Donald Trump is currently leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination. What should conservatives think of this?
THE GOOD Trump has attacked political correctness and skewered some deserving targets, from Jeb Bush to Bill Clinton. He also brought greater prominence to immigration issues and pushed the debate on these issues to the right.
THE ISSUES So where does Trump stand on the issues? With the exceptions of trade and eminent domain, he doesn’t seem to have been consistent on any issue. Most positions have changed over time, and some seem to vary from day to day or even minute to minute.
ABORTION In 1999, Trump said “I’m pro-choice” and refused to support a partial-birth abortion ban, citing his “New York background”. He claims to have become pro-life (with exceptions) a few years ago. He has continued to praise Planned Parenthood for its non-abortion services during the campaign.
GUN RIGHTS Trump once said that “I hate the concept of guns” and supported banning “assault weapons” and waiting periods. During his campaign, he has taken pro-gun positions.
TAXES In 1999, Trump advocated a 6 trillion dollar wealth tax to eliminate the national debt. More recently, he has said the plan was good at the time, but is now impractical. During the campaign, Trump has proposed a tax plan that has mostly been well-received by conservatives.
HEALTH CARE Trump has pledged to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. But replace it with what? Trump has praised socialized medicine in Canada and Scotland in the past. He seems to advocate this for America as well, calling for government to pay for everyone.
RACIAL PREFERENCES One issue where Trump has not taken a politically incorrect position is racial preferences (“affirmative action”). When Antonin Scalia asked a question critical of affirmative action (citing the mismatch theory), Trump criticized Scalia. He went on to declare support for affirmative action.
EMINENT DOMAIN Trump has consistently defended the use of private eminent domain—that is, the government taking someone’s land (with compensation) for a private developer. Trump tried to take the Atlantic City house of elderly widow Vera Coking for a limousine parking lot but lost a court battle. He supports the Kelo Supreme Court case allowing private eminent domain. While this isn’t the most pressing issue (most states have banned private eminent domain) it shows that Trump favors the interests of big business over the rights of average citizens.
IMMIGRATION Trump proposed a great immigration plan, which was apparently written by Senator Jeff Sessions and his staff. However, he has not always advocated for tough immigration policies. In 2012, he opposed Mitt Romney’s support of ‘self-deportation’ (illegals leaving on their own in response to restriction of jobs and benefits), calling it “mean-spirited”, and defended his position in 2015. In 2013, he met with ‘immigrant advocates’ saying that “you’ve convinced me” on the issue. In June 2015, he supported a path to citizenship for illegals. In August 2015, he called for taking in Syrian refugees, before dramatically reversing himself and calling for ending all Muslim immigration.
DONATIONS Trump has donated to a raft of liberal politicians, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and many more. Trump excuses this as a business necessity, rather than the product of ideological conviction. Of course, Michigan conservatives have not excused donations to democrats by moderate Republicans like Rick Snyder and Bobby Schostak. At a minimum, Trump’s donations show a willingness to go along to get along, rather than fight a corrupt system.
CHARACTER Trump has been married three times, and had several affairs. He can be gracious to win people over, but will viciously attack those who don’t give him what he wants.
ELECTABILITY Trump has trailed Hillary Clinton in most polls, performing worse against her than Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. His unfavorable rating is 58% as of this writing, far higher than any candidate who has ever been nominated for president. Liberals are compiling opposition research files on his business dealings, treatment of employees and acquaintances, and controversial statements in past interviews. Barring some game-changing event (such a Clinton indictment or Bloomberg third-party campaign), Trump is likely to lose the general election.
SUMMARY Donald Trump has very little history in the Republican party, much less the conservative movement. He has very recently taken more conservative positions. The question voters must ask is whether there is any reason to believe him. Did he really have a massive political conversion within the past few years, or is he just cynically saying what voters want to hear?
See also:
Is Donald Trump Conservative? Here's the Rundown
Conservative Review on Trump
Club for Growth on Trump
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Ted Cruz for President
Senator Ted Cruz is the best choice for the Republican nomination for President.
