What the GOP Should Be Saying: “I Ain’t ‘Fraid o’ No Trump”

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“Seven Reasons the GOP Should Fear Donald Trump”

That’s how the headline of a new column on Politico puts it. No, the GOP shouldn’t laugh at Donald Trump, the latest Republican presidential candidate. The GOP should fear Donald Trump.

Be afraid, Republicans, be very afraid. The goofball celebrity billionaire is about to fire all of your sorry, serious candidates from contention.

The author of the Politico column is Matt Latimer, a lawyer who, I found after some very brief research, was a speechwriter for George W. Bush near the end of his presidency. Previous to that, he was worked for a number of D.C. Republicans as well as for Donald Rumsfeld. Latimer released a book in which he recounted his time as a speechwriter, expressing disillusionment toward the people he once worked for. He’s now a writer for Politico and has appeared in a number of other publications. That’s the context for this piece he wrote today.

With Trump now in the race, Latimer says the first reason Republicans should quake in their boxers is because…

#1. Money Talks

Yes, it does. But free publicity talks just as well, which is what the press, this Politico column, and my posting here to a small degree are giving Trump right now.

#2. Expectations

I would have scratched my head at Latimer’s explanation of this point if I didn’t merely attribute it to a lazy train of thought on his part:

That nobody thinks Donald Trump has any hope of winning a primary, much less a single debate, makes it all the easier for him to surprise reporters simply by doing better than expected. If Donald Trump can manage a clever quip or two in the first debate, poke fun at himself, and not set his lectern, or the moderator daring to question him, on fire, he’ll impress the hell out of nearly everyone.

Nobody thinks Trump has a chance, which is why the media covers Trump’s entry into the presidential race like rude little macaques swiping away the public’s attention from matters that actually matter. Not satisfied to let the public consider Trump a non-factor in the race, MSMers want the GOP to fear Trump for hogging the spotlight that journalists themselves are shining on him–they who push the Donald and his tribble-head at the nation so that his existence sticks in the memories of constituents…they who manipulate the thoughts of the majority who doesn’t really care for in-depth political examination and only pays attention to headlines. This makes Trump’s odds of being a viable candidate more of a reality. It’s a method of misdirection that the press has used for ages because it’s been proven to work.

#3. The Frontrunners Are Safe and Boring

Safe and boring are subjective terms. With that sort of logic, Ted Cruz–not one who minces words–should be covered by the press endlessly. He should be the person who should worry other Republicans. He’s neither safe nor boring, as those who have heard his speeches are aware. The same could be said for Rick Perry, another candidate who no one can call boring. Those are subjective notions on my part, too. But if Latimer can make that call, so can I.

Trump is a wild card–emphasis on wild–because you never know what he’ll say next. He should be shooting himself in the foot with the odd and counterproductive things he says, yet reporters are taking him serious enough to quote him and write columns about him when the rest of America thinks he’s pretty out there.

Then again, the media isn’t exactly playing with a full deck, either. Speaking of missing cards…

#4. The Ross Perot Precedent

Ah, yes. Nutty, wealthy Uncle Ross. Who remembers him? I do. I was young and stupid when I voted for him in ’92 and ’96. I wanted someone different, someone who was outside the political beltway. I didn’t think much about my choice then, and today I look at it as one of the many follies of my youth. The Left is counting on the same phenomenon taking place with Trump. Sure, they may be mocking him just as most on the Right are. But by keeping him relevant, Trump seeps deep enough into the public’s consciousness so that he becomes that lovable coot in a suit who people will vote for.

So I suppose that Latimer has a point here. Never underestimate the stupitude of the voting electorate. It’s how we end up with…oh, the list of politicians is far too long for this post.

#5. Voters Like Crazy

Latimer cites Perot as an example again. Combine this with Latimer’s point #4 to make six reasons, not seven.

#6. The Incredible Hulk Syndrome

Don’t make Trump angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. For Trump will smash. With bricks of gold and chunks of diamonds. Bellowing, “Show Trump birth certificate!”

Mmkay.

#7. The Agenda Setter

On this last point, Latimer writes:

Because the press will love to cover him, he will have the other GOP candidates following one rabbit hole after another…

Candidates, brace yourselves. You are about to go on one wild, crazy ride.

Which makes the rest of us pretty happy.

Who’s “the rest of us”? Liberals?

Latimer proves his point about the press loving to cover Trump by being one of the press who’s giving coverage to Trump. As for me, I hope to have little reason to give much more coverage to Trump in the future.

It’s not Donald Trump who people should fear. It’s the media who won’t shut up about Donald Trump who the GOP should fear. Republicans should be fighting back to allay those fears. And they should be afraid. We’ve seen what happens, we’ve had to endure what happens, when the GOP executes its sad efforts to beat back against the factors that derail the Party whenever it seems in those rare occasions like it might adhere to its reputed rightward ideology.

You’re not helping yourself by doing things like this, GOP:

Nor when you do anything like this, GOP:

But I’ve shined enough of a spotlight on one fool for today. I don’t want to make it two.

Maybe it isn’t the press who the GOP should fear, either. Looking at their multitudinous missteps of the past and present, the GOP should instead fear the mirror.

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