Donald Trump is a demagogue. One could call him a flip-flopper, though that would imply that he is a man of principles, whereas he is, in all probability, a man of unabashed self-interest.
He is also leading the polls in the race to be the GOP Presidential nominee. The strength of his campaign can be explained thus:
1) He loudly opposes illegal immigration. One wishes he would go further and demand a moratorium on immigration of any kind, as well as an elimination of our nearly two dozen guest workers programs. Nonetheless, this opposition is refreshing, especially coming from a party that once foolishly nominated John McCain.
Many Americans realize, correctly, that immigration drives down wages and drives up housing costs. If you live in one of the super zips Charles Murray writes about in Coming Apart, you might not care, but to working class citizens, it's a real concern.
I might add in passing that since the GOP hasn't been able to get more than 40% of the Hispanic vote, it's political suicide to grant amnesty to so many potential Democratic voters. The Trump supporter intuits that the GOP would much rather stick it to the conservative base than the political opposition.
2) The base loathes the joke that is the Republican party. Two terms of Bush gave us: a bloody, expensive, stupid, wasteful war; a huge expansion of the healthcare system; and a whole new Homeland Security Department--which has proved completely ineffective at reducing the flow of illegals, but has ensured that grandma gets patted down by a high school drop out before she flies out to visit her grand kids.
In 2008, the GOP pushed warmonger and amnesty supporter John McCain. When the electable moderate failed to win, they pushed milquetoast Mitt Romney, who also went down to defeat. Naturally, the elites are rethinking their strategy; all the big money is backing Jeb Bush, the brother of the man who has done so much to ruin the Republican Party. Naturally, he supports amnesty.
Even the Tea Party has been hijacked by elites. Despite the GOP
majority in the house, Obamacare has not been defunded. Congress
dutifully rubber stamps the legislation they were elected to oppose.
3) Trump doesn't waste his time appeasing those who cannot be appeased. He realizes, correctly, that anyone who runs against Hillary will be denounced as sexist, just as anyone who criticized Obama was denounced as racist. Cowardly Republicans apologize for minor transgressions and hope to curry favor with a media establishment that hates them.
Trump returns fire and refuses to back down. It can't prove any less effective than Romney's nice guy routine. The Democratic Party refuses to even consider eliminating funding for the baby killers of Planned Parenthood. We're not dealing with reasonable people, but with radicals, who ought to be severely criticized for that radicalism.
I have no idea if Trump can win the nomination, let alone the Presidency. But given the reliability of Republican betrayal, it's not irrational to side with the wild card in the race.
Trump 2016!
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It would strongly depend on what package Trump ends up actually offering, and who he suggests he will add to his cabinet. One will suggest what he says he wants to do (he doesn't, but maybe some of it), and by who he selects, that will say which parts he is more interested in actually pursuing.
To be honest, I believe he is a spoiler, or ruiner. Either he is trying to rip the GOP apart (yeah, no worries there, as far as I see things), or he is running on promises he is crafting, with absolutely no intention of fulfilling even a portion of them. That is American politics. Has it ever actually been better? Remember, G. Washington bought votes with free beer. The difference is that government was small(er) and held in place by a lot of checks and balances. To include the notion that his practice of swill for vote was soon outlawed.
I'm most likely simply not going to vote. If it's a choice of the lessor of two evils, and both really stink and are truly destructive to my nation... not just a little more unreasonable than the other or something mild like that, I won't lend my will, through a vote. By not voting, I am sorting voting for me, or us as people. I am rejecting the government whole.
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