American Politics or Reality TV

2016 is going to see one of the most dramatic elections in American history simply because of the showmanship of Donald Trump.  When I heard that he was running for the Republican nomination more than a year ago I didn’t think he would go any real distance.  Needless to say I am amazed at his endurance despite running off at the mouth in a way that would have caused any other person to effectively alienate the voters.  But people are gobbling him up; not only is he mentioned in the news every day but he is on talk shows morning, noon and night, if only because the hosts are quoting his latest outrageous statement.

First let’s look at the number of Republican candidates; I’ve lost track but I believe at one point there were 19 running and currently there are still 12 in the race.  The only candidate who is decently civil is Jeb Bush and he is so far down in the polls that he doesn’t appear to have any chance at securing the nomination.  The current 3 front runners (Trump, Cruz and Rubio) are so obnoxiously rude not only to each other but to people in general that I feel incredulous that any of them have credibility with voters.  The things coming out of their mouths are so inappropriate, ignorant and racist that one can hardly believe that America is a civilized country.

Trump quotes:

“Listen you m-----f----- we are going to tax you 25%”

“I will build a great wall . . . and I will make Mexico pay for it.  Mark my words.”

“Laziness is a trait in the blacks . .  . “

“Rosie O’Donnell is disgusting inside & out.  You take a look at her, she’s a slob.  She talks like a truck driver, she doesn’t have her facts, she’ll say anything that comes to her mind” (pot vs kettle)

“If you can’t get rich dealing with politicians there’s something wrong with you” (values & morals)

“A certificate of live birth is not the same by any means as a birth certificate” (how's that?)

“He’s not a war hero.  He’s a war hero because he was captured . . .”

There are reams more of these idiotic statements and yet the people love him; they gobble up his sayings and say “right on, we are with you Donald”.  Taxing Chinese goods by 25%, isn’t that called a tariff?  And does this mean you are willing to alienate all your corporate buddies who have their automobile parts, clothing, running shoes, accounting, banking, telephone services and so forth – I’d like to see that but we know it ain’t gonna happen!  I would be astonished if one ethnic or female voter would vote for a man who vilifies these groups on a regular basis (perhaps I should say, anyone with a normal IQ within those groups).

Oh dear, did I just say whatever came into my mind?  Excuse me for my Trumpism.  By contrast the Democratic nomination is limited to 3 people this time around and for the most part the candidates have been extraordinarily civil towards each other. 

But as we know in American politics, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.