It started simply enough. Like tens of thousands of others, I watched open-mouthed and slack jawed in amazement as Donald Trump singlehandedly exposed the festering corruption that sits at the sclerotic heart of American politics, during his performance on last week’s Republican presidential candidates’ debate over on Fox.
That was three weeks ago.
Since then, I – and, no doubt, half a legion of political pundits the world over – have found myself curiously captivated by this most .. cursory of candidates.
What does he stand for? How did he go from headline-based joke to headlining the joke party? *WHY* is he?
Well this piece doesn’t purport to contain the answers to any of the above. We’re no doubt going to be churning out screeds upon screeds of political analysis for at least the next decade about how all of this came to be – and why he’s not just another re-run of the Ross Perot phenomenon.
But what I found, buried within the dusty mounds of internet links and expert opinion which I daily trawl through and then nest in … were two important truths.
First up, that Trump isn’t as stupid as he looks. (Which would, if he were, be a singularly impressive phenomenon in and of itself)
And second, that because of this … he operates in some ways *outside* the establishment-spectrum of American politics. That’s the root of his popularity, in many ways – but it’s also a worrying indictment of that establishment in the first place.
People talk about how the Republican Party used to be the Party of Lincoln – then the Party of Nixon (whom let’s remember wanted to be an American Disraeli) … before finally sliding into its almost complete antithesis in terms of human values and common sense as the Party of Bush.
Where Trump fits in is as a corrective tendency – a lever which, whether by accident or design, will serve to break open the Establishment consensus on what’s “acceptable” politics. And in doing so, try to bring at least part of this sphere crashing back to closer proximity with what a reasonable swathe of the American people *actually* want.
And contrary to what you might think (particularly upon reading his absolutely ghastly and abominable comments on certain ethnic minorities, to say the least) … that’s not always such a bad thing!
Consider, for starters, his stance on the TPPA. Where President Obama was running around hailing moves toward the deal’s completion as a “win” for his administration, Trump thinks the whole thing is a “disaster”.
He’s right. But unfortunately, he’s one of the few leading politicians in the race (and yes, the idea of him as a ‘leading’ politician is simply terrifying) – particularly on the right wing of politics – to recognize this as a fact.
Meanwhile, Establishment favourites Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton are dyed-in-the-wool free traders. That’s not to say that Trump isn’t, but at least he can recognize a disastrous free trade deal when he sees one.
To her credit, Clinton has since come out with some gentle skepticism as to the TPPA’s hoped-for benefits – but as has been pointed out elsewhere, this simply seems like yet more evidence of her political dynasty’s habitual tactic of focus-grouped faux-populism rather than any genuine disavowal of a dastardly deal.
After all, she spent a good chunk of her tenure running the State Department as a pretty avid and vocal proponent of the TPPA in the first place. It’s even been cited (together with fast-track authority for negotiation) as one of her achievements.
But it goes further.
When it comes to Healthcare, for instance, Trump is – personally at least – arguably to the left of many modern Democrats.
Sure he opposes Obamacare … but on a personal level, that appears to have initially been due to his enthusiasm for what the Americans call “Single Payer” healthcare. A benightedly Orwellian term for what you and I here in the Antipodes (or, for that matter, much of the rest of the Developed World) would instead call a “Modern Public Health System”. Something which he seems to agree on with Bernie Sanders of all people.
More to the point, unlike pretty much EVERY SINGLE OTHER REPUBLICAN RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, he’s furiously opposed to proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
His logic’s pretty compelling: as he quite rightly points out, it’s patently unfair to slash back a service which many millions of Americans have been paying into for decades in full expectancy of its benefits, just on an ideological political whim.
Between his continued advocacy for a healthcare system that actually *works* for the poor – rather than preying upon them and profiteering off them through expensive emergency room visits; and his frank and straight-up statements that yes, yes he did oppose the Iraq War – and for a plethora of strikingly sane reasons … you could almost be forgiven for forgetting you were viewing a man running as a Republican. Still, much less, the man LEADING the Republican Primaries.
And that, I guess in a nutshell, is why Trump matters.
Because when he’s standing there, right next to George W. Bush’s brother and in a field of warmongering Hawks, pointing out the Iraq War was a bad idea … that means something. Not as an empty gesture of protest – but as a striking visual reminder that there IS indeed another way. Same deal when he sticks out like a sore thumb in the Republican field about wanting to PROTECT rather than UNDERMINE or ABOLISH key government programs like Medicare.
All of that, together, serves to break apart and undermine the Establishment doctrines you might have heard of under a similar guise such as “TINA”. There Is No Alternative. There’s ALWAYS an alternative – often espoused by the person crazy enough to see things a little differently (Hello!). And often fiercely pushed back and resisted against by people who have the most to gain from adhering to the dominant thinking about an issue.
Exposing live on national television the way Establishment politics *actually* works (i.e. the money-for-influence conveyor-belt system) certainly helps with that, into the bargain. Particularly when his opponents are so breathtakingly stupid as to petition Trump for donations (presumably in exchange for influence) *right in the middle of the segment in which Trump discusses how donations buy politicians*.
People are freaking out wildly about what Trump might mean for US politics. And considering his quite frankly appalling comments on a few issues – perhaps quite rightly so.
