Tag: Trump

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I’m for Nikki Haley

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2024 election button

It’s time for a new conservative leader.

Nikki Haley has distinguished herself as governor from South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations. I am rooting for her for President this year! We seem to have an issue in our country getting past name recognition. Whoever people are familiar with from TV and the headlines get the vote too easily. Trump and Biden are the current examples. Despite Trump’s early primary victories, I believe Nikki Haley is the better choice for Republicans for several reasons.

First, there is the issue of aging, an issue facing both Democrats and Republicans. Indications from their speeches are that Trump and Biden, like all the rest of us, are not avoiding the inevitable effects of advancing age. Both Trump and Biden are too old for the Presidency. Nikki Haley is a next-generation leader and that is what we need in the White House. Age is one reason one poll showed Haley to be a more formidable opponent for Biden than Trump.

Second, are Trump’s political liabilities. Though he is ever popular with his base, he has shown himself to be a divisive figure in our country overall. In both New Hampshire and South Carolina, polls showed his appeal had concerning limits especially among educated and independent voters. One review from South Carolina said that one fifth of Republicans there said they would not vote for Trump.

Third, Trump’s court entanglements are a major issue. How can voters ignore when a candidate is accused of so many different violations of the law? And some are suggesting that there is a chance he may be convicted of some counts against him. While voters are willing to think that the accusations are political, will they interpret a jury verdict differently? At the very least, the prospective candidate’s time and money would be greatly divided.

Fourth, there is the issue of character. Good character is the first requirement of leadership. Why does Trump have to pressure people like McConnell to endorse him? In my experience, those who voted for Trump before, did so for party loyalty or to support particular issues, overlooking his character issues. By voting for Haley, we can vote for one whose character we respect as well.

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The Sad State of Republican Politics

elephant slipping

My least favorite candidates are winning

At the start of the political process leading up to the primaries, I ranked the candidates according to my own ideas about who was the best qualified and most preferable for me.   Unfortunately, and from news reports I am far from alone,  the two people who were at the bottom of my original list are at this point the likely candidates of the two major parties.  And Trump who was at the absolute bottom of the list is the presumed candidate of the party of which I am a registered voter.  Yuck, ten times ugly yuck, gag and puke.  Can you tell yet that I am not a fan of his slander sideshow?

Neither Clinton nor Trump are the person I think should be President

I greatly dislike Clinton’s positions and there are ethical shadows following her too.  Am I alone in such opinions?  Absolutely not.   “Clinton is rich, and morally and ethically corrupt. So is Trump,” writes Jonah Goldberg (http://digitaledition.courant.com/launch.aspx?pbid=e1bdb9a0-d9e0-4569-842b-54331efd8091).

As for Trump, I like Jeb Bush’s reported comment.  Is Trump the kind of person who should be President?    “Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,” Jeb Bush said. “And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy” (http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36234318).   I totally agree.  Trump says what he finds convenient at the moment and has no principles about sticking to his word.

How did we elect Trump to represent Republicans?

I have been reflecting on this.  How does it happen that the grand old party is set to nominate someone that has the highest negative ratings in history, someone with no qualifications for the office, and someone who does not fit the mold of previous candidates morally or culturally in any way?

  1. The primary system was skewed by Trump’s media sideshow.  Stats show that from the beginning, Trump received way more mentions on media that any other candidate of either party did.  He has received interview privileges that even the President does not get.  In the Sunday edition of the Hartford Courant that I referenced, Bill Press on the left and Jonah Goldberg on the right come at the same idea from different angles; the media loves Trump for the show and the attention it gets the media and the public like something exciting and out of the ordinary.  If memory serves, John Kasich in the first debate opined something like, “Come on people, we need someone who knows how to run a government.”  It was what I was thinking as I watched.  Such a common-sense idea was too levelheaded for the media so they quickly dismissed Kasich as petulant and uninteresting.    Never mind that he was right.  Duh!
  2. Americans have been taught in recent years to base their opinions on performance first, rather than character first.  Many years ago colleges washed their hands of any responsibility for the moral and spiritual welfare of their students and focused only on subjects.  One result is we have many graduates with great skills who crash on the job because of ethical failures.   In hiring, interviewers are forbidden to ask questions that might get to the issue of character so companies widely use probational employment periods to see whether an employee  is honest, shows up for work regularly, etc.   The upshot of this downplaying of character is that we apparently now evaluate our political candidates sans character, I guess.  It would be sad if it weren’t actually dangerous.
  3. Many voters are fed up with Congress and career politicians.  The inability of Congress to get things done, the lack of viable compromise, the perpetual national budget mess, and the low moral tone in DC all have led to voters looking toward outsiders like Trump and Carson.  The last Congress had one of the lowest confidence ratings on record.   Part of Sander’s appeal is also his perceived greater independence from the Washington circle.    When career politicians are found to be morally or ethically corrupt, it reduces respect for others, even those who have integrity.
  4. Trump channeled the fear and anger of people in our country in true demagogue style.  Even people who are not racist are worried about the sheer numbers of immigrants.   Since 9/11 Americans find it hard not to be a little suspicious of Muslims.  So Trump’s tactic is working big-time.  But a true leader has an inner moral framework and a long view of history that guide how they approach subjects that divide people like discussions about the US southern border or racism in our country, subjects that evoke fear like immigration from Syria.    I have observed no evidence of such a framework in what Trump says, only a crass trading on the fears and distrusts of the populace for his own benefit.   He shows no long historical view, for example, no sense of the impression of the Republican Party that he is leaving for the future; he seems only to look out for his immediate political windfall.    Never mind that the country is fast becoming a much more multi-cultural place and that the birth rates of immigrants will probably only accelerate that trend.   So if the Republican Party wants to remain viable, it cannot be primarily a party of angry white males and must learn to appeal to the people he is alienating.

