Jacking the Trump Train

The other day I was asked whether I was on the “Trump Train.”  I had to think about that for a minute or two.  NO, I am not on the “Trump Train” but YES, I am going to vote for Donald Trump (R) without hesitation and without fail.

With the exception of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and President Barack Obama (D) I am hard pressed to think of a single person for whom I would not vote if (s)he were running against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) – the single most corrupt, money-grubbing liar to ever run for the presidency during my lifetime.

But it is not that easy.  I have noted in this column for years that I am a conservative by choice and a Republican by default – there are no conservatives allowed to hold public office as a Democrat.  And even at that I find myself more and more critical of the “do-nothing” policies of the Republican Congress, and their full embrace of the “Washington elite establishment” to the point of disgust.  I vowed that when the epitome of “Washington elites”, George Will, rejoins the Republican Party I will exit it.  I am assuming that date will be soon after November 8.

Mr. Trump is not a conservative.  However, much of his economic plans embrace conservative principles – lower taxes, less regulation, sustained job growth, opportunity for all without regard to race, creed or color.  More importantly Mr. Trump has experienced success and failure in the real world.  He knows what it takes to build and grow a business.  He has grown rich by succeeding in a pretty tough world.  He makes no secret of the fact that he used money to buy influence in a corrupt system that was both unfair and unavoidable.  He has vowed to expose it and fix it.

All of that stands in marked contrast to Ms. Clinton.  Ms. Clinton has never succeeded at anything on her own.  The only private sector job she had was with the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, which she got because her husband (former President Bill Clinton) had just been elected Attorney General of Arkansas and the Rose Law Firm was one of the most politically connected entities in the state.  Ms. Clinton was made a partner when Mr. Clinton was elected governor and then a managing partner when the money started rolling in from those seeking favors with the Clinton administration – a process that would be repeated for the next three decades (First Lady, senator from New York, and Secretary of State).  As a Senator Ms. Clinton accomplished nothing.  As Secretary of State she had a long list of failures (Russian reset, Libya, Benghazi, Iran, Syria, Egypt and the list is endless).  Ms. Clinton became wealthy by selling influence – not by creating a product, not by creating jobs, just by selling influence.  The Clintons have so embraced corruption that they have ensnared their own daughter, Chelsea, in it. (She, with the $600,000 do-nothing-job at NBC and the $10 Million condo in New York, is estimated to be worth $50 Million.  How did that happen to a 36-year old whose parents were dead broke when they left the White House?)

I concur with Mr. Trump’s insistence on securing the border, although his plan to deport 14 Million illegal immigrants is so laughable that even he has acknowledged that he will re-assess the status of the illegals after the border is secured and the criminal elements (drug dealers, criminals and terrorists) are rounded up and deported.  I agree with his proposal to suspend entry of people from areas that have spawned terrorism until backgrounds can be checked and verified.  (For those of you who think that Obama administration is already doing a sterling job in this regard, I will remind you that Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernadino Islamic terrorists, skated through that system without a hitch even though she was known to have terrorist sympathies and contacts.)  In contrast Ms. Clinton wants to continue the policies of Mr. Obama – benign neglect of border enforcement, detention and deportation – and to throw open the immigration doors to tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, including a most certain stream of Islamic State terrorists.

What I don’t agree with is Mr. Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric involving Hispanics.  I am not naïve and I recognize that many of the illegal immigrants are criminals, but more importantly I am also aware of the vast number of illegals who now epitomize the American dream – hard work, strong families, sacrifice for success.  I am also aware that those same illegals are susceptible to being enslaved by the false promises of the welfare state that have already enslaved large segments of the Native American and African American communities.  While most conservatives understand that, few Republican office holders do.

I agree with Mr. Trump’s belief in international peace through strength.  More importantly I believe that it is far more important for other nations to respect the United States than to love it.  Mr. Obama has proved with eight years of stupidity that weakness does not produce “brotherhood” rather it produces contempt and encourages aggression.  And Ms. Clinton, one of the principle architects of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy, will add to that with a continuation of all of Mr. Obama’s failed policies.  All to the continued detriment of our country and the advancement of ruthless nations (e.g. Russia, Iran and China).

Where I part ways with Mr. Trump primarily is with his unrelenting insistence upon responding to every criticism, large or small.  In doing so he elevates his critics and denigrates himself.  No, this isn’t about whether I should be offended when he refers to Rosie O”Donnell as a “fat loser” – I have called her worse).  And when I did, just as when he did, it wasn’t a comment on all women, it was a comment on a specific person.  There is no “collective woman.”  They, like men, are individuals.  Some good, some bad, some fat losers.  When I refer to some man as a “worthless pr*ck” that is not a comment on all men, it is just a comment on. . . well let’s say, Ted Cruz.  I have a sister who I admire.  I have a wife who I have loved for forty-four years.  I have a daughter who has grown into a strong and confident businesswoman and a caring, doting mother.  Only an idiot would say that an attack on one woman is an attack on all women.  (And apparently there are quite a number of idiots in the Democrat party including the one running for President and most of the ones pretending to be serious journalists.)

But Mr. Trump allows himself to be dragged down into a rehash of every harsh word he has ever spoken while allowing his critics to ignore all of the beneficial things he has done for the very categories of people for whom his critics seek to be offended.  It’s insane and while he cannot control those who are just waiting to be offended (usually on behalf of someone else) he can control himself.

And yet despite that, I intend to vote for Mr. Trump.  I do that because there is not a single issue upon which I agree with Ms. Clinton.  There is not a single character trait exhibited by Ms. Clinton with which I agree.  All there is is a money-grubbing liar who is so corrupt herself that she corrupts everyone and everything around her.  In contrast there are character traits of Mr. Trump with which I strongly disagree but policies with which I strongly agree.  I’ll take the slurs over the corruption any day.