For my friends living outside of the U.S. who might be wondering what Americans could possibly be thinking.
First of all, I want to say I voted early and not for Trump. So, this is not an attempt to explain myself. It's an attempt to explain that part of the population that is going to vote for him. Please understand, while there are some genuinely crazy, xenophobic, rotten people in that camp (and odds are good those are the ones you're seeing, because their craziness is sort of entertaining), the VAST majority of Republicans are actually good people. They are neither stupid nor (totally) crazy. They don't approve of what Trump has done or is doing, and they certainly don't want to do it themselves. Why, then, are they going to vote for him?
Nobody is really supporting Trump. In the past, Republicans have been able to truly get behind whatever candidate their party foisted upon them. Often, the more faults the candidate had to forgive, the more the party faithful would embrace him. (Think George W. Bush). 4 years ago, they were able to disregard the fact that their nominee wasn't even Christian. Even Sarah Palin is still active in Republican politics. It used to be fun watching them perform amazing feats of mental gymnastics, and I've been studying the mechanics of their memetic programming for years. This time, however, they're not embracing their candidate. They're not accepting or excusing his flaws. They're not making up stories to share with each other about how God has blessed them with such a perfect candidate.
We all know what he is. He is a grotesque, narcissistic con artist. There's no doubt about that. He is crude, greedy, foul-mouthed - he's a disaster. We know this. And while one might think that this should be enough to at least convince people not to vote for the man (if not disqualify him outright), I contend that this smelly package is precisely why he won their nomination and why they're happy to vote for him.
It is a protest vote. He is the anti-candidate. Republicans are so fed up with our government that they would prefer simply to tear it all down. Trump won their nomination by ridiculing the other Republican candidates, all of whom had government experience, some currently. (I'm not counting Ben Carson, who would have been a similar anti-candidate). He ridiculed them BECAUSE of their experience.
Honestly, all the negative publicity that comes out about Trump only serves to strengthen their resolve about their decision. The worse he smells, the stronger the message they will be sending to the establishment.
So, this might be that part of them that is a little bit crazy. I had to go back and add that "totally" part in the first paragraph because it does require a certain level of insanity to want to sink the ship you're riding in. But that is what many of them want. They are going to vote for Trump to send a message to Washington. If he loses, they will have still rattled their cages a lot. If he wins, he will probably be the train wreck we all fear. Either way, their message will have been sent.
First of all, I want to say I voted early and not for Trump. So, this is not an attempt to explain myself. It's an attempt to explain that part of the population that is going to vote for him. Please understand, while there are some genuinely crazy, xenophobic, rotten people in that camp (and odds are good those are the ones you're seeing, because their craziness is sort of entertaining), the VAST majority of Republicans are actually good people. They are neither stupid nor (totally) crazy. They don't approve of what Trump has done or is doing, and they certainly don't want to do it themselves. Why, then, are they going to vote for him?
Nobody is really supporting Trump. In the past, Republicans have been able to truly get behind whatever candidate their party foisted upon them. Often, the more faults the candidate had to forgive, the more the party faithful would embrace him. (Think George W. Bush). 4 years ago, they were able to disregard the fact that their nominee wasn't even Christian. Even Sarah Palin is still active in Republican politics. It used to be fun watching them perform amazing feats of mental gymnastics, and I've been studying the mechanics of their memetic programming for years. This time, however, they're not embracing their candidate. They're not accepting or excusing his flaws. They're not making up stories to share with each other about how God has blessed them with such a perfect candidate.
We all know what he is. He is a grotesque, narcissistic con artist. There's no doubt about that. He is crude, greedy, foul-mouthed - he's a disaster. We know this. And while one might think that this should be enough to at least convince people not to vote for the man (if not disqualify him outright), I contend that this smelly package is precisely why he won their nomination and why they're happy to vote for him.
It is a protest vote. He is the anti-candidate. Republicans are so fed up with our government that they would prefer simply to tear it all down. Trump won their nomination by ridiculing the other Republican candidates, all of whom had government experience, some currently. (I'm not counting Ben Carson, who would have been a similar anti-candidate). He ridiculed them BECAUSE of their experience.
Honestly, all the negative publicity that comes out about Trump only serves to strengthen their resolve about their decision. The worse he smells, the stronger the message they will be sending to the establishment.
So, this might be that part of them that is a little bit crazy. I had to go back and add that "totally" part in the first paragraph because it does require a certain level of insanity to want to sink the ship you're riding in. But that is what many of them want. They are going to vote for Trump to send a message to Washington. If he loses, they will have still rattled their cages a lot. If he wins, he will probably be the train wreck we all fear. Either way, their message will have been sent.