EXPERIENCE Cruz has a variety of government experience. He has been a Senator from Texas since 2012. Before that, he was Solicitor General of Texas, working on numerous high-profile legal cases, including winning eight cases before the Supreme Court. Before that, he was a member of the Federal Trade Commission, where he fought to protect free markets, including keeping the internet free from government regulation.
ISSUES Cruz is a solid conservative who is pro-life and pro-marriage. He supports gun rights completely. He is a free market conservative who supports cutting government spending, taxes, regulations, and bureaucracy. He is a patriot who advocates a realist foreign policy with a strong military willing to intervene when it is in American interests, but not to support a Utopian vision of imposing democracy and nation-building. He is an immigration patriot who opposes amnesty for illegal aliens and supports enforcing the law, securing the border with a real fence, and cutting back on legal immigration when it is not in America's interest.
RECORD Lots of candidates talk conservative during the campaign, but don't act that way in office. That's why it is essential to examine their records. Ted Cruz ran for senate promising to be a solid conservative who led the fight on important issues. His voting record backs that up. He has lifetime ratings of 100% from the American Conservative Union, 98% form Heritage Action, 98% from Freedomworks, and 96% from Club for Growth. He was a leader of the successful effort to defeat President Obama's 2013 gun control plan. He led the filibuster of Obamacare funding, and fought against budget-busting spending bills. Cruz was a major part of the successful opposition to the Gang of Eight amnesty bill.
Cruz's conservative record precedes the Senate. As Texas Solicitor General, he successfully defending several conservative laws in the Supreme Court. One case is particularly instructive. When a Mexican citizen committed murder in Texas, he was sentenced to death. Mexico objected, and got the World Court to demand that Texas commute his sentence. The Bush administration, to its discredit, echoed the demand. Cruz fought back, and won the case 6-3 in the Supreme Court, defeating Mexico, the World Court, and a President of his own party. He demonstrated his support for tough sentences for criminals, defense of states powers and American sovereignty, and willingness to stand up to his own party when it was the right thing to do.
KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLIGENCE Cruz is obviously brilliant. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where one of his professors declared him to be one of the smartest students he had ever had. He has taken the time to study issues carefully and learn the details of public policy. He is rarely, if ever, tripped up by a question. Unlike other candidates, he doesn't sound like he just learned about the issues last week, or just repeated something written by an advisor. Cruz has an audiographic memory, and so can remember anything he has heard, which would be a valuable skill for a President.
CHARACTER Cruz is a committed Christian, whose father is a pastor. He is married to his wife Heidi for 15 years. He has two daughters. Cruz has a calm, even temperament, and doesn't crack under pressure or personally insult other candidates. He is highly disciplined and a very hard worker. He is capable of working across party lines (as on the FTC) but will stand up to others in his own party when necessary.
CAMPAIGN Cruz has run a strong campaign so far. He has raised the second most money (behind Jeb Bush) of any Republican, with both a lot of small dollar donations, and some large donations as well. He has put together the best grassroots organization of any campaign. His campaign has developed new technologies for identifying and targeting voters. He has avoided wasting money on overpriced political consultants.
ELECTABILITY It is difficult to predict election results before the campaign, but it is worth noting that many supposedly electable Republican nominees (Romney, McCain, Dole) were not actually very electable in practice. They pursued strategies of pandering to the media (McCain) or avoiding controversy (Romney) which didn't hold up well in a Presidential campaign. They often seemed incapable of making conservative arguments. In contrast, Ted Cruz knows not to expect any sympathy from the media. He can make conservative arguments that can win over undecided voters while uniting and motivating the Republican base. He is a national champion debater who won't put his foot in his mouth or pull his punches against Hillary. He has led Hillary Clinton in many polls, and performs better than Trump, Carson, or Kasich in general election matchups. There are no guarantees, but Cruz stands a reasonable chance of winning the general election.
ENDORSEMENTS Cruz has been endorsed by conservative leaders, including James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Glenn Beck, Thomas Sowell, Gun Owners of America, the National Organization for Marriage, and many solidly conservative members of the House of Representatives. For all these reasons, I endorse him as well.
