Sunday, September 13, 2015

Do we owe Donald Trump a thank you for tanking Jeb Bush's shot at the GOP nomination?

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

There are many, many reasons to abhor Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, but there’s at least one reason to appreciate it, for now: his constant and merciless trolling of Jeb Bush that is currently tanking Bush’s shot at the presidency. In some sense, Trump is doing democracy a service by helping ensure we will not have to suffer the embarrassment of having a third Bush family member as president within two decades. 

Trump’s penchant for insulting anyone in his path is now well-known (and often deplorable and sexist), though most candidates usually have to deliberately poke the bear for Trump to engage in his usual charade. But just about every day, Trump will go after Jeb unprompted – whether on Twitter or at campaign events or in interviews with journalists – with a voracity virtually never seen in primary politics. Oftentimes it’s substantive and other times it’s not, but it’s almost always delightful to watch. 

Trump will attack Jeb for his support for the Iraq War, but if Bush lightly criticizes George W Bush, Trump questions why he would throw his brother under the bus. Trump attacks Jeb for his record in Florida, rips him for his $1.3m “no show job” at Lehman Brothers after he left the governorship. He calls Jeb out for being “100% CONTROLLED” by his wealthy donors, and when a few donors recently left Jeb’s campaign, Trump made fun of him for that too. 

But it’s repetition of his now infamous and nebulous phrase – that Bush is a “low-energy guy” who could not handle the rigors of the presidency – that has become a daily occurrence and clearly gotten under Bush’s skin.

Okay well I not at all ready to play Taps over Jeb Bush's political chances. I think he still has a good shot at winning the nomination.

However I also believe that Trump has really done quite a lot of damage to Bush's campaign, though to be honest perhaps not as much as Bush has done himself by supporting his brother's decision to go into Iraq, is support for Common Core, and his stumbles on women's health.

Having said that in some ways Trump is serving as a counter balance to the conservative e-mail attacks on Hillary, by undermining the GOP's most electable candidates electability.

So, DO we need to thank him? Or is this just a happy accident that results from Trump's inherent need to trash anybody who dares to attack him or might be perceived as a potential adversary?

19 comments:

  1. We all knew this election cycle would be popcorn worthy and then some, but who could imagine this? Awesome, the first reality show I ever watched, the GOP primary

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  2. Anonymous12:08 PM

    I think Bill Clinton is controlling the strings on his trumpet.

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    1. Anonymous1:10 PM

      Sounds like a 'conspiracy theory' to me! I seriously doubt Bill Clinton is involved in any way. If he were, and found out to be, it would completely ruin Hillary's chances as POTUS.

      Not feasible is my take!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:47 PM

      12:08 here... It's almost common knowledge that Bill's the one who stroked Trump's ego into jumping into the pool ~ to ensure Hillary would be POTUS.

      Claytoonz even did an editorial cartoon on the subject.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12:15 PM

    I think any thank yous might be more properly offered to Bill Clinton. He has rather spectacularly trolled the entire GOP.

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    1. Anonymous7:17 PM

      Bernie has pulled ahead of Hillary. Yay!

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  4. Anonymous12:36 PM

    I say thank him!

    There are many things he's bringing to light re: government and corporations that have been publically lefty unsaid. I'm thoroughly enjoying his rhetoric.

    Anyone that votes Republican for any office in our country is totally nuts! They are pro war, racists, anti negotiating and anti women's rights! Pretty rancid group, I would say!

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  5. Anonymous12:38 PM

    I think Trump's incredible impact during this election cycle has shown a strong light on all of the dingbats that have been praised, promoted and anointed. I certainly hope he does not get the nomination as he is a really .... don't even know how to put a description on him. Out of all of those who are running - none of them are worthy.

    Pat Padrnos

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  6. Balzafiar12:44 PM

    Anything The Donald can do to derail Herr Bush III can only be considered a service to the country.

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  7. Anonymous12:55 PM

    Has anyone seen Trump on the Jimmy Fallon show lately?
    The guy actually has a sense of humor!

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  8. Anonymous1:07 PM

    Fallon's show with Trump was outstanding! The Donald does have a good sense of humor beneath all that bluster.

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    1. Perhaps Trump's plan, in revenge & as a big joke, is to bring down the whole GOP party, then walk away -- big WIN in his eyes. They told him he couldn't get the nomination last time and Trump used his kids, asking him to quit, to step down.
      Not this time --

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    2. Anonymous2:57 PM

      When Ted Cruz is the only Republican candidate left standing besides himself, Trump will bow out for medical reasons and with grandiose apologies.

      tee hee

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  9. Anonymous1:23 PM

    Billmon!

    Sarah and the ever abstinent and Bristol! With some of the summer's other clowns.

    https://twitter.com/billmon1/status/641713552525557760/photo/1

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  10. Trump has done some damage to Jeb!'s campaign, but he'd still be having difficulty even if Trump decided not to run.

    Jeb!, I am convinced, got convinced to run for president by someone, who looked at the GOP candidate field and told Jeb! we was the only one who could beat Hillary, said Jeb! would walk away with the nomination, that it would be easy, that he'd have no trouble getting the huge sums of money he'd need, and that it would be the proverbial walk in the park.

    Now, Jeb! has to fight for it and he doesn't have the fight in him because down deep, he never really wanted to run. Also, campaigning has way changed since he last ran for governor in my state of Florida. I'm also pretty sure Columba has zero desire to be in the spotlight as First lady and that she would hate a detest every second of it.

    I'm not saying Jeb! can't or won't end up eventually with the nomination, it is a long way out. And I do not expect he will drop out. But I would not be surprised at all if he did not get the GOP nomination, and ultimately that won't be because of Trump, it'll be because of Jeb!.

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  11. Anonymous2:52 PM

    I've heard that the only reason Trump is in the race is to get Bush out of it.

    A business deal gone wrong, I'm guessing. Trump is infantile.

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  12. Anonymous3:28 PM

    A coed at Iowa State University gives a demonstration of white privilege while defending Donald Trump's honor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=49&v=PfKVpGN5DFc

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  13. Anonymous3:54 PM

    As long as the voting machines are in the hands of republican owned companies, either one of these neanderthals on the ballot scares me to death.

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  14. Anonymous3:46 PM

    The thought of another Bush in the White House is frightening. Jeb is milk toast, bland and boring - but (and this is a huge butt - think Kardashian) he's Lso loaded with donor cash. Terrifying!

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Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.