This is not meant as a dig or to ridicule. I am simply trying to get an idea of the logic behind Trump supporters. I know many are voting for "Not Hillary" and don't want this to be about her. I have some questions about Trump which I am curious about. For those who will indulge me, I tried to make these simple yes or no questions, but welcome any additional commentary.
1. Do you think Trump is a RINO (Republican in name only)?
2. Do you think Trump is a conservative?
3. Do you trust / believe Trump?
4. Do you think Trump has defined his policies well?
5. Do you think Trump is rude / abrasive?
6. Do you think Trump cares about the average American?
7. Do you consider Russia to be an enemy of the U.S.?
8. Do you think there is any truth to the accusations Paul Manafort and Carter Page have intimate ties to Russia?
9. Do you think there are things in the tax returns Trump once promised to release which prove he has lied about his net worth, where he gets his income or where his personal borrowing comes from?
10. Do you think he has the temperament to be president?
11. Are you concerned a Trump presidency would alienate us from our closest allies?
1. Maybe
2. He's somwhere between moderate and conservative
3. Trust nobody, but trust him more than most
4. No
5. No, but sensitive culture would
6. More than most
7. No
8. Maybe, irrelevant
9. Maybe
10. Yes
11. No, which allies? Saudi Arabia? Qatar? Yes, please alienate us from them.
Quote:This is not meant as a dig or to ridicule. I am simply trying to get an idea of the logic behind Trump supporters. I know many are voting for "Not Hillary" and don't want this to be about her. I have some questions about Trump which I am curious about. For those who will indulge me, I tried to make these simple yes or no questions, but welcome any additional commentary.
1. Do you think Trump is a RINO (Republican in name only)?
No. Donald Trump represents an iteration of republican ideology that is more nationalist and populist than traditional republicanism but he is not "Democrat light" in his presentation as with most of those who are considered RINO.
2. Do you think Trump is a conservative?
As Newt Gingrich stated, the concept of conservatism is a lot more of a broad tent than people realize. The better question is, does he align enough with conservative principles. I think that you could make the argument that he is going to put forth the most conservative tax plan since reagan, the most conservative immigration plan in our countries history and a stronger trade policy than we have had at any time in the post modern globalist age.
3. Do you trust / believe Trump?
For the most part yes. There is an inherent level of gamesmanship in politics, we all understand that. Trump gets in trouble because he is too open and honest, few politicians at the presidential level have that problem.
4. Do you think Trump has defined his policies well?
Yes x 1000. He gets almost no credit for being one of the most substantive candidates to run for president. He's given major policy speeches on his tax agenda, regulatory agenda, trade agenda, education agenda, military spending etc. He has also run a campaign base on being basically the most ubiquitous candidate in history. He has been on with almost everyone almost everywhere almost all the time.
5. Do you think Trump is rude / abrasive?
I think he's Brooklyn.
6. Do you think Trump cares about the average American?
I think Trump Cares deeply about the average american. People like to claim that the guy doesn't have a center, when you go back and look at the things that he has been talking about for decades, its been stronger trade policy and economic renewal for the American worker. There are two types of developers, the guy who doesn't give a crap about anyone but his own family, and the guy who fundamentally understands that no matter how smart he may be that ultimately for him to be successful he can't dig all the ditches, run all the wires etc. etc. etc. and those are the ones that have an ingrained appreciation and respect for their employees and the dignity of an honest days work. As someone who's family has worked in construction for many decades he strikes me as the later.
7. Do you consider Russia to be an enemy of the U.S.?
I think that Russia is a major international power that in many instances has interests that conflict with ours and other interests that converge with ours. As a nuclear power, it's very unlikely that we are going to start WWIII with them any time soon. The goal of our next president is to mitigate their advancement in areas that we diverge on and increase our cooperation in arenas that we agree, specifically the defeat of radical sunni terrorist groups in the middle eastern theater of operation. That's going to require both a strong working relationship with Putin and the ability to put your foot down and demand respect.
