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I could not agree more. Here is what I think is going on.
First, a snapshot of the Trump supporters...and I say this in reference to the BULK of his supporters, not all. But his supporters are for the most part:
White
Male
Blue Collar/Not Highly Educated
Upset...no, angry...at BOTH Major Political Parties
One of Trump's most notable shticks in his campaign is that he is anti-political correctness. Since the dawn of the millennium, we have heard a lot in this country in the fields of academia and media about ideas such as "white privilege" and "male privilege", which can be seen as part of a political correctness agenda. Now, for the prototypical Donald Trump supporter, these ideas are completely foreign and unrecognizable in their lives. They say, "I'M privileged? Are you f---ing kidding me?" because, indeed, it would be absurd to call them privileged. They have had to struggle and fight along the way for most of their lives. They have simply heard enough of what they regard as utter bulls--t and have finally reached their breaking point.
These are the people who have been left behind and ignored for the longest time. Their manufacturing and agricultural jobs have been taken away, and their communities have been hollowed out. No one, neither party, has come to their assistance. The Democrats have been mostly concerned with helping minorities and women. The Republicans have ignored them in favor of cozying up to "Big Business"/"Corporate America." Both parties have failed them in trade and have sent their jobs overseas (and in case you have not noticed, Trump...and Bernie Sanders...talks about this ALL of the time).
They look around and have concluded, possibly quite accurately, that no one in Washington cares about them. So, along comes Trump, who is not a politician, and they see the opportunity to blow the whole system up. They are jumping at the opportunity because nothing else has worked for them and there is an air of desperation about them. Sure, plenty of these supporters have nasty racist tendencies, and Trump's language made that an easier connection to them right off of the bat, but there are plenty of non-racists in there as well who are willing to dismiss or deny the things that he has said because they are battered and down and out.
A lot of this country, from rural areas all over to the Rust Belt, has been screwed over, and they know it. Yet, because they are not members of a historically disenfranchised community, the powers that be refuse to acknowledge it or try to fix it. Donald Trump's rise is a result of the failures of both parties.
If I could give the archetype for the Donald Trump voter, I would say it's the "THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!" people from South Park. And that cuts multiple ways. Trade took their jobs. Illegal immigrants took their jobs. Advances in technology took their jobs. They are angry, and rightly so. To them, the concerns over protecting minorities are trivial or even counterproductive. The problem with Trump though is that, in addition to the racism, I just don't think that there is reason to believe that if Trump is elected, he will actually do what he says he will do in regards to trade and bringing back manufacturing. Given the fact the he IS Corporate America and has close personal relationships with plenty of other people just like him who will remain in the private sector, I think he will just throw them favors.
This is simply what happens when people are left behind and no one fights for them. It has been a long time coming, and hopefully the scare of a Donald Trump presidency is actually a blessing in disguise and helps wake up both parties to stop ignoring a large portion of the country and taking their vote for granted. And for the record, in case it wasn't clear enough, I am NOT a Donald Trump supporter by any stretch of the imagination. But I do think there is some merit to be found in what he has done.
If Trump doesn't get the nomination or is no longer in this electoral process politicians will continue with the crooked business as usual - the scare to an extent is dependant on what happens with Trump.
No one with over a 5th grade education. But to be fair, he is probably no worse than the other candidates. Kasich seems like the only one with some idea about how the government works and isn't a creep (Cruz), bought and paid for (Rubio), narcissist (Trump), greedy crook (Clinton). Sanders seems honest, if I lived in Sweden I would vote for him.
I'll match my IQ against yours, any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I like Kasich as well, but he is another "RINO" and he won't beat the leftist he would have to beat in the general election. See: Romney, 2012.
Trump is the only vote you can make if you really want to try to change the system.
And any thinking person wouldn't vote for Sanders, no matter where he is running. Socialism only works until you run out of other people's money.
Some of the comments point out quite clearly who supports Donald Trump. They are, yes, the "poorly educated", and also the far right extremists who believe that democrats seek to "destroy everything that made us great by eliminating freedom, individual rights, and private property rights." Really?
