THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 102, April 28, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE UNSHAKABLE APPEAL OF A TRUMP CANDIDACY
By Christopher G. Adamo
AMERICAN NATIONAL PUBLIC POLICY & U.S. PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: DONALD TRUMP & THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION -- ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS, THE SOCALLED POLITICAL "CENTER," & THE PROMISE OF LITTLE MORE THAN
INSIPID "MODERATION" -- BARACK OBAMA, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS, & THEIR DETERMINATION TO SEND AMERICA DOWN
THE PATH INTO SOCIALISM & SERVITUDE -- THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA & THE AMERICAN POLITICAL LEFT -- HEARTLAND
AMERICA & THE REAL CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT -- THE LEADERSHIP VOID THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS AT THE HIGHEST
LEVELS OF REPUBLICAN PARTY POLITICS -- THE POSITIVE EFFECT THAT DONALD TRUMP'S FORAYS INTO THE POLITICAL
ARENA HAVE ALREADY HAD ON THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT -- INVALUABLE LESSONS THAT CONSERVATIVES CAN
GLEAN FROM TRUMP'S RECENT POLITICAL ACTIVITY, & THE PUBLIC'S RESPONSE TO IT -- WHAT AMERICA NEEDS:
COURAGEOUS & UNAPOLOGETIC CONSERVATIVE LEADERS WHO WILL NOT RUN FROM CRITICAL ISSUES OF THE DAY EACH
TIME THE LEFTISTS RESORT TO SAUL ALINSKY TACTICS OF VILIFICATION & MARGINALIZATION
FULL STORY:
If establishment Republicans have their way, the history of 1995 and 1996 will repeat itself, which portends that, despite
the Republicans enormous mid-term gains, Barack Obama will be reelected in 2012. While this is an appalling possibility to
the mainstream of the country, those at the innermost circles of Republican hierarchy nevertheless seem determined to
deny the American people a real alternative to the acceleration of government bloat and encroaching socialism from the
political Left. Thus, they give credibility to the abhorrent and extra-constitutional actions of the Democrats and Obama
since his inauguration.
The people of the American Heartland made it inarguably clear last November that they want no part of Obama’s “hope
and change” bilge water. Yet, this message has somehow failed to penetrate those politicians ostensibly on the political
Right who, had they been predisposed towards courage and leadership, could now wield it like a mace against the
Liberal Democrats. Instead, Democrats have renewed vigor and are enjoying unwarranted success at forcing compromise
and capitulation from the GOP. And, with each Republican effort to avoid political impasse, chances for Obama and his
Democratic Party minions improve for next year.
Throughout all of this, “business as usual” Republicans are again proving to be Obama’s biggest allies. Perpetually
living in fear of scorn and ridicule from the “mainstream” media, they squander their political capital in a futile effort to
stay in the good graces of the socalled political “Center” (as it has been defined by the Left) while flippantly disparaging
or trivializing the Conservative base.
So, it should surprise no one that, amidst a current field of prospective Republican presidential hopefuls who promise
little more than a continuance of the insipid “moderation” of George W. Bush, the mere possibility of Donald Trump
entering the race is sending shock waves that reverberate on a tectonic scale. After all, Bush’s rejection of real
Conservatism was what ultimately brought us Obama. Now, America genuinely and desperately seeks real change
before it is too late.
It is inarguable that Trump’s past “Conservative” credentials are less than sterling. Few, if any, ever considered him an
icon of the Republican philosophy prior to his recent dalliances with presidential politicking. Nevertheless, his appeal is
broad and growing. And despite all the derision coming from GOP “experts” (or perhaps because of it) his momentum is
real, and the Republican nomination may be within his grasp.
But, if he has not historically carried the Conservative water on any reliable basis, just what is it about him that seems to
be resonating with Heartland America? More importantly, what lessons should real Conservatives learn from him that
could bolster and strengthen their own efforts to advance the Conservative agenda?
Perhaps that question could better be answered by identifying and quantifying the leadership void that currently exists
at the highest levels of Republican politics. And that appalling circumstance can best be revealed by considering the
true character and underlying motives of Trump’s fiercest “Republican” critics.
Bush crony Karl Rove is among those most stridently attacking Trump, having dismissed him as “a joke candidate” and
“inconsequential,” particularly on account of Trump’s dogged pursuit of the Obama birth certificate issue. Yet, it is
Rove who no longer holds any credibility with Conservative America, in the aftermath of last year’s electoral
controversies, and his complete betrayal of the “Tea Party” movement.
Few grassroots Conservatives will ever forget how Rove did his best to undermine Christine O’Donnell in the Delaware
Senate race, after she unseated Liberal RINO Mike Castle in the primary. Any pretenses of “party unity,” or those
overblown and distorted references to Ronald Reagan’s “Eleventh Commandment” were summarily abandoned, once
Castle, the preordained establishment candidate, was rejected by voters. In light of this, Rove’s derision may in fact
boost Trump’s standing among those on the Right.
More significantly, Americans are encouraged by Trump’s refusal to allow the Liberal media to dictate to him the
subjects he can and cannot discuss. The Left has enjoyed far too much success in totally framing the debate on
virtually every significant issue merely by castigating or mocking any who might ascribe to an opposing viewpoint. So,
it is a great encouragement to see someone stick to his guns, in complete indifference to the cat-calls of the “politically
correct.”
Some, such as radio talk show host Mark Levin, have rightly pointed to Trump’s moral flexibility as cause for real
concern. Unfortunately, as elastic as Trump has indeed been over the years, any such scrutiny will automatically
contrast him against the disgraceful back peddling and waffling by entrenched Congressional Republicans whose
track record is inarguably worse.
Trump offers bold and decisive plans to unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit by rolling back government taxation
and regulation. The specifics of these plans, notwithstanding, in the wake of the recent surrender to Obama and the
Democrats by House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican Congressional “majority,” even a dubious plan from
Trump does not seem completely insupportable. Any “convictions” on Trump’s part, though deviations from his past
stances, are still likely to remain more stable and steadfast than the Republican’s 2010 “Pledge to America,” the
fundamental principles of which were unceremoniously jettisoned within weeks of the 2010 elections, out of a visceral
fear of a government “shutdown.”
It is not yet settled whether Donald Trump is truly serious about running for the nation’s highest office. Nevertheless,
his forays into the political arena have already had a positive effect on the Conservative movement, and, even if he
does not actually intend to run, several invaluable lessons can be gleaned from his recent activity, and the public’s
response to it.
His meteoric rise to political prominence reflects a scarcity of inspiring leadership among the standard players in the
party. America is crying out for courageous and unapologetic Conservative leaders who will not run from critical
issues of the day each time the political Left resorts to its Saul Alinsky tactics of vilification and marginalization.
The nation is fast approaching a “point of no return” from which the Left hopes to send it down an inexorable path
into socialism and servitude. And those who intend such a course for it will not be stopped through standard political
give and take. Conservatives who intend to prevail must rise to something higher, more principled, and more resolute
than the “status quo” inside the Beltway. To the degree that Donald Trump gives an appearance of representing this,
America shuns the sanctimony and pontificating from the elitists, and welcomes his entry into the fight.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
------------------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a resident of southeastern Wyoming. He has been involved in politics at the local and state
level for many years. His contact information and article archives can be found at www.chrisadamo.com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity