Please correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that the current opposition to Trump is primarily based on style and political incorrectness. It also seems to include a suggestion of racism, even though this inference is derived solely from his positions on immigration and national security.
IF it becomes a Presidential election between Trump and Clinton, what OBJECTIVE standards would you apply in deciding how you would vote?
For me, Trump's direct approaches to immigration, trade, national security, jobs and the economy are favorable factors, as opposed to Clinton's vacillation on these issues. (In other words, he says what he WILL do, whereas she talks about what she WON'T do.)
Please avoid name calling and explain the specific standards you employ in evaluating these candidates.
I have numerous problems with Trump on policy. It's true, his stance on illegal immigration is attractive, it's what drew me to him in the beginning, however... he has had some stumbles. When asked about the policy regarding "anchor babies" he says "they have to go." Well... he doesn't tell us HOW this is going to happen. It will take an act of Congress to make that happen, the president can't do anything about it. So when you try to nail him down more specifically on something like this, he says... well maybe we'll have to look at it... take it case by case... Okay, now you're violating equal protection and the 14th Amendment. We can't have "tailor made" law that applies in some circumstances but not others.
My first inklings of disagreement with Trump was when he began bashing on Ben Carson as "someone who is damaged" and suggested he was equivalent of a child molester. Ironically, a few months later and he is literally defending Carson against "Lyin' Ted!" Trump continues to play the populist in the moment, saying what is popular at any given time then turning on a dime when the heat comes. A great example of this was in Iowa when he came out in support of Ethanol subsidies. Not only did he say he supports them, he said he plans to EXPAND them. This is one of the most wasteful government spending programs and corporate welfare giveaways we have. We would literally do more for energy to just burn the money as fuel. As a fiscal conservative, how are we to reign in runaway government spending if we are going to cave on arguably the most worthless spending program out there?
On trade... all Trump says is that we're going to negotiate better trade deals. Well how are you going to do that where trade deals already exist? How many trade partners are going to say... okay, let's do away with this sweet deal we have now and make a new deal where we get screwed? Oh yeah... tariffs baby! We're going to slap tariffs on your foreign imports and make you pay! Well, that results in a trade war and ironically, is the exact same policy enacted by Herbert Hoover which prompted the financial collapse which brought us the worst depression in history.
On national security... Trump says, that's easy... we just take their oil! Okay... How you gonna do that without massive numbers of boots on the ground and armored vehicles and tanks, etc.? Is NATO going to help in this endeavor or are we on our own? How are other powerful nations going to feel about the US taking control of huge amounts of the world's oil supply? None of this is really addressed by Trump, we are simply assured
it is going to be Yuge!
My "final straw" with Trump was the sleazy way he has gone after Ted Cruz, a strong constitutional conservative who has stood up to the establishment elite, made a strong stand on illegal immigration, trade policy, government waste, etc. Cruz challenges Trump on his many waffling positions and Trump's response is "Lyin' Ted!" Instead of working toward unification of the party, Trump has done everything he can to fracture the party further and create a chasm that can't be recovered from in the general election. It's almost as if he is working on behalf of Hillary Clinton to destroy any chance the Republicans have in November. He REFUSES to debate Cruz one-on-one, even though the party has traditionally held such debates in the past. Trump just decided "we've had enough debates" and that's the end of the story.
