessman that a story Trump was referencing about 80% of the women illegally entering the United States having been raped wasn't really about criminals coming across the border, Trump looked at him as though he'd spontaneously sprouted a third eye and pointed out that somebody was doing the raping.(2)
Mainstream reporters are not used to Republicans fighting back. They expect Republican politicians to go into a defensive crouch. (See Mitt Romney in his second debate in which Candy Crowley backed him down by siding with President Obama in a statement that ultimately turned out to be false and for which she apologized once the TV cameras were turned off).
Trump's heresy has the Republican establishment, pundits and hopefuls scrambling over each other like a pile of puppies in an effort to denounce him and reassure Hispanics that they love and want them, and to please, please vote Republican in the future. This will happen two years after Growltiger is the first feline to walk on the moon. Or three days before the sun goes nova, whichever comes first.
"He's going to destroy the Republican Party," the Republican elite wailed, pounding their collective chests. Democrat agents working undercover as "journalists" piled on gleefully, pointing out that Trump is the Republican Republican Establishment types claim they're not, so vote for Hillary or Bernie or Martin. And, by the way, Scott Walker didn't finish college; Chris Christie is fat and set out traffic cones on the George Washington Bridge; Marco Rubio got some speeding tickets and has a boat; Mike Huckabee is a religious wacko; Ted Cruz is just plain wacko, shut the government down and besides was born in Canada anyway; Carly Fiorina got fired; Dr. Ben Carson said something about gays that wasn't nice, and...
Not to be outdone by the establishment, ruling political elite, Republican pundits like Dr. Charles Krauthammer, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal and drug lord,Joaquin Guzman(3), former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush (who showed no inclination of running until it became apparent the other half of the Bush-Clinton dynasty was in trouble)immediately pronounced Trump "wrong". Words were exchanged, but Trump refused to back down, continued to climb in the polls, and Bush, being the politician he is, realized he was losing the word fight, so magnanimously stated he wasn't going to engage, code for when you're in a hole, stop digging.
Republican Party Chairman, Reince Priebus, the orchestrator of the spectacular McCain and Romney presidential campaigns telephoned Trump to ask him to "tone it down". Why? Because the people who broke into the country illegally might get mad?
Lindsay Graham pronounced Trump a "jackass"; former Texas Governor, Rick Perry, compared him to cancer (cell type unknown); and Mike Huckabee welcomed illegals to come on in by saying he was thankful to live in a country people are trying to break into not out of. Not content to bash Trump personally, John McCain referred to Trump's supporters as "crazies". Trump responded by questioning McCain's status as a war hero, at which time everyone who isn't Trump attacked Trump with a vengeance. Battered and bloody, Trump stood his ground, as he has after losing contracts, having Macy's stop selling his ties, losing his television show, and enduring boycotts.
And this, friends is the Trump Phenomenon. Republicans are not used to their candidates fighting back.
Part II will be published tomorrow.
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(1) Whoever received this wisdom, it wasn't the American people.
(2) Somebody's doing the raping
(3) Drug lord Guzman allegedly has issued threats against Mr. Trump.
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