No, because he is the leader of the pack,
they would probably attack any of the other outsider candidates if they too were in the lead. The would not attack bush.

Oh, I guess you are saying that Cruz never advocated for any of those positions. Thank goodness. I can sleep better now.

The belief system of a candidate should be taken for what it is...not what you are saying. We have in this country a system of checks and balances. What Obama has attempted to do, and with alarming success, is to make the office of President into a kind of Emperorship. No wonder you wish to be upset to think that Cruz would do the same. But he would not. I would counsel Trump supporters to be careful. There are more similarities between Obama and him than is being discussed in the media.

Perot ran as the anti-establishment self-financed "can do" successful business guy who wanted to get around the "darned Constitution" that threatened to interfere with his plans to make America great again. Sound familiar?

Thankew.

Trump is going to be a terrific president. So many people have told me that he would be the best president ever. People who disagree are Losers and they're ugly and stupid. Blood is squirting from their, ,whatever Everybody agrees with me. It's going to be wonderful.

No, he was like Teddy Roosevelt who ran on the Bullmoose party (who then siphoned away enough votes from the Republican incumbent who was anti-Federal Reserve) who made it possible for Wilson (the Progressive Democrat) to win that election, the rest is history.

The similarity was that Perot also siphoned off about 20% of the vote allowing Clinton to defeat Bush 1 without a plurality. History does repeat itself and it is usually planned that way!

For what its worth!

The big question is whether he would use executive orders or work with congress. Is there any reason other than his ego that leads you to believe his method would be by executive order?

He keeps talking about making deals -- even wrote a book on the subject.

The discussion is about Trump, not another statist politician that you think makes Trump look better by comparison. This is the same tired excuse that the GOP uses to keep the sheep voting for the lesser evil. I have done research on Trump and his lack of ethics is clear in his actions and his history of statements in favor of big government power . It is clear to me that you and I have significantly different measures of ethical behavior, how much power a president can constitutionally use, and how a persons past actions define the expectations of behavior in a powerful position of public trust.

He is no conservative, OA, but neither are they. Or maybe they are; I know I don't give a crap what they say!

Well! If the nation is stupid enough to elect Sanders, then we all deserve what we get. Remember, these people reflect us "we the people" and they would not be where they are if it weren't for the "Soundbite".

If our culture has been so "dumbed down" then it is on us because we allowed it to happen. Gramsci understood this as did Allinsky. So, perhaps if parents took a little more time to understand our corrupted (progrssive, Hegelian) educational system, we would not have several generations of brainwashed, growing population of self-absorbed, socio-paths voting for more freebies and being disappointed that they were given jobs and wealth, all the while failing to understand that those things only come through hard work and not through the Progressive rant "that everyone is special"and deserving of getting everything they have been promised and then not seeing it materialize. That is the reason the millennials are so sour.

Yes, Trump, Corzine, Clinton, Sanders and the rest of the gaggle of Beltway politicians are truly representative of our own cumulative degenerating values and intellectual laziness. Make way for the leader we deserve!

Good one!

Voters seem to fall into several blocks that will be voting in the Republican Primaries.
1. Hard Core Conservatives
2. Libertarians
3. Religious Right
4. Constitutionalists
5. Establishment Republicans
6. Starstruck Republicans
and
7. Starstruck Reagan Democrats.

Which blocks support Trump? Cruz? Rubio? Bush? Carson? etc? Are there other Republican voting blocks of consequence, that I've missed?
Objectivists are not a substantial voting block.


The religious folks seem to be all over the board, depending in part what they "feel " about abortion, immigration and income inequality. The Jews mostly vote Democrat. Catholics like immigration from Mexico and South America, but not so much from the Middle East and Africa. Protestants are Pro Lifers. Muslims typically vote Democrat. I consider all religious folks irrational and somewhat unpredictable.

For the most part I agree with some of your thoughts on Trump however there are some significant issues that you have not addressed.

For instance, you mentioned that both Trump and Romney made their fortunes in a "business environment". Romney was a Wall Street type (mostly populated by Democrats) as was Jon Corzine (past NJ governor) who incidentally was one of the worst governors that NJ ever had. His business acumen was being basically a boiler room salesman. That is not creating something of value per se. This was also the environment that Romney made his wealth in.