8. Do you think there is any truth to the accusations Paul Manafort and Carter Page have intimate ties to Russia?
Not really. And certainly no more than 750k in speaking fees and millions of dollars in contributions to a family foundation surrounding the sale of American Nuclear Assets.
9. Do you think there are things in the tax returns Trump once promised to release which prove he has lied about his net worth, where he gets his income or where his personal borrowing comes from?
No. As he said, the FEC already has some 150 pages of financial disclosures as part of his eligibility to run for president. If there was a legitimate discrepancy then he would be dealing with subpoenas and civil litigation not just Mark Cuban chirping from the peanut gallery. whether the number is 10 billion or 8 billion doesn't really matter all that much. I don't think that there is anything in any one year of income tax returns that can tear down Trump Tower.
10. Do you think he has the temperament to be president?
Yes.
11. Are you concerned a Trump presidency would alienate us from our closest allies?
If Donald Trump ascends to the presidency it will be because of the implicit endorsement of Megyn Kelly, the President of Mexico, and Ted Cruz paid for by the Media outlets that hate his guts... You tell me?
Ultimately there are different groups within the Trump camp right now. There are those who supported him early on, and then there are those who are supporting him out of party loyalty. For the later, he has presented himself as a credible enough alternative to the Great Satan in pants suits. For those who supported him early on, for the most part we believe that his approach to trade, taxes, and reducing regulation is the best path to economic renewal, and his commitment to a more national sovereign relationship to the world will preserve our national identity while not making us subservient to foreign governing bodies or having our borders language and culture overrun by multiculturalism.
Quote:This is not meant as a dig or to ridicule. I am simply trying to get an idea of the logic behind Trump supporters. I know many are voting for "Not Hillary" and don't want this to be about her. I have some questions about Trump which I am curious about. For those who will indulge me, I tried to make these simple yes or no questions, but welcome any additional commentary.
I'm voting for Hillary but here are my responses
1. Do you think Trump is a RINO (Republican in name only)? I like the fact that Trump is somewhat in the middle.
2. Do you think Trump is a conservative?see above response
3. Do you trust / believe Trump? No, but I don't trust Hillary either
4. Do you think Trump has defined his policies well? Policies are for election only --- presidents change once they get elected.
5. Do you think Trump is rude / abrasive? Very --- he's only calm now to gain support --- if elected, he'll be back in rare form.
6. Do you think Trump cares about the average American? the white male american -- yes.
7. Do you consider Russia to be an enemy of the U.S.? not really -- they are trying but they are so far from being a superpower once again.
8. Do you think there is any truth to the accusations Paul Manafort and Carter Page have intimate ties to Russia? i don't really care about that. Hillary has probably taken more $$ in exchange for favors that anyone in the history of the US
9. Do you think there are things in the tax returns Trump once promised to release which prove he has lied about his net worth, where he gets his income or where his personal borrowing comes from? Trump and Hillary both take advantage of favorable tax laws for the super wealthy
10. Do you think he has the temperament to be president? he's kind of crazy but I would like to see him intervene in our inner cities to restore discipline -- I'm very disappointed in Obama as it relates to the subject matter.
11. Are you concerned a Trump presidency would alienate us from our closest allies? Trade Partners -- yes. Get ready to pay $$$ for american manufactured items. We're currently paying $2/hour for Chinese & Indian products and about $4/hour for Mexican made items, If we bring that back here, shopping at Walmart is going to feel more like shopping at Sax 5th Avenue in your wallet. Still not certain how India gets a free pass when all of our IT services (that Americans actually prefer to do) is getting outsourced at $2/hour.
Quote:This is not meant as a dig or to ridicule. I am simply trying to get an idea of the logic behind Trump supporters. I know many are voting for "Not Hillary" and don't want this to be about her. I have some questions about Trump which I am curious about. For those who will indulge me, I tried to make these simple yes or no questions, but welcome any additional commentary.
