Unconventional foray of Trumpism…

The ongoing “reality show” of Trump (Trumpism)  continually  provides controversial shock value to Americans and by an large, the global community. The constant babbling, his exaggerated hyperbole(his coined phrase for lies), verbal assault on media and intelligence community, unintelligible domestic and foreign doctrine and presidential improprieties are now being given the vapid cover “political correctness”. While in other corners  of human society, such attitudes are ascribed as a “slow decay of democratic fibers”.  This platform of Trump has driven the Republican party into the business of defending his antics, playing fast and loose with facts and using his innate nature of ignorance as a vehicle to pass far-right  conservative policies invariably choosing party over country. It has driven Democrats into the arms of being sometimes irrationally presumptuous with Russia-Trump collusion, resisting Trumpism, resisting Trump far right agenda. These attitudes arose after losing their economic messages, disconnecting with rural communities, losing political offices from county, state to presidential therefore deemed politically disheveled and/or insignificant.  Reputation, decorum, dignity and  leadership are on the downward spiral  at the helm of Trump who is a global caricature as China, Russia, France and Germany are proactively filling up the leadership vacuum.

Trump’s personal twitter page has become official “Presidential statements” ranging from his untruthful rants, his oft-embellished accomplishments,  incongruous personal attacks to his indescribable “covfefe”. Some Americans has ascribed his unconventionality as being strong or a middle finger to the political establishment and the last hope for primarily the white populace especially in poor and rural communities. The problem with such blind support is Trump cares only about Trump. Trump is not humbled by the his office, he feels apologetically entitled. Trump chooses to be naive about the details of policies and laws. He focuses on the unyielding loyalty of appointees, media and government to him  rather than the populace and/or constitution. In his era of blatant disregard of transparency, he has refused to divest his financial interests or reveal his financial records causing a inevitable conflicts of interests from America to other parts of the constitution.  These are not qualities that should be part of a  democratically elected  President but rather a pseudo-totalitarian. The American President is a person serving “all” people not the 30% populace (primarily his base).

Alas! all hope is not gone

There are ways to truly resist Trumpism and restore order and balance:

1. Focus and build on a progressive economic message: The country is ready and ripe for a “New Deal”. The income and wealth inequality has ravaged the country from the words from progressive and/or liberal economic minds from Joseph Stigilitz, Paul Krugman to Robert Reich. Democrats should resist the impulses to be “too” aligned with big corporations and Wallstreet. This is not as FOX news put it “class warfare” against the 1% , “welfare state creation”, “anti-capitalism”  or “communism and/or socialism” but a  restoration of fair and balanced economic platform defined by a truly “mixed economy of capitalism and socialism” which i define as “Progressive Capitalism” rather than the historically scary socialist label. Democrats have to design their message not as “takers from the wealthy” but “restoring economic fairness wrapped in the American flag”. They have go into their memory bank and restore themselves as “Franklin Delano Roosevelt party” rather then the “Clintonian party”. Americans are longing for politicians to be more “economically truthfulness and grassroot populism” not “hypocritical lapdogs to the 1%”. The age of “voodoo economics”  or trickle down economics or supply side economics have created a pseudo plutocracy consequently exacerbating  the economic health of most Americans. The progressive agenda should be wrapped around “Keynesian economics”. This message will resonate with the working class both poor  and the middle regardless of race, age, gender or sexual orientation. The economic brand on positions on healthcare, minimum wage, Wallstreet regulation,  social benefits, fair and reasonable taxation regardless of social class making education more cost-effective. The economic prowess of a nation is defined by the ease of the poor to migrate to the middle class not expanding the wealthy. The spending power of a massssive ive middle class has been historically and mathematically  known to be have a direct relationship with yearly GDP growth rate. 
2. The unusual separation of Trumpism from Conservatism/Republicanism: The media has fallen to the habit of trying to separate Trumpism from conservatism.  The question that lingers in my head as I watch CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV to ABC is why  commentators, liberals and even republicans dissociate Trump from Republican ideology? Trump is not passing or advocating for liberal, centrist nor  progressive policies. From immigration, healthcare, regulation,economy, environment, education to law and order, the policies being rolled out are out of the “conservative playbook”  specifically “far right and/or alt right”. Trump ran on far right populism not a centrist populist as Macron of France or Hilary Clinton nor a progressive populism as of Bernie Sanders. Trump should always be associated with Republicans conservatism. The Trump presidency which has been heaped with scandal, controversy and investigation to the detriment of conservatives but he is still  carrying the  banner of Republicans so it politically advisable to voters that they are reminded he is a Republican not some nontraditional, independent ad-hoc politician. Trump is the epitome of a perfect Republican. Someone might ask how? He has used the platform of far right conservative politics, pushed for corporate welfare while styling himself as a man for the poor and unforgotten, push for oligarchical society on the splendor of charisma wrapped with the overt and/or covert use of racial antagonism.  In modern history, Republicans have used racial dog whistles and culture wars in shoring up white voters especially in the South . The infamous Southern strategy and Ayn Rand libertarian philosophy studied  and covertly utilized by Goldwater, George Wallace, Richard Nixon, Newt Gingrich, Lee Atwater, Ronald Reagan, George Bush I and II, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Jeff Sessions and Steve King meet its greatest overt believer….Donald Trump.  Today, Trump has amplified the underlying racial resentment in some whites especially the poor ones towards the “others” accusing them of the economic, political, demographic and cultural shift that supposedly does not fit the 1950’s white America. Republicans show contempt for the vulgarity of Trump but share 99.9 percent of the ideology he pushes. So Republicans, don’t complain and cry about the fact you cannot control Trump….He is  uncontrollable but a perfect conduit conveying the true message of modern day Republicanism…..The vagrant racial faction that have nested and occasionally been feed by the Republican party is out of the woodworks and sitting in the Oval office.
3. Resisting Trump’s quickbaits:  The trolling diatribe that rolls out from Trump’s twitter feeds and lips shouldn’t be the primary focus of mainstream media, and Anti-Trumpists. Focus on the the policies and the ever-hypocritical message that he sold to the unfortunate populace. Trump is a man that is driven by what people think of him which feeds into his insatiable narcissism. Trump has mastered  the art of distraction by showing one hands of his unconventional bloopers on social decorum or identity politics  and hiding the real hand which proposes detrimental policies.
4. Resist the urge to looking for the Russia-Trump smoking gun and impeachment: The continual obsession of possible coordination between Trump campaign and Russia has been exhausting, overwhelming and almost mirroring conspiratorial theories out of “Alex Jones colorful mind”. There is cause to investigate the possibility of such treasonous act but  the focus of should be on Trump’s policies which affects the everyday American. Robert Mueller, a man of bipartisan support and utmost integrity   will perform a thorough inquiry so we should all sit back and wait. We should remember that the Watergate investigation took almost 2.5 yrs to approach a conclusion.  Personally, I am more concerned of financial ties especially “supposed” Russian related money laundering during his run as Trump Organization business owner and current conflicts of interest rather than the electoral collusion. We s shouldn’t advocate for impeachment now for Trump because he has been a nightmarish enigma to Republicans which Democrats can rally around. Should we impeach a far right, implosive, self deprecating and hypocritical Trump for a straight laced far right Christian conservative Pence. I will take the first choice!!!!!
5.   Campaign on Anti-Trump policies not Anti-Trump: Clinton ran on an Anti-Trump platform which ousted her to the woods.  Running against Trump has to built on the policies that he is advocating and enacting that are detrimental to Americans. There should be effort in pointing out the hypocritical, incomprehensible and detrimental undertone to this policies. Trump has to be seen as for what he is… a man that is clueless about the details and consequences of his policies  not his character flaws.
6. One sentence: Focus on economic message and avoid overplaying in the field of “identity politics”.…it is self explanatory that Trump himself will fall in an inconceivable trap of playing identity politics surrounding race, gender and sexual orientation and he get swallowed by his decrepitude which is his “callous lips” which will inevitably galvanize more opposition……Focus on solutions of racial, gender and sexual orientation inequalities backed with socioeconomic measures not the controversies.

Americans are looking for change to the status-quo establishment political-economic machinery the question is what type of change? Do you want a Trump change? or a Bernie change? ….The ball is in your court

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders: Unconventional populist race to POTUS.

Donald Trump “Mr anti-political correctness”: Republican Presidential aspirant

Bernie Sanders “Mr middle class”: Democratic President aspirant.

The presidential race has heating up in the past few weeks by the emergence  of Billionaire Donald Trump (Republican) and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (Democrat). They have raised eyebrows by their populist rhetoric that strikes a chord with people’s frustration with the stagnated partisan government thereby embracing the underdog persona.People are apprehensive towards dynasties of Bush and Clinton to clash again by setting the stage between Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush so they are now persuaded by the populist voices of Trump and Sanders. This ever-growing political capitalization is mildly reminiscent of the past wave of Barack Obama (2008), Bill Clinton (93), Ronald Reagan (1980) or John F. Kennedy (1960). In comparison to other flash in the pan (populist) candidates in the past like Fred Thompson, Ralph Nader, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rand Paul, Barry Goldwater, Bob Dole, Ross Perot and so on, it  seems that Trump and Sanders will be in the headlines for a substantive period. Trump is presently leading the Republican  metaphoric clown car race with a 20-22 percent lead while Sanders has  overtaken Hilary Clinton in  New Hampshire which is a key primary battleground state. People are apprehensive towards dynasties of Bush and Clinton to clash again by setting the stage between Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush. The present tidal wave of these candidates are likely to dim out before their respective party’s presidential nomination. I believe that  Donald Trump emergence is less sustainable compared to Bernie Sanders and I will explain why.