Trump is also be his own definition, a Big Government, Crony-capitalist who loves the use of Eminent Domain. That is exactly what most the Establishment and the Democrat party like.

You also mentioned that you don't want a president to govern by the use of Executive Orders, fine, but what you have (and what Obama knew) was that Congress is moribund! The leadership is in the tank with the lobbyists and the donor class calls the shots, not the electorate.

Now, if you said that but also indicated that perhaps it were time for real term limits, then I would be in agreement with you. That, unfortunately will not come to be if we rely on our elected representatives who currently infest the Beltway to vote for an amendment to the Constitution in order to make that happen. It won't in a million years.

In order to shake DC up, there should probably be an Article V Convention of the States to effect a Constitutional Amendment for Term Limits. George Mason ensured that safety valve was there just because he knew empirically that Congress would not make certain changes themselves.

For these reasons, Trump will not be the savior that we think he will because he will either be a dictator or he will deal with Congress as is being done now. For what its worth!

I hear these accusations frequently, but no one ever seems to give examples. Did four of his business enterprises declare bankruptcy? Definitely, but it was the only rational course given the circumstances. Some investors may not like the outcome, but there are no guarantees in business - if you think it isn't a crapshoot, you're delusional.

The Trump businesses have one of the highest percentages of female and minority executives, and they aren't "tokens". He doesn't make a big deal of this, as to him it's only the natural course of him being open to talent and initiative without prejudice.

A lot has been said about his support of eminent domain, but he's open about it as a natural tool of business. I suspect others in the arena have benefited from use of this mechanism, but are careful to keep their mouth shut.

He's the only candidate who makes no bones about how easy it is to buy politicians with money or favors. Like Bernie Sanders, he also doesn't support big money or super-PACs for his campaign (of course, Bernie, unlike Trump, can't self-finance).

If you want a tested Washington politician, vote for Kasich, who has an admirable record there, and as a successful governor. However, I think people are sick of the way that system acts (I wanted to say "works," but it doesn't), and are willing to give an outsider a try.

When you have more specifics about Trump instead of baseless invective, I'm willing to listen.

Why? Because he is a billionaire?

Well said!

I am all for gun control! Conservatives, Republicans should be banned from owning guns because they just shoot the legs out from under their own candidates. This Gulch is not much different than the defunct Tea Party in that many right here will trash all and refuse to come together guaranteeing that Hillary will be our next looser in the WH! Bush sucked, McCain sucked, Romney sucked and we ended up with 8 years of BHO yet you fools think you have the right ideas.

Huh? Perot was the fascist!

I hate to be a negativist about Trump however you must look at his history across the board. His dealings with politicians over the years have been exactly the opposite of what he now supposedly believes, that is if you take his rhetoric seriously.

In the past he has espoused exactly the opposite of his rhetoric today so, the question is "Who is the real Donald Trump?".

You said that you do not like Cruz because he "flip flops" on issues. Can you cite these flip-flops?

In addition to Trump having been a Democrat and having endorsed or given donations to a host of Democrats including the Clintons (I cand add the list if needed), how can anyone in all honesty take him seriously?

I have been skewered by many of my "Conservative" friends for not jumping on the Trump bandwagon however every time I ask for some form of proof that he is the real deal, no one can provide it. Why is that?

Anyway, I am glad you and a host of other Americans have finally found the "Champion" that is going to lead the country to the "Promised" land however, being the Doubting Thomas that I am, all I can say is: "I'm from Missouri, show me!".

And the Republicans since that time have been as bad or worse than Clinton. Keep on voting for the statists and you get bigger government.
this is not rocket science or brain surgery, its observing actions vs promises.
The GOP is worse than the Dems because they claim to be your saviors and they always betray your interests in favor of their own power. They are traitors and deserve the punishment for that crime just as much as the Dems.
To paraphrase Valentine in Trading Places, "it occurs to me that the best way you hurt powerful people is by turning them into powerless people."

Ideas can be powerful.

Reminds me of how Ross Perot helped Bill Clinton get elected.

Are you saying Boaz and Sowell are part of the Establishment?

Ted Cruz, defender of the Constitution, wants to "carpet bomb" people in the middle east without a declaration of war as mandated by the Constitution. Ted Cruz, defender of the Constitution, wants to strictly enforce federal drug laws unauthorized by the Constitution. Ted Cruz, advocate for limited government, supports laws criminalizing abortion.