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Trump: The Glass Half-Full Perspective
Trump Ice bottled water was forced into receivership in 2006. Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
As I drive my kids to school I switch between Fox News and Glenn Beck, and when each station plays the incessant My Pillow and 877-Kars-4-Kids commercials, we enjoy some morning Zeppelin.
My youngest boy (almost 11) registered his newest complaint of the moment: “Why do we always get the red lights? It takes sooooo oooo oooo looong.” His whine-du-jour always annoys me. Being raised in England, that whole stiff-upper-lip thing was ingrained in me, so complainers always get my swift correction.
I asked him if he knew the metaphor, “The glass is half full/empty” and what it means. He nailed the answer (proud Dad). Then I asked him to use it in relation to the red light. He nailed that, too: “The red light means I get to spend less time at school and more time with you.” (Gushing proud Dad.) Lesson of the day, done.
After dropping them off, I turned back to Beck’s laser-like prosecution of Trump. He was going through a litany of reasons why Trump is not a conservative, from his endorsement of Obama to his “great friendship” with Hillary and Bill, to the likelihood he would have billions more today has he just let the interest from his inheritance compound instead of investing in myriad failed business schemes. The list went on and on, and my head nodded approval like an Oprah audience member.
His supporters apparently believe Trumps’ populist promises of great Trump Healthcare, fantastic Trump Schools (Trump University, part deux?), and the finest, most delicious Trump Steaks government cheese and spam, spam, spam, bacon, and spam. This will all be provided to the proletariat while Trump turns the Middle East into a 70s Coke hilltop commercial (sorry, Trump “perfect harmony” Cola). China, Japan, and Mexico will all bow at the knee of “Dear Leader Donald.”
His appeal to the working class (can we stop calling them Reagan Democrats, please?) is taking a page from the progressive class warfare handbook that promises to tax the wealthy (a.k.a. the upper-middle class) to pay for it all, while filing Chapter 11 and clearing the national debt. All of this can be done because we’ll sock it to those evil overseas marketplaces who provide cheap labor so Americans can enjoy cheap commodities (dey took our jerrbs!).
A pretty negative outlook from someone who just told his kid to find the positive in the situation. So, this Dad will live by his own words. Here is my feeble attempt at optimism:
1. By winning the nomination Trump will force the GOP to restructure. Trump as a Republican could turn the GOP brand into kryptonite. However, true conservatives (pointing at you, Freedom Caucus) will have an opportunity to redefine American Conservatism.
The Jordans, Duncans, and Brats in the House should corrall the GOP congress and establish a simple 2016 Contract with America. Take the initiative and proactively communicate the message of conservative ideals to a new audience. Who’s that new audience? Those “angry” new and old voters who have felt ignored and are now coming out of the woodworks to support Trump. This is a ready-made audience looking for clarity. They want to learn. They are eager to improve their lot. Let’s teach them how free markets are the answer. How regulation stifles innovation and affects growth. Introduce Econ-101 real life lessons, and explain how less regulation means more dollars in local business owners pockets, equaling more jerbs. Not just saying the words, but educating them with examples of successful people telling their stories of entrepreneurship.
2. Trump, with all his faults, will get some Democrats in his column. He will triangulate issues, and the growing liberal-conservative split of the past 30 years will become nebulous. New alliances can be formed. Instead of playing defense against phony “wars on women,” and being called racists, homophobes, and puppy killers, we can go on offense. Compare and contrast the decades of Democrat big government neglect of big cities that gave us Detroit, urban blight, crime, and the horror of union-controlled education. Democrats in Midwest rust-belt states want change. They never got it under Obama; in fact, it only got worse. Bring them over to our column by providing less centralized government and more local control.
3. Trump will need to select a strong, conservative vice-president. My suggestion is New Mexico’s two-time Governor Susana Martinez. There’s the obvious major demographic appeal (first Latina Governor), but she also has tremendous gravitas and publicly disagreed with Trump’s summer comments about Mexicans.
According to Libertarian Republic,
As governor, Martinez has been consistently conservative, refusing to raise taxes and balancing the budget without doing so … she is ardently pro-life and staunchly supports the 2nd Amendment, including the right to concealed carry.