But much to my frank surprise and amazement, it’s also possible that he’ll restore sanity to certain parts of the American politisphere.
And for that, if nothing else, I’ll look seriously at him as a politician – rather than relegating him to the merely “entertainment” section of my mind.
Oh, it’s also possible that either through a Trump victory irreversibly splitting and therefore destroying the modern Republican party – or instead via the route of Trump sabotaging the eventual Republican nominee’s 2016 campaign by running as an Independent Ross Perot style – he might inadvertently contribute to the Democrats being in a far stronger position within American politics in the future 😉
And for that, at least, I think he ought to be outright celebrated 😀
I appreciate that youre looking on the bright side a bit here, I must admit though, I squirmed through the first half. A couple things I would point out – firstly, Trump’s opposition to the TPPA is very likely just a reaction to it being Obama-orchestrated. Trump has a vendetta against Obama made plainly clear by being king of the ‘birthers.’ I dont think his single statement on TPPA is enough to distinguish him as willing to oppose corporate excesses and protect jobs – was he outspokenly opposed to NAFTA for instance?
As for his support of single payer healthcare, can we be sure this not simply a very smart tactical decision to go where other republican candidates will not and reap the benefits, a meaningless ploy for voters?
In lieu of a long and telling political career (as we have with say, Sanders and his readily available voting record), does Trump have a history of being honest and trustworthy? Why would we trust him on this, if he is as smart a political operator as we think he may be? This could all be merely a cynical political strategy – John Key said all kinds of things about addressing this countries ‘underclass’ in 2007 and then did absolutely nothing about it, infact he pretty much did the exact opposite – he also didnt have much of a political history to stack those kinds of statements against, much like Trump – and like Key, Trump also comes from the cynical world of big business and moneyed-interests where manipulation and coercion is simply part of the game. Is he truly the real deal or is he merely seeing what Sanders is doing and trying to replicate it on the right?
Call me skeptical, but this is american politics – where skepticism is the safest bet…
Republicans will remember their policy desires when push comes to shove in the primaries and Trump will either have morphed into just another Republican clone, or be gone by Breakfast thereafter.
If, in the most unlikely even that he is selected in the Republican primary race, he is still the least plausible option in winning against just about anyone. (I wonder how he would go against Bernie Sanders – an equally likely candidate, I’m afraid to say). His only hope is that the devil’s advocates on the Right persuade Joe Bidon to stand and he gets selected over Hillary Clinton.
Much of Trump’s “policy” is just bombast and the phony candidate won’t outlast the phony war.
One thing about him sort of annoys me, though. That “the Donald” thing. He isn’t “the Donald” or even *the Donald*, as any *Scot* will confirm.
He’s just a guy called Donald.
Interesting…
Hitler is still too fresh a memory for him to possibly succeed thankfully, even in America. I can’t think of a single fascist that’s won an election outside of the former Soviet states since WW2.
He doesn’t seem any different to Jean-Marie Le Pen to me. I find him boring.
1. Be careful what you wish for.
2. Trump is a maverick. To quote Douglas Adams, “The job of the president is to hide the real source of power.” Does Trump know this?
3. If Trump were to proceed to the election (under Republican or his own steam) and looked like he had a real chance, I wouldn’t be surprised if he took a bullet. He sounds like he has his own principles and a mind of his own: dangerous, very dangerous.
If the Americans can get a president who
a) Has good intentions
and
b) Is wealthy enough to self-fund his election campaign
Then Maybe just Maybe he can pull America out of the logjam of political backscratching, lobbying and special interest groups that it is currently in. (The Reps and the Dems are equally bad in this regard)
Is Donald that man?
Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, if he represents real change, the DC establishment are going to pull all the strings they can to assassinate him politically using slanderous media attacks. If that fails they may just simply assassinate him.
It won’t be the first time….
The best thing about him, is that he’s wealthy enough to fund his own campaign, without being beholden to sponsors like Adelson who would expect favours in return. Or is that what we are supposed to believe?
http://www.juancole.com/2014/03/politics-presidential-blessing.html
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Donald Trump: I Am the Only One Who Can Save Israel
Trump took to Twitter to endorse both himself, and Jewish business mogul Sheldon Adelson
By: Daina Goldfinger
Published: April 28th, 2015 in Business » Israel
Donald Trump: I Am the Only One Who Can Save Israel
“On April 27, Donald Trump declared through his Twitter account that he is the sole person that is able to “save Israel,” and that “these politicians and political clowns” are merely wasting everyone’s time.
Nobody but Donald Trump will save Israel. You are wasting your time with these politicians and political clowns. Best! “#SheldonAdelson
On April 27, Donald Trump declared through his Twitter account that he is the sole person that is able to “save Israel,” and that “these politicians and political clowns” are merely wasting everyone’s time.
Nobody but Donald Trump will save Israel. You are wasting your time with these politicians and political clowns. Best! #SheldonAdelson
I googled Donald trump and he is said to be an illuminati.
The only one to win the presidency in usa will be the person the corporations choose,
Trump dosnt need to be bribed,but I doubt hes no more of a saviour of America than our pm is saviour of NZ.Birds of a feather and all that.The only genuine person in USa politics was Ron Paul and msm ignored all his polls ,he wasn’t given a chance.thats how it operates in US. Its been said The result of election has been decided before the voting starts.
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