EXPERIENCE Cruz has a variety of government experience. He has been a Senator from Texas since 2012. Before that, he was Solicitor General of Texas, working on numerous high-profile legal cases, including winning eight cases before the Supreme Court. Before that, he was a member of the Federal Trade Commission, where he fought to protect free markets, including keeping the internet free from government regulation.
ISSUES Cruz is a solid conservative who is pro-life and pro-marriage. He supports gun rights completely. He is a free market conservative who supports cutting government spending, taxes, regulations, and bureaucracy. He is a patriot who advocates a realist foreign policy with a strong military willing to intervene when it is in American interests, but not to support a Utopian vision of imposing democracy and nation-building. He is an immigration patriot who opposes amnesty for illegal aliens and supports enforcing the law, securing the border with a real fence, and cutting back on legal immigration when it is not in America's interest.
RECORD Lots of candidates talk conservative during the campaign, but don't act that way in office. That's why it is essential to examine their records. Ted Cruz ran for senate promising to be a solid conservative who led the fight on important issues. His voting record backs that up. He has lifetime ratings of 100% from the American Conservative Union, 98% form Heritage Action, 98% from Freedomworks, and 96% from Club for Growth. He was a leader of the successful effort to defeat President Obama's 2013 gun control plan. He led the filibuster of Obamacare funding, and fought against budget-busting spending bills. Cruz was a major part of the successful opposition to the Gang of Eight amnesty bill.
Cruz's conservative record precedes the Senate. As Texas Solicitor General, he successfully defending several conservative laws in the Supreme Court. One case is particularly instructive. When a Mexican citizen committed murder in Texas, he was sentenced to death. Mexico objected, and got the World Court to demand that Texas commute his sentence. The Bush administration, to its discredit, echoed the demand. Cruz fought back, and won the case 6-3 in the Supreme Court, defeating Mexico, the World Court, and a President of his own party. He demonstrated his support for tough sentences for criminals, defense of states powers and American sovereignty, and willingness to stand up to his own party when it was the right thing to do.
KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLIGENCE Cruz is obviously brilliant. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where one of his professors declared him to be one of the smartest students he had ever had. He has taken the time to study issues carefully and learn the details of public policy. He is rarely, if ever, tripped up by a question. Unlike other candidates, he doesn't sound like he just learned about the issues last week, or just repeated something written by an advisor. Cruz has an audiographic memory, and so can remember anything he has heard, which would be a valuable skill for a President.
CHARACTER Cruz is a committed Christian, whose father is a pastor. He is married to his wife Heidi for 15 years. He has two daughters. Cruz has a calm, even temperament, and doesn't crack under pressure or personally insult other candidates. He is highly disciplined and a very hard worker. He is capable of working across party lines (as on the FTC) but will stand up to others in his own party when necessary.
CAMPAIGN Cruz has run a strong campaign so far. He has raised the second most money (behind Jeb Bush) of any Republican, with both a lot of small dollar donations, and some large donations as well. He has put together the best grassroots organization of any campaign. His campaign has developed new technologies for identifying and targeting voters. He has avoided wasting money on overpriced political consultants.
ELECTABILITY It is difficult to predict election results before the campaign, but it is worth noting that many supposedly electable Republican nominees (Romney, McCain, Dole) were not actually very electable in practice. They pursued strategies of pandering to the media (McCain) or avoiding controversy (Romney) which didn't hold up well in a Presidential campaign. They often seemed incapable of making conservative arguments. In contrast, Ted Cruz knows not to expect any sympathy from the media. He can make conservative arguments that can win over undecided voters while uniting and motivating the Republican base. He is a national champion debater who won't put his foot in his mouth or pull his punches against Hillary. He has led Hillary Clinton in many polls, and performs better than Trump, Carson, or Kasich in general election matchups. There are no guarantees, but Cruz stands a reasonable chance of winning the general election.
ENDORSEMENTS Cruz has been endorsed by conservative leaders, including James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Glenn Beck, Thomas Sowell, Gun Owners of America, the National Organization for Marriage, and many solidly conservative members of the House of Representatives. For all these reasons, I endorse him as well.
Private Security in Detroit
This interview with a private security firm in Detroit is fascinating.
Ep. 597 Can the Private Sector Protect Against Crime? This Case Study Will Blow Your Mind
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