Tag Archives: Cruz

The Mystique of Donald Trump

What can be said about Donald Trump.  Controversial?  (Check.)  Politically Incorrect (Definitely!)  Anti-illegal-immigration?  (Absolutely!)  Successful?  (Unquestionably.)  Interesting?  (Better than a soap opera.)  Short tempered?  (Probably.)

So here we are.  After the New Hampshire primary, after the South Carolina primary, the leading Republican presidential candidate is Donald John Trump.  So why are so many people either frightened of a Trump candidacy or attacking the Donald?

I, for one, am not afraid of a Trump candidacy.  Here are my reasons.

Firstly, Donald Trump is not a career politician.  People are beginning to take Grandpa T’s Common Sense Rule #1 to heart, ‘Politicians are more concerned about getting reelected than they are about doing what is good for the country.’  Therein lies the weakness in our political system.  To get reelected takes money………lots and lots of money!  To get that money, the politician must sell their soul and support to whichever individual, group or lobbyist makes that contribution.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was running for president against Richard Nixon.  As you may remember, Kennedy was a Catholic, which caused much concern about the entire nation being converted to Catholicism.  Many vitriol articles were published about that very matter.  Of course, it did not happen.  I digress.   I was underage, so i asked my father, Big Daddy G, for whom he was going to vote.  Big Daddy G said he was voting for JFK.  I asked why.  His reply?  “Son, it is difficult to bribe a millionaire.”  In a left handed manner, my father had his fingers on the pulse of the effect of big money on politics.  With that in mind….how do you bribe or influence a billionaire?

That in itself is driving the Washington establishment up a wall.  An elected official that did not have to spend 10 seconds with any individual, group or lobbyist attempting to purchase political influence. Would they need to establish a special welfare/unemployment system for underemployed lobbyists?

Admittedly, Trump can be short-tempered.  I would be short-tempered if I were in his situation. He is the leading Republican presidential candidate, which puts a bull’s eye on his back from his Republican competitors.  He gets the same treatment from his Democratic competitors.  He is receiving negative attention from the liberal media.  He is even receiving some flack from the Republican National Committee, which I find amazing…but true.  With all of this adversity, with all of this negative publicity, with all of these debates happening more often than I change underwear…wouldn’t you be a little short tempered if you were the big teddy bear in a one prize shooting gallery?

If you haven’t noticed, some of these people have gone out of their way to goad Donald Trump, repeatedly.  Donald, a very successful businessman, has no time for patty cake politics in his business dealings. He is a man of action and anything that detracts from the mission is superfluous. Washington, and politics in general are all about superfluous.  Why say or author something in one hundred words when two thousand pages will do?  That is politics.

Trump is a ‘cut to the chase’ kind of guy.  I can relate.  In the military, I was responsible for staff functions at the battalion and brigade levels.  Of course, I was surrounded by competent officers and NCOs.   In the military, as in business, there are occasions when time is of the essence and there is no time for extemporaneous BS.  Occasionally, I would get a young officer that thought he was being paid by the word.  This was the antithesis of providing 2000 pages when one hundred words would fit the bill.  I, in a mostly kind manner, would point out to said young officer that indeed, he was not being paid by the word.  My usual slogan was, “Don’t tell me how to build a clock when I ask what time it is.”  When something insignificant was brought up, I would point out: “Quit pole vaulting over mouse turds!”  Thus, I can relate to Trump with his short-temper mantra, ‘get it done’ personality.

So, Donald Trump is not a career politician.  Many are attempting to turn that into a weakness when the majority are finding it refreshing.  I have nothing against Cruz or Rubio except they are both career politicians and former lawyers.  As career politicians, are they a part of the solution or are they a part of the problem?  Both take every opportunity to extol this bill they introduced or that bill they introduced and how they attacked and corrected a specific problem.  If that is indeed the case, why is the country is such a terrible state?  On April 12, 2013, I wrote a blog titled, ‘Lawyers in Politics- Princes or Pariahs?’  Personally, I think attorneys have screwed up this country.  They appear to be more interested in circumventing the law versus upholding the law.  Just sayin’.

According to the liberal media, Donald Trump in controversial because of his stance on illegal immigration.  This would include not only Hispanics but also the Muslims and everyone else from entering this country.  With all of the terrorist events that have happened recently in the US, Europe and the Middle East, it is understandable why American citizens are concerned.  Numerous sources from our present government have indicated that there is no sure-fire way of checking the background of the Syrian refugees.  Like many Americans, my thoughts are, ‘so why are you letting them in?’  If you are so sure that we should just open our doors to non-vetted Syrian or Muslim refugees, then I think they should all be resettled in Washington, D.C.  That way, all the politicians can take care of them directly.  Donald’s position is that until the government can do thorough background checks, no further Muslims should enter this country.  This sentiment rings true with most Americans.  It even makes common sense.

Grandma P has a legitimate concern about Donald Trump.  She is concerned that his ego would get into the way of performing well as the POTUS.  Admittedly, I would have a pretty sizable ego if I had a net worth of somewhere north of $4 billion.  Estimates are as high as $9 billion.  I have always wanted to be so rich that I could afford to hire other people to exercise for me.  My thoughts about Donald’s ego?  I think all of these candidates have egos that would bury the needle on the Richter Scale.  You need to.  I have met town mayors and councilmen that thought they were royalty.  The person that appears to have the smallest ego problem?  That would be Ben Carson and his detractors think he is somewhat wishy-washy.  Hillary doesn’t have an ego problem nor do Cruz and Rubio.  It just appears that Donald’s ego is the largest…but let’s be honest, of all the candidates, he is the most accomplished.  He has made his own money.  The others?  They have mostly lived on other people’s money.

There has been concern that Donald Trump may not be ‘presidential’ enough to be POTUS.  What exactly does that mean?  Does that mean, “I did not have relations with that woman.”  Was that presidential?  Or, “It depends on what the definition of is, is.”  Or, “ISIS is the junior varsity team of Al Qaeda.”  There have been few presidents lately that would fit the bill of being the paragon of presidential.  I am not sure what being ‘presidential’ entails in today’s society.

I do find Donald Trump very interesting.  He made his fortune with a small amount of assistance from his father.  He obtained the education necessary to be successful in business.  He has guided his children to be able to run his business empire.  He had successful television shows, The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice.  He was paid over $250 million for hosting those shows.  When he is giving a speech to a receptive audience, he is charming and entertaining.  Amazingly, even with his wealth, he is appealing to the American middle and working classes.

So, is this article a ringing endorsement by Grandpa T of the GRUMPY (Government Revisions Utilizing Many Practical Years) party for Donald J. Trump?  I have been asked many times if he is my ‘guy’.  Here is my answer:  This country has swung so far to the left with political correctness and liberalism, that Donald Trump may not be the ‘guy’ you like, but he may be the ‘guy’ that this country needs to move the needle to the right and get this country on track.

Here is the boiled down version of the upcoming election:  do you want the country run by a very successful businessman or by more career politicians.  Hmmm….