It started with presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on illegal immigration, which drew huge criticism from the Republican establishment and the media. The unfortunate murder of Kate Steinle recently by an illegal in San Francisco quieted some of the criticism, but the debate then shifted to the legality of sanctuary cities to avoid acknowledging that there was some merit to Trump's comments.
And now Donald Trump has challenged the "war hero" designation of Arizona Senator John McCain just because he was a prisoner of war. Aside from the fact that the media reports did not give the full context of his comments (that's what they do), the Republican establishment and the media have quickly extended what he said to have insulted all veterans. Unfortunately for them, veteran groups are not buying the lie and have issued statements extolling the past support Mr. Trump has shown publicly and financially toward our veterans and our current military.
Critics of Mr. Trump didn't bother to point out that Senator McCain referred to Arizona supporters of Trump as "crazies", when nearly 15,000 attendees showed up for a Trump rally and half of them could not even get into the event. Obviously, supporting a non-establishment candidate is considered crazy. Well, crazy is looking better and better to a whole lot of people.
I don't care how you designate Senator John McCain. He has been in the Senate for over 30 years and has had no impact on the disgrace we now know about the Veterans Administration. He got the Republican presidential nomination and lost. And he has his name on the unfair McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, which provides advantages to incumbent candidates and makes it harder for outside challengers to have a chance of getting elected.
Well, Donald Trump is not constrained by those disadvantages and the establishment, and the media are going ballistic! He doesn't use political "nice" speak to attract political contributions. He can't be bought, and he doesn't care who gets upset by his tone or choice of words. And as he said recently, following his McCain comments, he will not be lectured by the other presidential candidates, the establishment or the media.
They don't like that!
We could be seeing a new political paradigm emerging
But here's what they like even less. He's connecting with regular folks despite not trying to be politically correct in his delivery. Why? Because he's bringing attention to real issues that real people care about.
Some political pundits are now predicting that it's just a matter of time until some of his incendiary comments will derail his campaign. That's what they hope will happen, because they don't want real unbridled leadership in the White House. Many of them may have to find other careers. Good!
Donald Trump's presidential candidacy has not only brought some energy to the 2016 presidential race, but he has also highlighted the vast difference between the political establishment and the manipulative media, and regular folks who are tired of the same old crap from both parties.
I don't know if his radioactive rhetoric will end his presidential campaign or not, and neither do the establishment and the media. Ultimately, the voters will decide if they have the right information and are not selectively misinformed.
In the meantime, we could be seeing a new political paradigm emerging.
It started with presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on illegal immigration, which drew huge criticism from the Republican establishment and the media. The unfortunate murder of Kate Steinle recently by an illegal in San Francisco quieted some of the criticism, but the debate then shifted to the legality of sanctuary cities to avoid acknowledging that there was some merit to Trump's comments.
And now Donald Trump has challenged the "war hero" designation of Arizona Senator John McCain just because he was a prisoner of war. Aside from the fact that the media reports did not give the full context of his comments (that's what they do), the Republican establishment and the media have quickly extended what he said to have insulted all veterans. Unfortunately for them, veteran groups are not buying the lie and have issued statements extolling the past support Mr. Trump has shown publicly and financially toward our veterans and our current military.
