Judging by the fervor of the cheerleading we see on social media, many people are putting their faith and channeling their anger through a reality star turned presidential candidate with little basis for that blind support:
I don't go trolling to pick political fights, but they seem to find their way to my notifications where, yes, I see and read every one. The above response was to someone who expressed Ted Cruz wasn't a Christian because he cut a commercial using children to mock Trump. When you point out that many of the things Trump has said and done are not very Christian-like, you get cheerleading in return but no substance. I typically am reserved in my response because I do believe people have the right to express their opinion, yet sometimes the blind cheerleading is too much.@farrightgregy @realDonaldTrump good lord you sound like a giddy 16 yr old cheerleader. #pompom worthy ๐ ๐๐— Kim (@JBaileysMom) February 12, 2016
Psychologically speaking, I know if we emotionally invest in a candidate that we also take the positive and negatives personally. As a Cruz supporter, it is difficult to hear Donald Trump delight in repeating a supporter and denouncing the Texas senator as a "pussy" which he knows will be blasted all over social media and on the airwaves. As a supporter of Cruz and one who wants a return to Constitutional values, it is hard not to take this personally. I believe in the same principles that Cruz does, so that must mean I'm nothing more than a huge "vag." So, I understand when some Trump supporters feel offended by things I tweet or retweet and feel the need to respond, taking every negative comment about the great toupeed one as a personal affront.
All I ask is that people respond with substance. Tell me why Trump is the best presidential nominee and what we will win by selecting him to lead the Republican party. Don't just tell me "Trump will win," without also telling me what my prize will be. He has flip-flopped on every issue thus far, and I've listened and noticed where others have not. He's even admitted that he is "capable of changing to anything":
One day Trump is a YUGE conservative, and the next he's not because they, along with the established Rinos, have caused all the problems we have. He's against Obamacare and says it needs to go but promises to replace it with a mystery program which will be much better and run by the government (which is we the people's money). Guy Benson expresses this chameleon-like behavior very well:
Lest he disappoint any of his fans who openly delight in his crass outbursts, calls for roughing up protesters, and overall boorishness, Trump tosses out some chum decrying "political correctness" midway through his answer. But he's also sworn up and down that at a later stage of this process, he'll transform himself into "the most politically correct person you've ever seen." Two problems here: (1) Video tape is a thing that exists. All of Trump's antics -- from the silly to the serious -- can be instantly called to mind in a general election through ads and online content, even if the billionaire drastically changes his tone. Even if Trump disciplines himself to play an angelic choir boy for weeks on end, the public record still exists. Democrats are giddily compiling a lowlight reel, itching to deploy it in the fall in order to underscore the point that Trump is unfit to be president. Many Americans, especially in key voting blocs, are already heavily predisposed to agree with that proposition. (2) Trump's self-assessment that he's "capable of changing to anything I want to change to" also applies to his political "principles." This is a man who's reportedly switched party affiliations five times since the late 1980's. Who's donated to Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Who was pro-choice, was anti-gun, and was (is?) pro-Socialized healthcare. Who identified as a Democrat in the mid-2000's. Who praised Barack Obama and supported his "stimulus" boondoggle. And who criticized Mitt Romney for being too harsh on the issue of immigration in 2012, right around the time that he became a DREAM Act supporter. Now he's ostensibly all about big walls and mass deportations. This bogus transformation is painfully obvious. Trump will be "a conservative" for precisely as long as he perceives that label to be beneficial to Trump, after which he'll morph into The Donald 6.0, or whatever self-serving upgrade we're up to. Even on the central issues that have vaulted him to the top of the GOP polls, he's quite "capable of changing to anything" he wants to change to. He says so himself. His hardcore sycophants will blindly and brutishly go along with literally anything he does -- including murder, he's joked, mocking his own people. But how might the many pro-Trump voters who are more reluctantly in his corner because "at least he'll do X" react if X suddenly changes to Y, at the drop of a hat? Or is thoughtlessly discarded altogether?I know my prize if Ted Cruz wins the nomination (smaller government and a return to core Constitutional values) but am skeptical as to what we will be winning if Trump edges out all others and proceeds to run against whatever socialist the Democrats decide will be his challenger. Trump has not shown he will shrink the size of government. His YUGE selling point appears to be that he can manage the beast better.
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