Today’s news is that Trump passed Hillary at the LA Times’ poll. This week could be about as evenly divided as America may ever be concerning Trump.
Liberal logic against Trump seems to be generally about as complex as, “He is ridiculous because he just is.” This does not mean that Liberal critics of Trump are not thinking or can’t formulate logical explanations of their ideas. Rather, it seems that, to them, Trump opposes all their ideologies for self-evident reasons. Of course. No one would disagree that Trump “just seems ridiculous” by all Liberal standards. Asking Liberals to provide reasons for their view of Trump would be like asking a fashion expert to deduce the rational for concluding that someone’s clothes don’t match; you either see it or you don’t. The back-and-forth between “Trumpists” and Libs isn’t unusual, though a little more entertaining this election cycle.
But, the unusual critique of Trump comes from closer to his own base: Conservatives.
Symphony cannot find a substance-based explanation from Conservatives who distrust Trump. The only Right Wing explanations seem hypothetical, demographic-based, and inductive. “He walks among the rich. Therefore he will act like a crony capitalist in government,” goes the general reason for suspicion.
Conservatives usually base their beliefs on proven history, not untested ideology. In logic, Conservatives prefer to be deductive, not inductive. Conservatives generally act more understanding of wealthier classes. So, it seems strange for an inductive theory based on class-focused stereotypologies to move Conservatives so. But, it does. They find their reasons for distrusting Trump quite compelling.
Given history, why shouldn’t they?
Americans believe that Hillary’s sale of her country for personal and financial gain is just normal. They look at Obama dumping cash on Iran like a “drug dealer in chief”. They see Bush having willfully played the “Sunday morning” card to get elected; they felt fooled. Accordingly, many people believe that Trump should and will attempt any and all of the same. They believe this without any further evidence than the past has already presented.
But, Trumpists also cite the past, specifically in Trump’s portfolio.
Trump’s track record says he will be good. If he can’t build something, it will be the first time. If he lets someone else’s money control him—even someone who won’t miss a billion dollars—it would be the first time. If the overall treasury he manages ends in sell-off bankruptcy, it will be the first time. If his opponents gain an advantage and defeat him, it will be the first time. If his projects are filled with “$20,000 hammers”, it will be the first time. If he doesn’t fire incompetent people who would make things worse, it will be the first time. If his enemies don’t make some sort of peaceful compromise with him, it will be the first time.
But, his Conservative doubters don’t see those “first times” as well as they see other “first times”…
If a politician isn’t controlled by big money, it will be the first time. If a president makes peace with his enemies, it would be the first time since Reagan and Gorbachev. If government projects don’t see costs bloated by pork cronyism, it will be the first time. If incompetent people get fired swiftly, it will be the first time. If “faith and switch” doesn’t exploit Sunday morning voters, it will be the first time—though Grudem and Dobson may have spoiled that already, but at least it isn’t coming from the candidate himself, for the first time.
Perhaps things have just been too bad and too difficult for just too long. If Trump wins, no matter what happens, there will be a lot of “first times”. And, in these times of so many firsts, a lot of people don’t know what they should think.
LA Times Poll: Trump just passed Clinton Aug 20-21
American journalism is collapsing before our eyes | NY Post
Clinton camp sends out desperate plea for more funds | NY Post
Hillary Clinton outspends Trump in White House showdown | USA Today
Clinton campaign warns of complacency | The Hill
Kirk likens Obama to ‘drug dealer in chief’ for $400 million Iran payment | Chicago Tribune
Colin Powell Says Hillary Clinton’s ‘People Have Been Trying to Pin’ Email Scandal on Him | People
Donald Trump launches ‘extreme vetting’ Cold War ideology test for entering US | Telegraph
Opinion: Donald Trump’s ideology test could make sense (but not in the way he means) | Market Watch
…Written by a Liberal who takes a long time to say so.