I know many pundits, think tanks, politicians, advisors to politicians, strategists, academics and consultants are trying to explain the “Trump phenomenon.” Some have made excellent contributions. But I came across one in the Washington Post of March 5, 2016 which seems to capture the movement well. As an added benefit the article also traces the […]
Archives
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The Trumpist Phenomenon
06 Mar 2016
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GOP Debate Tweets
04 Mar 2016
Cruz–interesting attack against Trump. Does he know the principles that made American great first. He should be asked that. #GOPDebate — Mark Caleb Smith (@markcalebsmith) March 4, 2016 Cruz–we have beaten Donald Trump again and again. Weak sauce when Trump has him 10-4 in state victories. #GOPDebate — Mark Caleb Smith (@markcalebsmith) March 4, 2016 […]
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Taxes Versus Spending
02 Mar 2016
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a DC group, had this to say about Ted Cruz’s campaign proposals: “Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has, by our count, put forward seven sets of policy proposals on his campaign website covering areas such as immigration, military spending, and tax reform. By our very rough […]
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There was a time, way back in the eighteenth century, and as recently as the nineteenth century in the United States, that a person who owned land possessed legal title (in so-called “fee simple,” the normal way people own land unless they lease it) to it from the “center of the earth to the zenith […]
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Trump: The Cultural Costs of the New Normal
23 Feb 2016
Donald Trump (R-NY) is working his way toward the Republican presidential nomination. His opponents may still derail him, of course, but his sustained performance–he has been the front-runner since August–suggests there is a sizable portion of the Republican electorate that sees Trump as not only tolerable, but preferable. Exit polls reveal several possible explanations. Voters […]
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At the Democratic candidate debate last week, Bernie Sanders was asked how big government should be. His response was illuminating, as was Hillary Clinton’s response to Sanders’ answer. Here is part of what he said: WOODRUFF: “And, welcome back to this PBS Newshour debate, Democratic debate, here in Milwaukee. Let’s get right to the questions. Senator […]
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New Hampshire and the Debate Hypothesis
09 Feb 2016
By any reasonable measure, Marco Rubio struggled, mightily, during parts of the G.O.P. debate on Saturday night. Chris Christie savaged the Florida Senator for his inexperience and his reliance on canned talking points. Rubio responded, to a degree, with canned talking points, thereby demonstrating Christie’s basic critique that Rubio is an empty suit, similar to […]
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The Mosque and the President
04 Feb 2016
OK, President Obama spoke at an Islamic mosque yesterday. I say “so what.” But hear me out. I have no issue with him speaking to any religious group in his capacity as president of the United States. Even what he said, at least as reported, was not particularly problematic. He said for example, that Islam […]
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Have we reached a critical mass of voters? On what issue you might ask. On whether big government is bad on the whole. I have read a couple of articles recently, addressing that question. I don’t honestly know whether or to what extent people may believe big government is basically good. But here is a […]
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Republicans on the Brink
22 Jan 2016
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” H.L. Mencken Perhaps the moment will melt in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire, dissolved for all but those obsessed with electoral trivia. Paul Tsongas, Phil Gramm, and Pat Robertson were major players for […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach