Trump Has Changed the Game

Trump Has Changed the Game
FILE - In this March 5, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the crowd asking them to take a pledge to promise to vote for him during a campaign rally, in Orlando, Fla. Trump on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, defended a gesture he made at a recent rally at the request of supporters in which he raised his right hand in a way that some compared to the Nazi salute. Trump called the accusations “ridiculous” and said his supporters wanted him to pretend that he was taking the oath of office. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FILE – In this March 5, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the crowd asking them to take a pledge to promise to vote for him during a campaign rally, in Orlando, Fla. Trump on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, defended a gesture he made at a recent rally at the request of supporters in which he raised his right hand in a way that some compared to the Nazi salute. Trump called the accusations “ridiculous” and said his supporters wanted him to pretend that he was taking the oath of office. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

At this rate, Donald J. Trump shows no signs of slowing down. I can’t help but ponder if his sweeping Super Tuesday wins are just the beginning of an entire real political movement.

That could sound good, depending on where your political views are. Regrettably, I can’t say I mean this positively.

Try as the establishment might to mark Trump as inexperienced or boorish, somehow that seems to only fuel the man’s fire with voters. In early March, the GOP unleashed Mitt Romney and he scolded Trump and pointed out his business failures. Their message was clear, “We ain’t gonna take it. We don’t want you here.”

What does Trump say back? “He’s a loser. He’s irrelevant.”

I’ll admit, I laughed out loud at the absurdity of that exchange when I first heard it. That was his actual response. But that’s also the bigger problem here — he’s entertaining and plays outside the “rules.” People are so disenfranchised with “the system” — or looking deeper, are probably being provoked into loathing it — it’s become cool to support a political outsider. “Anti-establishment” isn’t just a phrase regarding punk bands any more.

It doesn’t matter what Trump does or doesn’t do. I can only presume for the million people who are voting for him, that’s just the man they’ve been looking for. In most state primaries, the voter turnout was the biggest it has ever been in a Republican presidential primary.

Trump has proved to the country that you can get a record-breaking amount of votes for saying whatever it takes, even if that means displaying a tactless, reckless disregard for the truth.

Maybe I’m just indulging on my own fears and jumping ahead here, but I can’t help but think the game’s been changed. I believe we’re just getting started with the Trumps in politics. I foresee many more people who being influenced by Trump’s success and bravado and will soon dream up their own political campaign on similar policies to appeal to his voter base. From my view, Trump’s playing them all like a fiddle — “I love the poorly educated!”

To be fair, I probably sound elitist. I don’t intend to, but at the same time, who in their right mind could knowingly endorse a ridiculous wild card like Trump? I don’t want to belittle Trump supporters, because I also think that’s how we’ve gotten to where we are, but somewhere deep down in their humanity they’ve got to know a guy like him as Commander in Chief is a bad idea.

Will Trump’s wild success bring about an age where a politician can say anything they damn well please, provided that they’re simultaneously funny, a train wreck, arrogant or an opportunist? If you think I’m an under-qualified soothsayer, check out the newly elected GOP Chair in Travis County, Texas, which houses the state capitol, Austin. It’s already begun.

The man is Robert Morrow, and he’s an obscenely confident dingus who won the election with 54 percent of the vote on Super Tuesday.

Morrow has said in news broadcasts that he’s “Donald Trump on steroids.” Similar to Trump, the man speaks off the cuff and often makes absurd, tactless comments on social media. About 98 percent of his posts no child should see. Whether it’s photos of scantily clad women (“Feelin’ boobalicious today!” he tweets), a tweet calling Hillary Clinton an “angry bull dyke” or his critiques of several prominent politicians in vulgar, sexually explicit terms, it’s clear this guy has no filter. Last week he tweeted the Republican National Committee was just a “gay foam party.”

Let me restate this, Morrow won the popular vote in an election for GOP Chair in Travis, County, Texas.

However, there is some hope. Travis County Vice Chair Matt Mackowiak announced over social media that he would do everything in his power to remove Morrow from office, even going as far as deserting the party and forming a new Republican organization without Morrow.

What did Morrow say in retort? He said to theTexas Tribune, “Tell them they can go fuck themselves.”

I do not think the few represent the many in regards to Republicans. I respect many core GOP values. But I weep for the Republicans who are watching their party burn. I hope they can come back from this to be the formidable party they were that values small government and personal and economic liberty. Not this mixed bag of oppressive pseudo-Christian values, petty pissing matches and fear-mongering insanity that only seems to continue to spread.

Any minute now I’ll wake up.

Right?

…Right?

Categories: Commentary