Thoughts on Donald J Trump

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JANUARY 16: Donald Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 16, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

HOLLYWOOD, CA – JANUARY 16: Donald Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 16, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

From one Donald J to another.  Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.  He won less by his own virtue than by the lack of virtue ascribed to the political elite by millions of voters.  For many Donald Trump represented a break from the kind of political orthodoxy exemplified by his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.  This blog’s main author finds him “loathsome”.  The political establishment and its chattering class enablers hate Trump.  Trump has been pilloried on blogs from BearingDrift to Blue Virginia.  I am cautiously optimistic regarding “The Donald’s” election.  Anybody who can send the political establishment, on both sides of the aisle, into a mental tailspin deserves some respect.  Lord knows, that establishment needed a comeuppance. Is he crude and crass?  Yes.  So was Lyndon Johnson.  Does he have some deep seated personality flaws?  Yes.  So did John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton.  Will he be a good president?  Well now, that’s the question.

How to start fast.  If I were advising President-elect Trump I’d have one big thought on how he should get started as the leader of the free world … get the money out of American politics.  Trump’s appeal is that of a renegade.  He’s the antithesis of the Clintons, the Bushes and all the other latter day American monarchies.  Over his first two years in office he’ll have the rare opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of our crony capitalist political class.  Donald Trump  should aggressively campaign for a constitutional amendment to drastically limit the amount of money any person or group can spend in the furtherance of their political agenda.  From George Soros to the Koch Brothers – this has to end.

In his own words.  Donald Trump has been surprisingly candid regarding the influence money has on American politics.

  • In reference to Jeb Bush … “He [Bush] raises $100 million, so what does $100 million mean? $100 million means he’s doing favors for so many people, it means lobbyists, it means special interests, it means donors,” Trump said in New Hampshire last month. “Who knows it better than me? I give to everybody. They do whatever I want. It’s true.”
  • In reference to the Koch Brothers (via Twitter) … “I wish good luck to all of the Republican candidates that traveled to California to beg for money etc. from the Koch Brothers. Puppets?” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)”

Dog catches car.  Donald Trump tried to become president in 2012.  His campaign went nowhere.  In 2016 a series of unlikely events has “The Donald” headed to the White House.  Will he view the presidency as the next installment of his reality TV career or will he capitalize on his outsider mystique to build a legacy?  President-elect Trump joins the vast majority of Americans in believing that money plays too big a factor in US politics.  The political elite (from both parties) hate the idea of seeing the money fountain dry up.  There is no practical remedy in legislation based on the Citizens United ruling.  A constitutional amendment is the only way forward.  This would be a rarefied long shot battle against powerful vested interests.  Who better than Trump?

— DJ Rippert