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Show OPINION 15 CREATIVE COMMONS In OP-E- defense of The Donald ZAK SONNTAG CONTRIBUTOR Donald Trump has offended so many people in the U.K. that, this month, the parliament debated measures to ban him from entering its country. In the U.S., on the other hand, Trump has offended so many people that the electorate is strongly considering letting him run the county. Only in America. As the presidential primaries rapidly approach the early voting states, Trump is exactly where no one thought he could be: leading in the polls. Pundits and beltway bloggers all said Trumps appeal was a fringe flash in the pan. They said his bigotry, arrogance and lack of political tact made him utterly unsky-scrapi- ng electable. Yet, here we are days from the caucus kick offs when the radicals and longs-sho- ts are supposed to be found out and drowned out, leaving only those serious candidates capable of winning a general election and the one they called the longest shot is right at the top. Either the pundits missed something, or we re still missing it. Everyones acting surprised, but really, it makes perfect sense. Americans have had it up to here with careerist politicians who promdeliver another. ise one thing and flip-flreached their last Republican voters may have straw with the previous nominee, Mitt Romney, whose positions spanked around like a trout in the bottom of a row boat. And now, theyre pushing back against the establishment and looking for the furthest thing from it they can find. They may have just found it. Trump does everything politicians dont. He balks party orthodoxy from free-trato entitlement spending and subsidies. He op de doesnt pander, rather, he slanders. His unfiltered anger is indiscriminate as a carpet bomb, and it has struck virtually every demographic on the map. Unlike his closest challengers, hes unconstrained by the one thing every politician shares a voting record. The only flop hes got sits right on his head, and that things budging for no one. Meanwhile, his opponents records are rearing their ugly heads. For example, Ted Cruz and Marco Ru bio, the youngest and most charismatic presidential contenders, worked tirelessly in the Senate for immigration reform, which created a pathway to citizenship. However, in an attempt to duplicate the popular response to TiUujwfPf, mvifmilpTiMsi! Donald Trump's slander strikes indiscriminately as a carpet bomb. His Twitter feed reads like the petulant scribbles above a middle-schourinal. Here's a ol few favorites, past and present. rants, Cruz and RuTrumps bio renounced their own reforms in favor of an hardline, because a lot has changed in the last 24 months, Rubio said during the most recent debate. Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor bridge-closuknown best for his mafia-esqu- e, style of politics, has reneged on the assault-rifle ban he supported as governor, hoping to reload his coffers magazine with NRA anti-immigr- ant anti-amnes- ON WOMEN: ty "You know, t doesn't really matter what the media write got a young and beautiful piece of ass." with Esquire, 1991 re groundbreaking news that the early victories by the women on The Apprentice1 were, to a very large extent, dependent on their sex appeal." "It's certainly not - How To Get Rich, 2004 funding. Jeb Bush, the purportedly smarter Bush has both brother and one-tisupported and not supported his siblings decision to invade Iraq. Its not an uncommon switch in politics. Whats strange is the fact that he voiced both positions just months apart and, stranger still, just months ago. The list goes on (and on, and on), and its certainly not exclusive to the Republime front-runn- "Rosie ODonnell of mercy, grace and (God in I mean, both inside and out. You take a look at her. She's a slob." 238 convictions. What 26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-onldid these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?" -- Twitter, May 2013, verbatim, misspelling and all. y If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America. Twitter ON CARLY FIORINA, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious? "Look Twitter ON IMMIGRATION: I t 4 , When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, assume, are good people." I Interview ABC, 2015 knows) humility hardly seem embodied Trump. Even women, who he has notoriously demeaned and objectified, are reporting strong support for the man. What gives? Trump is rewriting the rules of politics, and Republican voters are signaling what matters most is not (I hope) his content. They just appreciate that hes genuinely being his own hateful, prickish and xenophobic self. disgusting. Tonight, 2006 cans Iowa, whose values s er, Hillary Clinton has as many conflicting statements as she does pant suits. The trouble is people put politicians in office, but so do wealthy donors and special interests. Trump is ostensibly unbeholden to the special interests that tie politicians in knots, because, as he never misses an opportunity to explain, hes filthy freaking rich! So, he can do and say pretty much whatever the hell he wants, and that, more than anything else, is why we love him. Even the people youd assume disliked him the most are showing support. For instance, hes leading with Evangelical Christians in as long as you've We need a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Stump speech, 2016 "I have a great relationship with the blacks. Ive always had a great relationship with the blacks." -- Albany's Talk Radio 1300, April 2011 |