August 25, 2015
Donald Trump is, to date, defying all of his critics and detractors with his big lead over the other Republican presidential candidates. There is a simple reason for his dominance that many so-called political experts and analysts did not see coming and are still overlooking. What is that reason? In one word--Obama.
Obama has successfully divided the country and the division he has created is deep and severe. His radical liberal policies and over the top political correctness, both at home and abroad, have infuriated, disgusted and embarrassed a significant number of Americans. These Americans now all too painfully understand the meaning of Obama's promise to fundamentally change the country and they do not like the result. They now see his agenda more clearly and resent his thrusting his leftist ideologies upon the country. They have witnessed Obama's weakening and degrading of America and they do not like it one bit. They are angry and want a strong and unapologetic Republican candidate who will make America great again. Enter Mr. Trump who has taken center stage with that exact message. He is vowing to return the country to its greatness by taking positions that are diametrically opposed to Obama's.
I refer the reader back to my April 9, 2015 article entitled "Right Down the Middle". In that article, I set forth matters that are important to Americans and major issues facing America today, and how I pretty much disagree with Obama's position on all of them. Trump is systematically championing the opposite side of Obama's liberal positions on these matters and issues as well. And he is doing so in a blatant way. For Americans who are tired of Obama weakening and degrading this great country, Trump is saying everything they long to hear. They yearn for American success and greatness again and Trump is promising to deliver that in the strong and unapologetic terms they now crave.
Many of the other Republican candidates have substantially similar messages as Trump. And they deliver their messages without Trump's bravado, bragging and lack of humility. Looking back on the past, it is hard to see a candidate like Trump having so much appeal to the American GOP electorate. But Obama has made that possible. Obama's attack on core American values has facilitated someone riding in on a white horse and defending America. Obama's arrogance and consistent insults and humiliation of much of the population and the country have fostered the ability of someone like a Donald Trump to come out swinging and appeal to Americans in the process.
The result is a continuing divide of the country. Obama's radical left ideologies have made it very easy for conservatives to disagree with him on all or almost all major issues. Trump has done just that and will continue to do so. Supporters of Obama, including most of the media, will dig in and defend their liberal positions and will fight Trump all the way. At the same time, Trump will continue to have amazing appeal to Americans who believe in a strong America and want their country back. America will continue to lack a middle ground. Bipartisanship will likely continue to be non-existent.
Take illegal immigration as just one example. Many Americans strongly oppose Obama's far-left views and policies. They want the problem addressed and a common sense solution (at least in part) is to secure the country's southern border. Trump's promise to build a wall and to have Mexico pay for it has obvious appeal to these Americans. But have they fully thought through how Trump will execute on his promise to deport illegals? Whether or not they consider this measure to be extreme, they may be reacting out of frustration. To illustrate the division in this country on just this one issue, consider that while his backers applaud Trump even when he talks of deportations, liberals support illegals receiving more government benefits than America's military personnel. Liberals also are offended by and scoff at conservatives over terminology on the subject like "illegals", "illegal immigrants" and "anchor babies" even though there is nothing inaccurate about these terms.
Conservatives also see the current Democratic presidential candidates promising more of the same of what Obama is delivering, and that frightens them. That is understandable given the liberal messages being espoused by the leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. In Clinton, they also see someone they clearly cannot trust, as each day there are new troubling allegations against her, even as reported in the liberal media outlets. This likely helps explain, in part, the surprising surge of Sanders. Sanders deserves credit in that he at least admits to being a socialist, but that honesty does not make him any more appealing to conservatives. Faced with these liberal choices, and now in the second term of a president with radical left ideologies and policies, conservatives do not want to leave anything to chance. They want the strongest candidate possible and so far they like what they are hearing from Trump and believe that he is their best bet.
It is not clear whether Trump can continue on his current successful path. He may be his own worst enemy. For now, however, he has galvanized the GOP base. His supporters have embraced him notwithstanding his insults of fellow Republican candidates, even so much as claiming John McCain is not a war hero. In the past, his brashness likely would have made him crash and burn as a candidate. In today's America though, he is instead viewed positively by conservatives as someone who speaks his mind and who is desperately needed to restore the country to its greatness. He can thank Obama for that.
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