One of my recent endeavors has been to try to understand the attraction between ostensibly conservative leaders and Donald Trump. The journey continues. It is easy to see the general attractiveness of a successful business man, (that would be wildly successful), who is willing to jump into the political arena to try and influence a "come-back" of sorts for our floundering country. In fact, if he were sitting in the room here with me I would shake his hand and offer a sincere "Thank You". A man who could buy several islands to retire to and just take life easy is opening himself up to the slime and mire of the American political system. I think this is commendable and is very much worth noting. My frustration is not in the person of Donald Trump, though he has shown an unfortunate bent toward political games, but with the endless line of alleged conservative leaders who have endorsed him. Those who I had understood to be intensely interested in furthering conservative principles and policies. Are they all just hoping he will turn out to be a conservative? Are they hoping he can be steered in a conservative direction once he is president? Is he the Republicans' version of the empty suit? (Just add your hopes and dreams to this suit and stir) There are unflattering comparisons to be made with Barack Obama if you consider the fact that Trump has promised to change the State-based nominating process to be more fair. Which I guess means he would give the front runner even more of an advantage than he has enjoyed.
There is not a solid conservative record in his past nor are his vague, redundant and sometimes contradictory comments easily interpreted in a conservative light. In fact, he seems to have thought little about important issues and seems, too, to be lacking a principled anchor to which he is committed. He constantly bemoans the primary process as unfair and weighted against him all the while amassing a delegate count that exceeds the percentage of the popular vote he is getting. He's counting on us all forgetting that this all started with 16 candidates and has left many an establishment, and outsider, in the dust. I will vote for Donald Trump if he is the Republican nominee. But if he wants me to be a Trump supporter now he needs to debate Ted Cruz one-on-one so I can compare policy concerns as expressed by both candidates.
For now, as a conservative, I have no choice but to vote for Ted Cruz.