Here's something, Democrats are people just like you. We have different opinions on some things but they are just opinions. Your opinions have the same value and validity as mine. We have problems when people
vilify people who are different and who believe they posses the one true way - true believers.
In my life I've seen the left as well as the right be wrong about the correct course we should take and that's the way it goes, the pendulum swings both ways.
I think it funny when I hear the post postmortems of certain Republicans that think the reason they lost is their candidate wasn't far right enough. My guess is this next election will put that idea to rest.
Aloha
I don't know that the direction you are taking this discussion has anything to do with Trump in relation to NJ, and maybe should be asked in the politics forum, but here it goes.
A phony? If I wasn't willing to vote for a phony, who would be left to vote for?
But seriously, Hillary is a huge phony. I don't know that she actually believes in anything. She will say whatever she has to to get to the whitehouse. Nobody really trusts her, but she doesn't get bashed for it all the time. What makes her less phony than Trump?
You just defined politics. See above.
I think he actually really believes that. I don't know if he can get it done. He would need the cooperation of congress. Mexico needs us a lot more than we need them. We have a large trade deficit with Mexico, so I don't think he is saying they will pay for it in a literal sense.
Meh, it's a campaign slogan. It seems to be working.
Well, if you actually went through medical school, you would never say that. You need to be at the top of your class to get in. You need to read and memorize at all waking hours for 4 years, and then to get a neurosurgery residency, you need to be at the top of your medical school class.
A lot of brilliant people believe stupid things, especially when it comes to religion, and Ben Carson certainly made his share of idiotic statements. But in spite of that, I would bet his IQ surpasses yours or mine.
OK you definitely pointed out one big mistake I made so I apologize to all Doctors. Just not a fan of religious beliefs that contradict science. Doctor Ben does not get a pass from me on that.
Like another poster pointed out there are few facts in politics only which side you take.
Sort of like Yankee fans saying the Mets suck because the Mets have better pitchers. It all depends on which team you root for.
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the alternative to Trump is the career politician from VT via Brooklyn hawking an unobtainable utopian socialist fantasy who is owned by the unions, to the lying weasel career politician with a death grip on the political weathervane, owned by wall street who promises to carry out obama's failed economic policies and divide the nation..
Some good posts here trying to get past the silly media talking points re: Trump's appeal.
One thing that hasn't been talked about though, is a big portion of the Republican "elite" is scared of him, for none of the reasons given above. All politicians lie, coerce, have big egos, but they are polished in being politically correct about how they state positions. "Hope & Change" "Make America Great Again".....slogans.
However, the fear from within the party of Trump is this is the first guy that has come along that cannot be controlled by the "party" or "special interests". He is a wild card. The parties (both of them) have an incredible amount of CONTROL over their candidates through donors, "elites", party elders. But Trump is marching to his own band and that presents a real threat to the gargantuan government machine that both parties adhere to.
This is provable. Why? Because they feel the same about Ted Cruz too. Cruz checks ALL the marks for a conservative Republican and under normal circumstances would get unbelievable party support, BUT he has proven in the past that he is also UNCONTROLLABLE, so he is despised by the party. It reveals their hypocrisy. The dirty secret is both parties care much more about CONTROL than ideology. The machine must continue to feed the beast that is government and all the special interests that feed off government. Republican voters are giving 60-80% of all their votes to two guys who blow up that paradigm. Trump, however, is viewed by voters (so far) as the guy who is the real wild card and thus he will likely win the nomination.
It is fascinating to witness the inability of the main stream media to understand this.
Trump supporters know he can't build a wall and have the collectivist narco-sewer state of Mexico pay for it. They can't even keep things clean or straight within their own border. BUT HE WANTS TO BUILD IT. And that is what is being voted for.
Exactly. At least he's willing to do something about it.
There is no wall between US and Canada either, and Canada has much better welfare than the US. Why don't all those illegal immigrants go to Canada? Because they know they can't get free school and free healthcare in Canada. If illegal immigrants go look for jobs or send their kids to schools, they will be reported and deported. Many people tried to stay in Canada and failed, had no choice but leave. There is a "wall" against illegal immigration in Canada; although it's not physical/material, it works.
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