The surprise of the candidate list remains Donald Trump. The mainstream media continue to predict he will soon step in it and fade away, even though evidence seems to indicate the more he steps in it (by their standards), the more popular he gets. Other media channels are shocked that he is still leading all repubs in the polls. It's really not that hard to understand. All you need to do is remember and assess the mid term elections of 2010 and 2014. Both were landslides for repub candidates, from national to local races. Most were elected after campaigning on stopping Obamacare and stopping Obama's open border policies. Conservatives sent these representatives to Washington for one explicit purpose - to stop Obama.
What did they do? Nothing! At every opportunity, the repub controlled house and senate failed to follow through on the campaign promises. And we the constituents are upset. Our support is gravitating to the only candidate that speaks our thoughts. Will it last? Maybe. It's still 5 months until the first primary, and 14 months to the election, so anything can happen. If the repub leadership wanted to destroy the Trump candidacy (and they do), all they would need to do is follow through on their campaign promises. If Obamacare was defunded and the open border policies rescinded, if we were seriously building a wall, Trump would fade away.
I am still sorting through how I would feel if Trump became the repub nominee. On one hand, he has the business savvy that Obama lacks and may be the right mix of pragmatism and business acuity that America needs. On the other hand, he has baggage that makes his commitment to conservatism questionable. That baggage might prove embarrassing in a general election where his enemies could revisit his past. Yet, to date, these issues haven't seemed to dent his support.
The one lasting change I would love to see as a result of the Trump candidacy, would be a pledge by all candidates to tell us what they really think. If that were mandated, we would not have lived though the worst presidency in American history. If Obama had told us that he would ram Obamacare through in the dark of night with preferential treatment (bribes) to get the needed votes, if Obama had told us he would stop enforcing immigration law, if he would have told us he would light the White House in rainbow colors to celebrate the same sex marriage Supreme Court ruling, does anyone think he would have been elected? I'm dreaming now.
Most surprising repub primary news has been that Ben Carson has solidified his #2 position. Early Ben Who? was barely drawing a few percentage points of support until the first debate. I think he was unknown until then, but now occupies the same "political outsider" turf as Trump. Carson seems to be a good man with a great story, and conservative ideals. I could definitely support him as the nominee, but do question if he is prepared for the job. The last thing we need is another 4 years of on the job training.
If I were forced to vote today for one of the 20 candidates, 17 repubs and 3 dems, Carly Fiorina would be my choice. If you have ever seen her handle a tough question, you have no doubt that she has a sharp mind with great articulation. She is a bulldog that will challenge the media and make her points. She is conservative. My only concern is that some believe she wasn't that great of a CEO at Hewlett Packard. That could hurt her later if she faced a polished politician with some executive experience.
The primary goal of conservatives must be to defeat progressive liberals, Clinton, Sanders, Biden, and retake the White House without losing either legislative house. Only then could real conservatism be implemented. In the end, we may think that Obama was a good president in that he ushered in a new era of conservatives. But I'm dreaming again.
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