What do we do now?

  1. As a Christian, the first thing I am doing is praying for my country.   We believe in the sovereignty of God who rules and overrules, who puts rulers in place and removes them.   So I am praying for my country in this election cycle as never before.
  2. As a voter I am among those who cannot see themselves voting with a clear conscience for either Trump or Clinton.  And I really don’t see that opinion being altered by vice-presidential picks either.
  3. Yet I believe that as a citizen I need to use my vote to express myself.   I, along with others who feel as I do, will be exploring ways to do this.

 

 

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Journal News Commentary

Comments on Fox Business Republican debate

Fox journalists did much better keeping the debate on topic and they did not use the questions to attempt to make the candidates squirm as CNBC journalists did in the previous debate.

I may be in a minority, but I still like John Kasich the best by far.   Kasich shows that he knows what he is doing in government and as a leader.  He is the only one with experience in government to match Hillary.  He might be prone to an occasional gaff from a political point of view like tonight’s one about finding “those who could afford it.”    However, it is clear that Kasich, more than any other candidate knows the executive role of weighing competing options in a political and government situation.  One of his best lines was, “On the job training for President of the United States has not worked.”   I also like his appreciation for good values.

Rubio has some fresh ideas that sound wise.   He is very eloquent, but Rubio could be wiser in his words.  He attacks Democrats more than I like and disrespects Putin.  One should not call a man a “gangster” that you might be in a position to have to negotiate with someday.  I like Rubio’s appreciation for traditional values.   I like Rubio for VP.    He would appeal to the Hispanic vote and perhaps help the party have a strong unifying candidate in the future, something they need.

I don’t see Rand Paul as a viable candidate but I like him in the debate as he is not afraid to be politically incorrect.   He is very knowledgeable about money; it appears to be his focus.  His debating keeps the others more honest, and he does not back down.  But his libertarian views are too far off center to be electable.

Carson is a great guy but is trading on being a great guy and very likeable. Personally, I do not like flat tax ideas.   I believe they are a way to put a greater burden on the middle class.  His ideas do not seem to be specific enough in many areas and on foreign policy he is naïve.    I admire his Christian faith.  However, I continue to feel that he does not have the right experience to be President and to me it shows.

Trump says all the things that appeal to the most reactive part of the Republican base.  But some of his positions are not doable – sending all illegal immigrants back for one.    He plays on all our fears.     He also has a huge ego, which is not a good thing in a leader. Some of what he says on economics is correct such as the imbalance of trade being a problem and the need to bring jobs and money back to our country.    But he would be a terror to foreign policy.   Other world leaders would distrust him and hate him.  He would be the worst foreign policy president in history.  Trump would also be offensive to Hispanic voters at election time.  Trump is just not the most electable candidate.   Trump could not get along with Congress either.  Government is not like business; you have to work through people with independent agendas whose salaries you do not control.  You can’t just fire them and put in a more cooperate puppet.

Cruz is very well-spoken but I think abolishing the IRS is a ridiculous idea.  Such a wild tax overhaul as he suggests has no chance of success in Congress.  However, he is one of the best debaters every time.  He is another one who wastes no opportunity to attack Democrats.   I do not like Cruz’s position on immigration.   Brandishing the “amnesty” word is meaningless political posturing.  He would be offensive to Hispanic voters.  Cruz is the one who seems to least understand the concept that the next leader of an organization must seek to build on what has been done before.   Planning to step in and make a clean sweep of everything your predecessor has done is usually stupid.  In most organizations, there is too much inertia to do such a thing anyway.  This is especially true in the US government.

Jeb Bush’s economics, unfortunately, sounded like traditional Republican friendliness to the wealthy.   Bush does well on immigration and on foreign policy.  He and Carson come across as the gentle ones in a field of aggressive types.   Carson seems to be liked for it, Bush does not.

Forina is a good debater but has no government experience.   In politics and foreign policy, she is naïve, for sure.  She also spends way too much energy attacking Democrats rather than enunciating her positions.   However, she could be right that if she were on the ticket, say in the VP spot, she might help the ticket run well against Hillary.