1. Do you think Trump is a RINO (Republican in name only)? Yes.
2. Do you think Trump is a conservative? No.
3. Do you trust / believe Trump? No.
4. Do you think Trump has defined his policies well? Some.
5. Do you think Trump is rude / abrasive? Yes.
6. Do you think Trump cares about the average American? Yes. More than Hillary.
7. Do you consider Russia to be an enemy of the U.S.? No.
8. Do you think there is any truth to the accusations Paul Manafort and Carter Page have intimate ties to Russia? I did not have sexual relations with that Russian!
9. Do you think there are things in the tax returns Trump once promised to release which prove he has lied about his net worth, where he gets his income or where his personal borrowing comes from? Candidates should not be expected to release their tax forms. Ideally, there should be no tax forms, it's an invasion of privacy.
10. Do you think he has the temperament to be president? No.
11. Are you concerned a Trump presidency would alienate us from our closest allies? No.
He's pretty much an unknown. That makes him preferable to the traitor. Also, congress is much more likely to limit the damage he might cause than they would with Hillary as prez. Trump could be impeached, Hillary is above the law.
Trump is a nationalist which is different than a conservative. Nationalist will evoke the power of the state to further their goals, a conservative always seeks to reduce the state as it is seen as a necessary evil. That's the best explanation I've heard of trump he's neither liberal nor conservative but a nationalist. Take that as good bad or indifferent I view nationalism as dangerous as any other form of authoritarianism.
Quote:Trump is a nationalist which is different than a conservative. Nationalist will evoke the power of the state to further their goals, a conservative always seeks to reduce the state as it is seen as a necessary evil. That's the best explanation I've heard of trump he's neither liberal nor conservative but a nationalist. Take that as good bad or indifferent I view nationalism as dangerous as any other form of authoritarianism.
not good enough. nationalism as it relates to trade and immigration is not authoritarian as these are legitimate roles of government as set forth in the constitution. You are going to have to point out specific areas where you think that Trump will use the power of the state in an extraconstitutional way to denote that he is not conservative.
Quote:not good enough. nationalism as it relates to trade and immigration is not authoritarian as these are legitimate roles of government as set forth in the constitution. You are going to have to point out specific areas where you think that Trump will use the power of the state in an extraconstitutional way to denote that he is not conservative.
Eminent domain
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/42...m-geraghty
“I fully understand the conservative approach, but I don’t think it was explained to most conservatives,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier that aired yesterday. “Nobody knows this better than I do, because I’ve built a lot of buildings in Manhattan and you’ll have twelve sites and you’ll get eleven and you’ll have the one holdout, and you end up building around them. I know it better than anybody.
that's just the easy one.
I've said it 100 times on here, Trump is not a conservative in anyway shape or form, that doesn't mean he can hold some conservative positions. If you need to convince yourself he is a conservative to support him fine, but when he expands government in ways that makes Bush and Obama look like chumps I'll be sitting here telling you told you so.
Quote:Trump is a nationalist which is different than a conservative. Nationalist will evoke the power of the state to further their goals, a conservative always seeks to reduce the state as it is seen as a necessary evil. That's the best explanation I've heard of trump he's neither liberal nor conservative but a nationalist. Take that as good bad or indifferent I view nationalism as dangerous as any other form of authoritarianism.
Never heard that (Nationalist) connected with a political candidate but I just looked it up and it really seems to fit.
Quote:Never heard that (Nationalist) connected with a political candidate but I just looked it up and it really seems to fit.
the arguement has been around on the left for a while. I listen to Thom Hartman in the mornings in my office. He's been pointing out the fascist leanings of trump for months.
Fascism is a form of extreme nationalism that finds enemies outside the group, uses them as a fear tactic to consolidate popular opinion and then creates solutions that only the leader can solve.
It describes trump to the 'T'.
Quote:the arguement has been around on the left for a while. I listen to Thom Hartman in the mornings in my office. He's been pointing out the fascist leanings of trump for months.
Fascism is a form of extreme nationalism that finds enemies outside the group, uses them as a fear tactic to consolidate popular opinion and then creates solutions that only the leader can solve.
It describes trump to the 'T'.
