The Grand Delusion: Unpacking Trump's Alternative Reality
I’m not going to talk about Trump’s personal flaws and his pervasive heresy to American constitutional conservatism that poses Hillary-scale continued catastrophe for American society and individuals. That information is all over the web, and you can find it if you haven’t already. Too many don’t care enough or are themselves under the strange spell that I as a politically aware constitutional conservative, can scarcely understand. Sure, I understand that you’re unhappy with establishment Republicans. I’ve been in that club most of my life. But, I don’t understand conservative and national suicide as a reaction.
I want to discuss the cultural Deception that Donald Trump, his surrogates and followers, and much of the broadcast and Internet media have produced that however intentionally or unintentionally, and I think there are both, has presented an alternative reality to much of America. Have you ever been in a “Fun House” at a carnival, fair or amusement park? The foundation and structure are shifted so that our senses of gravity and vision do not reflect a true reality. Relative to what we see, we are not pulled directly downward and water appears to flow upward. Mirrors on walls distort images from their actual appearances. This is similar to how this Republican process is being portrayed.
If you do not understand how America was designed to work and what political parties do, the picture that these sources of information present to you in this Republican process is distorted from reality. I am focused on the Trump delusion, but the Democrats and their Super Delegates, whatever you think of that, also involve the privacy of parties. Let’s start with Trump’s widely broadcast charge that the Republican process is crooked, unfair or “rigged.” Even general elections choose and allocate electors that vote for the president, so that states and all of the people across this large expanse of land, are not controlled by the will of a perhaps very geographically and culturally distant handful of metropolitan areas. That would be just wrong; akin to slavery really. The founders instituted the electoral college as one of the measures necessary for the smaller colonies to agree to a constitutional compact with the larger ones, whom they assertively resisted subjection to. This was not an afterthought. It was one of the major points of resistance and contention that had to be resolved to reach that compact.
Now, 1) political parties are voluntary PRIVATE organizations created to promote certain principles; my forlorn hope has been for Republicans to adhere to the principles on which this “republic” was founded. To the extent they have compromised that in rhetoric but far more often in action, to seduce people who question those principles, it is an aggravation and frustration to me. Many good, smart and serious Republicans believe this is essential to win power to do anything, never mind that they more often do little to nothing when in power to promote those principles for which the party exists and the country was founded, and on the whole are usually losing ground in the society. At bottom for most of these Republicans is the conviction that media would oppose them in any conflict and they would inevitably lose. Of course they are correct about the media. But I believe that virtue promotes the truth and allows voters to clearly embrace or reject it and the benefits it can uniquely produce. Ronald Reagan strode into this establishment fear and media disdain. And he might have said with a wry and gentle smile similarly to what he said in debate with Jimmy Carter: “There they go, again.”
Private parties are under no obligation to submit their principles to a public forum. They do that voluntarily in a general election. But like any organization of any sort, whether businesses, churches, social advocacy groups or clubs, of course they are to one extent or another, “rigged” to promote the things for which they exist. But they are not public. Like any private organization, if you don’t like what they are promoting, you either participate and try to organize changes, or you forsake it for something else. That’s your choice. I have always regretted that a tiny few actually participate in the process. Like most efforts, they let a small minority do all the work and take for granted what the system produces: all of the social benefits of America, and two or a few choices for a nation of over 300 million people. AND of course, they complain, as people who shun the work of an organization are wont to do about what it produces.
Over time, most state parties have developed an element for people generally who identify with them to inject their opinion on candidates, and to one extent or another tied some delegates to those choices on one or a few ballots at the convention. In the interest of the aforementioned and bemoaned search to “moderate” that choice, some states have introduced “open primaries” in which Democrats and Independents can cross over and vote. Perhaps you can imagine how I feel about that. I consider it minimal to say that a voter should at least register as a Republican, even though they can regrettably do so with only the most cursory understanding of or commitment to the party platform or knowledge of how it works. But in any case, the deference of those casual voters is partial, not total. Trump says it’s undemocratic for delegates to have any deference beyond the voters. Like all private organizations that have principles they should not be captive to a popular vote.
2) Donald Trump has also said that delegates are controlled by the party or bought. That is baseless slander and provocation of his emotionally agitated followers, which bear a certain similarity to a lynch mob: “Rules schmules! Get a rope!”. Again, you choose to participate, or in most cases don’t, reserving the right to complain.J From the precinct in your neighborhood, there are usually 4 convention levels in a process the state party decides: precinct, county or district (Senatorial District in TX. County some places), state and national. At each level, participants may put themselves up for a vote to be a delegate to the next level, probably demonstrating or explaining their beliefs and their personal experience. I don’t, and think no Republican should have the slightest interest in having a popular consensus override the choices of these diligent and informed laborers. Like any serious task, you look for people with some minimal credentials. And the finest plumber is not welcome to remove my kidney.
3) The last deception is mostly propagated in media; lately in particular a certain subscription television long imagined to be conservative though I knew it wasn’t, simply because it generally allowed 2 sides to be aired, if not always as I would have liked. Those of us who remember when there was no such thing, understand how previously conventional media found that alone to be scandalous heresy. And it also has been appropriated by some former Republican politicians that we might have hoped would be more responsible. But this delusion is the sense that there is an overwhelming tide of Trump support that oughtn’t be denied the nomination even if it lacks a delegate majority at the convention. First of all, if a plurality wins, a majority loses. I’ve only heard this fact brushed upon a few times. And, it is not an overwhelming tide. Again, I don’t know these media people personally, but maybe they get this idea from the fact that he has led so many polls, which is their golden benchmark, for so many months. The irony that they are missing or intentionally neglecting, is that it has lasted so long precisely because it has not been an overwhelming tide. Usually by this time a candidate has sewn it up and is running up the score. But Trump did not win a majority in any state in 21/2 months of contests, until his home state of New York last week. And New York is miles from a bellwether Republican state.
In fact, what we have is an exceptionally weak frontrunner. And, he is weak because he is a Republican apostate and schismatic, manipulating aggravated infidel. I’m aggravated, but I’m not an infidel. I’m aggravated that Republicans in power have not exercised valor in pursuing Republican principles. I have long said that my problems with big “R” Republicans are when they are not small “r” republican. But in my lengthening life, Donald Trump is the worst of either I’ve ever seen. And he’s also an overgrown child and a vulgarian boor who can’t possibly express himself as spastically as he presents. I don’t know if he’s a total fraud or a total oaf, or both. But in any case, his team and a media firestorm, have America as deluded and frantic as the Wizard Of Oz characters were over the giant projection of The Great And Powerful Oz.