The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

No, not THAT Good, Bad, and Ugly.

THIS Good, Bad, and Ugly.

I know Donald Trump is in a lot of people's cross-hairs these days, but I have to give him, and Bernie Sanders, credit for likely redefining politics from this day forward.  Until now, a major party candidate wouldn't dare cross his/her financial benefactors....labor unions, trial lawyers, Big Pharma, Oil, Ag, Health Care, Banking, Insurance, Tobacco, etc, but The Donald and The Bernie have shown that there are ways to finance a campaign that don't require a candidate to bend over.  Good show, guys!

And Donald Trump has shown that you can say things out loud that are un-PC and still politically survive.  In fact, it appears that such behavior will attract as many or more voters than it drives away.  I think this can be good....there are some un-PC things that need to be said....depending of course on what you say.  Go too far and you're branded a nut case.  (I would think talk of your plan to deliver us from the zombie apocalypse would be considered over the line.)

Many people, me included, feel that America has made some really stupid trade deals over the years, and Trump says they need to be re-examined.  Agreed!  Those deals helped many American companies no doubt, but did little to help the American people.  As I remember, our Constitution's preamble refers to "We the people", not "We the corporations".

Which brings us to the Bad:

Donald Trump has a habit of writing checks with his mouth that The Bank of Reality can't cash.  Early on he said the Mexicans that are coming here are rapists, thieves, murderers...."and I'm sure a few are good people."  

I know a lot of Mexicans/Hispanics, and I find them to be every bit as decent as us native-born Americans.  They work hard, I mean really hard, and contribute substantially to our economy.  He should have said, "and I'm sure a few are NOT good people", but he didn't.

Donald Trump's claim to fame is that he will build a wall across our southern border, and make Mexico pay for it.  And every time someone challenges him on it, he says he just made his (imaginary) wall 10' taller.  

As a builder myself, I can tell you there aren't enough excess building materials....concrete, steel, etc, or labor available to build a 1,000 mile-long wall in the time frame he's promising.  Think of the logistics it would take, not to mention the $$$, to marshal such an effort!  A "virtual" wall maybe (cameras, "eyes in the sky", etc), but not a brick and mortar wall.

And he can't make Mexico pay for it.  He can't unilaterally impose a 35% tariff to enforce his will.  The imported goods he would be prohibitively taxing would be made largely by American companies with factories in Mexico.  You don't think those companies would pull out all the stops to lobby against him?  The last time I checked, lobbyists still owned Congress!  *sigh*

Donald Trump said John McCain isn't a war hero because he was captured.  Huh?  Has he not heard the story about how McCain was offered his freedom by the North Vietnamese (he was from a prestigious military family), but refused to leave his fellow POW's?  (I personally have problems with McCain's politics, but that's another story.)

More recently he's saying the judge hearing his Trump University case is a Mexican and an activist who is prejudiced against him because of the wall he proposes building.  That's just wrong on all counts.  If it were true his crack team of lawyers would have long ago filed a motion to have the judge replaced.

Trump admits he isn't a foreign policy expert, but says he can get up to speed before the inauguration.  Wow!  A PhD in foreign affairs in just a few months....I'm impressed!  And he says he's an expert on ISIS.  In fact he says he knows more on the subject than our generals.  Such a Renaissance man!  *not*

And what's with him denying campaign media credentials to those who dare critically question him?  That's censorship, something I've always felt was simply un-American.  *bad Donald*

He keeps saying Hillary is going to take away our Second Amendment rights.   Does he actually believe that?  Hillary alone couldn't pull that off even if she wanted to.  Amending the Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of Congress, or a 2/3 vote of state legislatures.  Read my lips:  Not....gonna....happen!  

Donald needs to think before he speaks.  He's been recorded saying too many outlandish, sometimes offensive, often contradictory things on video.  Such things might not bother his hard core supporters, but they do me.

And finally, the plain, unadulterated Ugly:

Donald Trump has a mean, nasty streak in him.  He dispatched 16 Republican primary nominees by calling them names....Little Marco, Lyin' Ted, Ugly Carly, Loser Jeb, etc.  I haven't heard taunts like that since the third grade.  I would frankly be embarrassed for him to represent the United States of America at any international forum/event. 

And it isn't just his political opponents.  He belittles women who he deems less than beautiful, reporters who dare ask him hard questions or who bring up his own words from previous statements, and hecklers at his rallies...."go home to mommy"....or worse, he at one time told his supporters he would pay their legal fees if they would rough up a few.

Of course he could have disagreed with any of these people by making a well thought out, coherent presentation, but he didn't.  He just spewed insults and kept on bullying forward. 

When asked if he was glad to have the endorsement of David Duke (former Grand Exhausted Lizard...er...Grand Exalted Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan), Trump said he was not familiar with him or his organization, and would have to know more about them before he could answer.  Oh pah-leeze, even toothless, donkey-riding peasants in Uzbekistan know about the KKK!

His arrogance and narcissism are well documented.  Confidence is good, but not arrogance. 

Just telling some schmuck "You're fired!" on a silly TV show isn't reason enough for me to turn over the nuclear football to him.

  This is some serious shit stuff, folks!

And finally, I'm personally insulted that he asks for our vote, yet refuses to give straight answers to legitimate questions we might have.  "Don't you worry about it....I'll handle it."  What the hell am I supposed to make of that?  I don't like being talked down to.

In conclusion, Donald Trump is IMO very smart, aggressive, ballsy, determined, and more, but his negatives are just too much for me to live with.  So, in language Donald can understand....You're fired!....or more accurately....You're not hired!

All in favor of a 2016 election do-over, raise your hand.

S