Ummmm . . . will get to pay for ethanol subsidies. For this reason, many of us who go with the label of "conservative" are scratching our heads at yesterday's endorsement of Trump. You see, Sarah Palin was against that kind of thinking . . . at least she was in the past. Click here to read how Palin felt about ethanol subsidies in 2011.
Her stand on the ethanol issue back then is the one Ted Cruz continues to hold and is preaching on the campaign trail. We can roll our eyes when Iowa's governor denounces Cruz for being against ethanol subsidies. It's his state's cash cow. We can understand why Trump now is pandering to the first primary state and promises to increase said subsidies. However, what we can't understand is since exactly when was it conservative and tea partyish to support subsidies. If you look at the basic definition of conservatism, the notion is status quo in regard to tradition and non-change. That pretty much sums up what Trump is advocating for in his quest to capture the presidency in 2016 and if that's the standard his supporters are using, then okay, I guess you could call him a conservative. Maybe that's the reason Sarah Palin can justify her endorsement. Just maybe . . . but some believe it's more than that:
Palin’s enthusiasm for Trump mirrors many of his supporters from the Tea Party ranks. That zeal would be understandable if Trump were the only anti-establishment candidate in the race. But he’s not. There’s Cruz. He’s the true constitutional conservative, and it would make sense that Palin, who has always stood for conservative values, would support him.
That’s not the case. Palin’s endorsement for Trump over Cruz reveals her populist-over-principles roots. Trump represents authoritarian, nationalistic, Jacksonian populism that is not rooted in constitutional principles. It’s about the fight, taking power away from the establishment and defeating the real enemy—the politically correct Left that is hell-bent on fundamentally changing America—at all costs. Palin is choosing power over principles.Don't look for Trump to reduce the size of government - he's made little indication he will. His platform centers on US/China relations, VA reform, tax reform, #2A rights, and immigration reform. He's focused on sound bites that rile up the right. He's more into managing and reforming big government than reducing its size which is exactly what we "conservatives" were saying about Jeb Bush. Trump's conservatism really boils down to identity versus ideology. He is identifying as a conservative and the Palin endorsement helps tremendously but his ideology doesn't reflect what many in the electorate were expecting.
For that reason, I encourage Cruz supporters to go with a more refined title of "Constitutional Conservative" because that distinction makes a difference. It also explains why many of us will continue to support Ted Cruz over Donald Trump until the last fat lady in the Republican primary sings. I have said all along that I would support any candidate opposing Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or Joe Biden and I will. This election the stakes are too high to allow progressive ideas and policies to further drag America down the crapper.
Here's what I think is impressive about Donald Trump. He is a fighter, a good deal maker, a master at manipulating the media, and he raised, as far as we know, great children, and let's face it - the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I don't see Trump as evil but he more aligns with progressivism as we see it playing out in Obama and Clinton's America than he does the conservatism we hoped would return us closer to what the Founding Fathers envisioned.
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