International Communism is the extreme from of the Democrat party. Theocratic-Capitalism is the extreme form of the Republican party. Anarcho-Capitalism is the extreme form of the Libertarian party. What is your point? I am glad Trump is a nationalist. This countries needs SHOULD be first. Just because Fascism exists on the same side of the nationalist spectrum on a much more extreme scale, doesn't mean nationalism doesn't have positive affects on the country. All you are doing is fear mongering and demonizing the "America First" belief. OOoooh Trump puts America and it's citizens needs over the worlds, what a scary fascist!
If a political ideology has an extreme, should we avoid the ideology entirely? Should we be totally apolitical, completely moderate? Maybe, but governance isn't that easy and people disagree.
People fear-monger that Trump's policies could lead to fascism, but the Democrats current policies ARE leading to communism. Yes, the ideology that has killed 10x more of its own citizens than Fascism EVER did.
Quote:the arguement has been around on the left for a while. I listen to Thom Hartman in the mornings in my office. He's been pointing out the fascist leanings of trump for months.
Fascism is a form of extreme nationalism that finds enemies outside the group, uses them as a fear tactic to consolidate popular opinion and then creates solutions that only the leader can solve.
It describes trump to the 'T'.
That's not what Fascism is. You're thinking of Nazi Germany. Fascism is a form of socialism where businesses are privately owned but government keeps a tight control over them. Mussolini was very successful in his early years, and was considered a paragon of how government should be run. The progressive movement in the US was based on the early success of Mussolini.
Wear a Che Guevara shirt, you're trendy.
Wear a Trump hat, you're a facist and get beaten up by mobs. LOGIC
Quote:Wear a Che Guevara shirt, you're trendy.
Wear a Trump hat, you're a facist and get beaten up by mobs. LOGIC
Who's getting beaten up by mobs for wearing a Trump hat (are we talking about the black Trump supporter who got beat up at one of his rallies)?
Quote:Who's getting beaten up by mobs for wearing a Trump hat (are we talking about the black Trump supporter who got beat up at one of his rallies)?
Assaulting Trump supporters is becoming a sport for leftists. Wouldn't be surprised if were forced to wear stars to identify ourselves if Hillary is elected.
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/09/omg-leftist-mob-beats-kicks-pummels-trump-supporter-wearing-maga-hat-saved-police-caught-video/'>http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/09/omg-leftist-mob-beats-kicks-pummels-trump-supporter-wearing-maga-hat-saved-police-caught-video/</a>
Sad the media won't cover this.
it's not like im surprised. the media machine has conditioned people to feel anger and hate with anything Trump, so they think they're in the right when they do violent things against anybody associated with Trump. they think they're in the right when they stomp somebody on the ground.
this is beyond Orwellian
but you know. radio guy says Trump is the facist. makes sense.
Quote:Eminent domain <a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425212/donald-trump-eminent-domain-wonderful-jim-geraghty'>http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425212/donald-trump-eminent-domain-wonderful-jim-geraghty</a>
“I fully understand the conservative approach, but I don’t think it was explained to most conservatives,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier that aired yesterday. “Nobody knows this better than I do, because I’ve built a lot of buildings in Manhattan and you’ll have twelve sites and you’ll get eleven and you’ll have the one holdout, and you end up building around them. I know it better than anybody.
that's just the easy one.
I've said it 100 times on here, Trump is not a conservative in anyway shape or form, that doesn't mean he can hold some conservative positions. If you need to convince yourself he is a conservative to support him fine, but when he expands government in ways that makes Bush and Obama look like chumps I'll be sitting here telling you told you so.
So its your position that Obama and bush opposed eminent domain?
If people dislike Trump and his supporters, they should beat them with their words and at the polls. That's not acceptable behavior.
Quote:it's not like im surprised. the media machine has conditioned people to feel anger and hate with anything Trump, so they think they're in the right when they do violent things against anybody associated with Trump. they think they're in the right when they stomp somebody on the ground.
this is beyond Orwellian
but you know. radio guy says Trump is the facist. makes sense.
I'm sure his rallies which conditioned his supporters to act out in violent ways had nothing to do with this type of reaction. Trump could never even be partially to blame.