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Trumping the political royal flush

April 13, 2016   ·   0 Comments

I’ve never been a fan or a real follower of American politics.

For the most part I’m not too concerned about who a foreign country elects to office. Given the U.S.’s track record since the end of the Second World War, either one of their political party leaders is likely to drop bombs on someone during a tenure in office. It’s all the same.

The American method of electing a president is a long, tedious, complicated and somewhat bewildering process to an outsider. There’s a series of ‘primaries,’ a bunch of ‘caucuses’ and in some cases, both. For some reason the tiny State of New Hampshire is a big deal in this elective process.

After it’s all said and done, the American election process is two years in the making – two years of name-calling, mud-slinging, rhetoric blathering, back-room deals, hidden agendas, and media manipulation.

As Canadians we were dismayed at the longevity of the overly long last federal political campaign at just over two months. Clearly, 24 months of it would be unbearable.

The big news in this campaign, of course, is the popularity of Donald Trump in his quest to become El Presidente.

‘Thew Donald’ has been a well-known public figure since the 1980’s for various reasons. He’s a big-time businessman, shameless self-promoter, TV personality, and a larger-than-life character with a complicated hairstyle that still leaves even professional hairdressers guessing as to what’s going on there.

A simple check of his past provides a biography of a man who’s led an interesting life. He’s had as many failures as successes in both his business and personal life, but when it comes to public relations he knows how to promote the good side of all of his ventures.

He seems to be a ‘love him or hate him’ kind of guy.

Don’t be fooled by his detractors with their claims that only the stupid and ‘rednecks’ support him. ;-Of course they’re going to say that. It’s part of the political process to ridicule the opposition. He’s got support from every level – so much so that the current political establishment in the U.S. is worried that he just might win and throw some sand into their carefully crafted system that greases the wheels and returns favours to the right people and prominent lobby groups.

Trump, with all his flaws, showmanship, and publicly recorded politically incorrect gaffes, is still the one thing the other candidates are not – forthright in his opinions and plans.

The U.S. public is jumping on the Trump bandwagon for one reason – he’s a straight-shooter.

It has always been the frustration of the electorate that a politician will simply not answer a question about what they plan to do if elected, even if it is the most basic query demanding a simple ‘yes or no’ answer.

Trump, on the other hand goes out of his way to make clear his plan and doesn’t shy away from giving the ‘yes or no’ answer people are looking for.

From street level to the top floor of the corporate ladder, people are agreeing on some level to what he is promoting, although they might not admit that in public.

But then again, no one ever admits they bought their spring wardrobe at K-mart, either.

The best thing about Trump’s popularity is that he is making the fat cats in the establish worry – and they should be worried. If ever an institution needs to be shaken up, it’s the elite that control too much of the political and financial world.

Whether he achieves his goal or fails in the attempt, it won’t make any real difference to me as a Canadian. It’s the Americans who will have to live with their decision.

And while Trump may have his failings, it’s not like the other side has a shining star in the offing.

You’ve got Hillary Clinton, famous for being the wife of an ex-president, a proponent of nuclear and toxic chemical warfare, and someone who could possibly face impeachment within a year of getting elected if her political enemies press on with their current plan.

Or Bernie Saunders, a Marxist-loving socialist who needs elocution lessons to get rid of his thick ‘New Yawk” accent, who’s got all the answers except for how his Utopian society is going to be paid for.

This is one election I’m glad I don’t have to be a part of.

Written by Brian Lockhart

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