by Nomad
Republican front-runner in the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump, drew large and enthusiastic crowds at an Alabama rally. At this point, his opponents must be scratching their heads in dismay.
A Triumphant Trump
Last Friday, Republican President Candidate Donald Trump spoke before an impressive crowd at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The Trump people said the number at the rally was around 40,000 but others figures suggested about half of that.
Should you have the stomach for it, you can find a video of the full speech at this link.
At one point in his long, free-form and somewhat rambling speech, he suggested that the candidates like JEB would be swayed by their mega-donors and special interests when it came to trade talks. Trump brought the crowd to its collective feet by asking them:
Who would you rather have negotiating with China, Japan Mexico, any of them, Trump or Jeb Bush?"They roared "Trump! Trump! Trump!" "Trump-ism" seems to be triumphant.. for the moment.
Shining Lunacy vs. Zilch
Trump has made immigration a subject of campaign speeches. His solution is apparently to build a 2,000-mile-long battlement along the border, somehow "make Mexico pay for it," (and use illegals to construct it.)
Perhaps Trump's plan doesn't reflect the nation's values but it is clearly what a lot of core supporters in the Republican party see as a bold idea.
Trump's Friday night's rally reflected their values pretty well.
Also mentioned was the supposedly serious plan to repeal part of the Constitution- the 14th amendment which protects citizenship rights, due process which prevents citizens from being illegally deprived of life, liberty, or property.- in order to exile tens of millions of legal Americans.
As startling as all those ideas are, the other candidates don't seem to have anything better to offer voters. But did the other candidates bring the voice of sanity to the discussion? Did they come together and denounce this hare-brained scheme?
No.
In fact, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Fox & Friends commented on Trump's plan, saying:
“Well it’s similar to what I brought up about four or five months ago."
JEB's response was a;so something less than robust or defiant. He said that Trump's immigration plan was "not conservative" (whatever that means at this point) and that it did not "reflect our nation's values."
Yawn.
In a country so divided, who is to say what our values are any longer.
In a country so divided, who is to say what our values are any longer.
Perhaps Trump's plan doesn't reflect the nation's values but it is clearly what a lot of core supporters in the Republican party see as a bold idea.Trump's Friday night's rally reflected their values pretty well.
No wonder low-information voters are flocking to Trump.
Compared to the others in the race, Trump's brand of lunacy is at least entertaining.
If that picture is anything to go by, his fans were ecstatic about what Trump had to say. (That kind of ecstasy is a little nightmare-inducing actually.)Compared to the others in the race, Trump's brand of lunacy is at least entertaining.
Premature Obiturary
As one source notes, despite some recent political blunders, Trump is riding high, leaving political handlers scratching their heads.
As one source notes, despite some recent political blunders, Trump is riding high, leaving political handlers scratching their heads.
Only last week, most of the major media networks were prematurely writing his political obituary. It all seemed a bit manufactured too. The ever-compliant mainstream media seemed eager to put this unfortunate Trump episode in the past and move on with business as usual in the Republican campaign.
Much was made over Trump's McCain remarks and more was made over his highly sexist (and ugly) statement about Fox News' Megyn Kelly's monthly bodily functions.
(Never mind that Fox News has all but endorsed Trump with loads and loads of free publicity.)
That's all an egomaniacal person like Trump has ever asked from life. A stage to speak from, a roaring crowd and a chance to tell the world how beloved he is.
And indeed, support for "The Donald" has actually increased according to the latest polls.
Against all the odds, Trump has widened his lead over his closest rivals in the past week.
The following day, JEB (along with another hopeful Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal) spoke before Conservative Tea Party voters in Columbus, Ohio. The event was part of the annual summit of Koch brothers' sponsored Americans for Prosperity.
As one source notes, JEB was clearly grateful for the chance to reach the Koch crowd.
For Bush, the invitation to speak was a huge opportunity in a race where his early-frontrunner status has evaporated and other candidates have stronger relationships with the Koch brothers.His 20-minute speech drew, what Fox News called, "merely polite applause" from the 3.000 attendees.