Donald Trump; the bigger than life personality that exudes emotion, pride, charisma, witty and decisive politically-incorrect candor. He has rose to Republican stage by ruffling feathers with the establishment Republicans, making misguided accounts on Mexican illegal immigration, somewhat misogynistic banter with Megyn Kelly(Fox News) and Hilary Clinton and his quick to respond trigger fingered Twitter responses. He has shown great appeal  and support from the Tea party faction of the Republican party who are tired of their representatives not conservative enough or aren’t sticking to their anti-Barack Obama stance. Donald Trump is a visual and auditory reminder for the dissent for the current Republican caucus. There is a growing dysfunction between the Tea party and the establishment  because of Donald Trump. Donald Trump who is not been cuddled by the finances of Super-PAC and party’s contributions  has openly pronounced his campaign could be personally resourced. Trump has stolen the hearts of Republicans who want a ” conservative man of the people” candidate with a blunt and honest tongue which are at the core of Barry Goldwater-era conservatism and Ronald Regan. The problem with Donald Trump is “Donald Trump”. Trump words will eventually catch up with him, his words not policies has been the foundation of his campaign. Trump will continue to ruffle feathers as time progresses and might run into a huge hole of controversy that he might not recover from. Soon, people might begin to wonder if this “Trumpmania” is a rouse for shock value that eventually  spill to bigger business opportunities or set the stage for a new television show. Trump has followed the typical Republican script of “attack existing policies with no alternative ideas”. His bandwagon fans are more captivated about what he would say next not necessarily what he would for the America. In a short summary, Donald is surely flashy, controversial and commanding but with no ideological vigor and substance that can either last long enough for the final nomination or even face the eventual Democratic candidate.

Bernie is often seen as cranky, charismatic, talkative, intuitive and resourceful.  Bernie Sanders often described as a democratic socialist (which is antithetic to 80’s Reganomics)  has been a staunch advocate for stronger middle class economy, higher taxes on the extremely wealthy class,  increased minimum wages,stronger unions  regulation of Wall-street, de-monopolizing the banking sector,universal pre-kindergarten, free higher education, infrastructure development, anti-Super PAC and reducing corporations’ lobbying. He and Elizabeth Warren are the strongholds of the far left (progressive liberals). He has taken on the social and economic issues as his primary core of his campaign. He wants to reduce income and wealth inequality which is a pervasive economic condition hitting America. His has never been swayed from his ideology which often causes friction with some business friendly Democrats. Liberal progressives have wanted a voice against the now prominent center minded Democrats, which are prominent because of the emergence of the far-right winged Tea party who occasionally subverted government indirectly pulled Democrats to the center. His emergence is also attributed to America’s weariness of family dynasty of Clinton. Bill and Hilary Clinton have in the political spotlight for over 20 years and have been directly and indirectly involved in shaping the present day government. Finally, people gravitate towards Bernie fiery oratory that has provided a spark among in the hearts of Americans. Some moderate Republicans prefer Bernie to Hilary as seen in massive crowd turnout in conservative cities in Dallas (8000), Houston (5000), Phoenix (11,000). His populist agenda is garnering attention across party lines which might create stronger momentum relative to Trump. Bernie’s  chances  are limited  by his inability to really connect with minority and women votes thereby expanding his base. He has been overshadowed by Clinton in those constituencies.Also, he has not fully used his current pedestal to inform  his foreign policy stance. He has an good record in foreign policy voting which includes voted against Iraq war, voting against removal of Saddam Hussein, voted against reauthorizing troops in Iraq and voted for troops withdrawal in 2007. This election is going to be ultimately on foreign policy which Hilary has a leg up over him since she was a former Secretary of State. The economy has been resurrected from financial grave and heads upwards but still needs additional reforms to strengthen its trajectory but the electorate are infatuated with ISIS, Iran nuclear deal, NSA spying and Ukrainian crisis.

Bernie and Trump share a passion that is antagonistic towards  the current mold of government in both parties and are  generating a populist buzz that resonates with the American’s angst of the establishment which will keep them afloat in the polls for a while. Trump and Bernie are both emotional, astute and charismatic but Bernie has more ideological substance and resounding analytic agenda relative to Trump. Trump might inadvertently run as independent because of the growing resentfulness with the Republican establishment who deem him as “callous” which he will hurt them by stealing some of their caucus indirectly solidifying the Democrats (Bill Clinton) narrow win (Remember what Ross Perot did to George Bush in 1993 election). Trump is a controversial divider within the Republican party while Bernie is a economic mouthpiece of the forgotten progressives which is will surely cement the Democrats base even if he loses. Sanders’ progressive platform has started pulling Clinton closer to the left in order to win the Democratic nomination so by all means he has made impact. While Trump words are colloquially; “accidents that keeps happening” rendering establishment republicans, Tea party and Fox news to their ungoing embarrassment .Regardless both candidates are still faced with an uphill battle to reach the final nomination but Bernie has a better chance.

But how cool with it be if Trump won the Republican nomination which will surely deliver the next POTUS to Democrats………..We can only dream..