Whither the memory of elections past? For that matter, does anyone read American history anymore?
Donald Trump is merely the latest political incantation to take human form. Alas, he is shockingly amusing to pundits and political junkies, but folks, mark my words; he is this election cycle’s version of “here today, gone tomorrow.” Admittedly, tomorrow may be in early 2016 (thus allowing for several months more entertainment for the junkies) but tomorrow will arrive.
Take a walk down memory lane by enjoying this memory from the 1960’s. Or maybe you would like to listen to Donald Trump in the 1988 campaign
The point, my friends, is that the current phenomenon in this early phase of the 2016 campaign is nothing new. We have witnessed these surges for decades. Indeed, what exactly does a tidal wave do? After the surge, it recedes. There may be havoc left in its wake, but it is gone. So too will be Donald Trump.
Don’t get me wrong. The man is not stupid! Why spend hundreds of millions of advertising dollars promoting one’s name when one can run for President and get the global media to promote the name for free! Now that is raw capitalism!
What Pat Paulson did in the 1960’s (see “this memory” above) and Ross Perot again in the 1980’s (see “Donald Trump in the 1988 campaign” above) is exactly what Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are doing today. America’s voting constituency has never been a homogeneous block moving in lockstep toward a common goal. We have since our very beginning been a conglomeration of disparate interests, and perhaps more importantly, there have always been outliers who don’t like anyone from the perceived “mainstream”. The nerve that Trump (and Sanders on the left) is hitting may be raw, but it is not new! The Trump and Sanders coalitions are practicing a long-standing (albeit, perhaps, subliminally conveyed)) art of political protest. They are rejecting all they perceive to be status quo. Theirs is a raw energy; one that screams for the statue of liberty in favor of the I formation.
We hadn’t even convened our Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia after the American Revolution came to a close before we had our first rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion (read about it here) may have involved armed insurrection, but at its roots were people who felt disenfranchised, downtrodden, and lacking in a “voice” to combat an emerging central government. Sound familiar?
One cannot underestimate the damage to the American psyche that has been inflicted by the last seven abusive years of power. The Constitution has been subverted repeatedly. Government has been run by Executive order. Mussolini or Saddam Hussein would have called it “government by fiat.” Through the benign (and sometimes overt) neglect of senior members of the current administration (up to and including the President himself) fundamental pillars of our society (law enforcement-to protect and to serve, let us not forget) have been undermined in metaphoric ways not dissimilar to what ISIS did this past week to the ancient temples of Palmyra. Not to beat a dead horse, but in case you have not connected my dots, all lives matter. Some lives are not more important than other lives.
So people are mad, and a lot of them see the country they love disappearing before their very eyes. Indeed, watch this 1976 clip (in its entirety) and tell me if that does not explain the Donald Trump phenomenon!
I do not discount the strength of the Sanders or Trump movements. I do, however, counsel perspective. We have seen this kerfuffle before; in fact, this phenomenon has existed for as long as we have survived as a Republic. But as the old saying goes, “the year before the election is for dating. The year of the election is for mating.
Donald Trump will not be our next President. The only way Donald Trump will effect the outcome of the 2016 election will be if he allows his already colossal ego to propel him into running as an independent. Should he take that course, a Democrat will be elected. You read it here.
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