Martinez supports strong border security, ended New Mexico’s “sanctuary state” policy, and has been trying to convince an uncooperative legislature to repeal the state’s “dangerous” practice of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
Imagine a strong-willed female candidate, overwhelmingly supported by Hispanics, introducing herself as the voice of reason who works directly with Trump. Given her substantial executive experience, many would consider her a safeguard against Trump’s propensity to waffle on conservative ideals. Trump should suggest Martinez will play an active and instrumental part of a Trump administration.
Inquisitr imagines her Trump Tower acceptance speech:
“I don’t see eye to eye with members of my own family about everything, so it should be no surprise that Mr. Trump and I have disagreements about some key issues. But we completely agree that decisive steps need to be taken to create jobs and restore America’s economy.
“We also agree that preventing Hillary Clinton [insert other Democrat] from carrying out a third Obama term is of utmost importance, which will require the Republican party to be unified.
“He has promised me, moreover, that I will have a seat at the table during any major decisions made by the Trump administration.”
So, not so bad, right? Yes, Trump may not be my candidate of choice, but let’s stop the handwringing, look for the silver linings, and take the initiative.
Trump may be able to herd cats into the Republican column, but it is up to true conservative leaders to convert those cats into life-long conservative lions.
Published in General
I’m on your wavelength but I like Kasich; successful in everything he has undertaken and could deliver 18 electoral votes. I sense that these two egos could co-exist peacefully and actually accomplish some good things. Kasich is also qualified to become president if necessary and after watching the gold standard of VPs- Dick Cheney- this does weigh on my mind.
My half-empty part of the glass tells me that Trump will be crushed in the general election, will be fortunate to hit triple digits in electoral votes, will place HRC unavoidably on my radar for years, will drag down any number of Senate and H of R candidates, will cede SCOTUS to liberals for a generation, and will force me to move to Canada (I like hockey).
I’m still working on the half-full part.
@Hoyacon:
Don’t underestimate the prosperous who are truly afraid of losing their hard-won assets and spend far too much time playing defense that takes away from offense (aka growth and expansion and providing new jobs).
The MSM is not nearly sophisticated enough to realize that the working class and the upper middle class have much in common.
Kasich is a great choice. Ohio EV’s always critical, but Im starting to wonder if it will come down to needing Ohio. The playing field seems to be shifting.
Note to Max: I don’t understand how I posted this and it immediately went to 9th position in the member feed.
Interesting observation; please elaborate a bit.
Trump’s appeal in the Rust Belt may be huge. But, he also seems to be bringing Democrats in from areas that Hillary will need them, ie: Dem strangleholds like MA and NY (polls show he is up), and very purple VA and FL.
Congrats on a job well-done with your son, ;)
I really like points 1 and 3, but have my doubts about point 2. I suspect a Democratic version of “Operation Chaos” is underway, and all those cross-overs will change back and vote for Felony in November.
(Btw, those 877-Kars-4-Kids commercials make me want to stab somebody!)
Thanks Teresa!
You may very well be right. Trump isn’t a true Conservative meaning there will be legislation Dems will work with him on. The question is can the GOP harness that relationship and actually implement Conservative policy as they did in 95.
Me too. that song should be looped at Gitmo.
You might want to approach a bit more humbly. I know these folks and I come from their stock. I work with them every day.
They might teach you the difference between trade and economic warfare asset stripping, and I would bet they know more about the impact of regulation on the economy than you do. If the Movement Conservatives approach them like missionaries to bring enlightenment to the heathen, I think I will sit back and smile a lot.
I have met truly stupid people in suits running banks and such and I have met guys with dirty hands who are the best field engineers I have ever seen. Try not to be like the missionaries in the movie Airplane, or if you insist, be as hilarious.
David, I am with you. We must get out of the whining and deal with what we have. We should embrace the new people and influence them.
I do find it hard to understand how the guy can be a clown and most evil man on earth. Those seem to be mutual exclusives.
Lots of egotistical and bad men are, stripped of their power, nothing more than clowns.
I commend David for being willing to challenge his assumptions, but I am with those who see Trump as a harbinger of the end of the Republic.
We are supposed to be a nation of laws, not men: Trump is promoting Trump, and, just as he has his entire life, ignoring or manipulating all laws. The man is a walking crony, and his goal is not to end crony capitalism, but merely to see how much fun it is to ride the dragon.
Sometimes the greedy man is the easiest to control. He is not fooling anyone. I worry about the person who is so clever that they hide the problems. I agree that he is bad and his moral compass is broken.
Who do you think will be the bellwether of a better republic?
Whoever dials back an intrusive and occasionally tyrannical government to its constitutional limits.
It may be impossible. But the only person still running who even properly understands the challenge and appreciates its necessity is Ted Cruz.
What are his chances to be elected? If the convention is brokered would he be selected?
Jumping over the leader (I presume Trump) would be dicey enough. Jumping past the runner up as well in favor of 3 or 4 would be too far. I think he probably gets it unless they go for someone not running at all.
I have seen this scenario played out before. In deep blue California voters abandoned party loyalty to elect (then) conservative Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. That worked only through the election. When Arnold actually tried to implement some conservative policies, the voters turned on him like a pack of jackals, and he quickly pivoted to the left to maintain his popularity.
And, of course, celebrity candidate Arnold provided no lasting benefit to the Republican Party in California. As soon as his term was over, California went straight back to far-left Jerry Brown as Governor, and a straight slate of Dems in every statewide office. Therefore, I am extremely skeptical that Trump will do anything to draw new voters into the Republican brand. The loyalty of his voters is to his celebrity, and nothing else.
By the way, on the subject of a potential VP, we should keep in mind that everything Trump does is about ego and self-promotion. His VP will be whoever most relentlessly flatters his ego, and who will not overshadow him in any way. Christie seems to understand that. Arguments about what VP would be smart strategically will affect Trump the way neutrinos affect the rest of us – they will pass right through him without him ever having the least awareness that they were ever there.
I understand a VP Kasich pick, though I don’t agree with it.
I don’t understand a VP Martinez. That seems straight up pandering and inconsistent with Trump’s initial cornerstone issue.
The Trump glass can be seen as half full in various ways – well, I’d say half full is wildly generous – but the empty portion, be it 50 or 90 percent, remains glaringly obvious. Donald Trump is routinely dishonest, holds despicable views and has shown himself time and again to be a person of extremely low character. His nomination would be a stain on the Republican Party.
Being raised in England, I would have thought you’d give him a lecture on how roundabouts are patently superior to traffic lights!
;-)
Having recently fled Los Angeles for the friendly and sinful confines of Las Vegas, one of my great delights is that in Vegas you do not have to sit there while a traffic light cycles three times before you can get through it, only to repeat the process a block down the road. It cracks me up when I hear people here talk about “traffic.” They have no idea what real traffic is.
Circular argument.
When I am out in my car, I pop between the same two stations. I was a big fan of Glenn when he was on TV, and get his email each day, and he’s right about a lot of things – but sometimes life goes in other directions, and he’s not always right. If Trump is the nominee, I will vote for him. I did not vote for him yesterday.
What I don’t like is the murmuring behind the scenes by the old guard if Trump is the candidate, that they will stage a brokered convention. I never heard of such a thing – but it would do more harm to our party and country, than anything any candidate could do. Let’s hope they are not that stupid, because it will backfire, especially for them.
That would comfort me.
I am not sure where the idea of Susan Martinez is coming from, but this is from our pages. She was also among the first to issue illegal immigrants drivers licenses.
If more than half of the Conservatives/Republicans are embarrassed by Trump and pray every day he would just go away, and almost all the Liberal/Democrats despise Trump and view Trump as a Hitler figure(sorry Mr. Godwin…did I just lose this argument?), wouldn’t the math in the November general election work out to something worse than the worst for Trump and the Republicans:
Most lopsided Presidential Election in modern times
1936 Presidential Popular Vote
Roosevelt (D) 61%
Landon (R) 36%
The (R)’s only possible saving grace is that Hillary Clinton is an awful human being and a even worse politician.
When I am in my car, I listen to my iPod.
I get much more pleasure out of a History of Philosophy podcast than I do out of talk radio or the same dozen classic rock songs over and over.
(The exception is Sunday evenings, when the alternative rock station has some really interesting underground and music history shows, like Alan Cross’ The Ongoing History of New Music, Jen Traplin’s The Vinyl Recycler, and Jim Hurcumb’s The Sound of the Underground.)
Trump has been remarkably consistent over the years about jobs and trade. He’s a job creator who believes that more balanced trade will reduce what Ross Perot called the great whooshing sound of American jobs being sucked abroad.