A HUGE event, yes.
With 800 people in a sold out crowd Trump's event was the largest in the history of a venerable political institution. The event is sponsored by local businesses and institutions. They served a nice breakfast.
It was familiar Trump talking points, done in the manner now familiar. Some self congratulation about the successful debate, in which he said "to be fair" he did very well, the introduction of his two adult sons, some nice thank you to the good people of New Hampshire, then Question and Answers.
The populist message is getting refined and clarified: America needs to take care of our own, we need to push hard to get our way and be winners. He is saying angrier things now:
"This stupid agreement the've done with Iran, done by incompetent people on our side, we don't have victories with Sergeant Bergdahl with this traitor, this dirty rotten traitor (applause) he gets no jail time" . . . (inaudible due to widespread loud applause)
There is a potential policy issue problem for Trump regarding the issue of eminent domain. Republicans are skeptical of government actions that take private property, even with just compensation, and some Trump developments have used eminent domain. Trump brought up the issue in the context of his support for Keystone Pipeline, a project uniformly supported by the Republican candidates. Trump said that the pipeline needed to use eminent domain and that this was a consideration that might make someone hesitant to support the project. Happily the dilemma is solved by negotiation. In exchange for the public involvement in eminent domain the pipelines owners should pay up. America should have negotiated a "piece of the action" for the transport rights. If Canada wants access to passage we should get 25 percent of the value. He said on environmental grounds.
This was very artful for Trump, since it traps supporters of Keystone. They cannot oppose eminent domain use for private development and simultaneously support Keystone. Trump sprung this trap without any reference whatever to his fellow candidates or to the issue of eminent domain being a controversy. But fellow candidates now know they will have a problem bashing Trump on this issue.
I got into line early for the event--before 7:00 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. event. Next to me in line was an experienced and informed local activist who has been involved with Republican campaigns for 4 decades, in support of Goldwater, Nixon, Kemp, and up to the present. She expressed some of the key elements in the Trump value proposition for Republican primary voters. Trump, she said, will support our quality of life by defending Judaeo Christian values. And, she said, he has the fierce temperament to fight for those values. She articulated a significant divide within the Republican party: international globalists versus American nationalists. She noted that Rubio was squishy and unreliable on this issue, having supported a Gang of Eight plan that included amnesty. She said the issue was very important to her.
My fellows in line in Nevada good a different direction. They emphasized Trump's financial independence, allowing him to be his own man, not a puppet for billionaire backers.
One of my readers wrote me to say that the Republican debate last night revealed deep unresolved divides within Republican orthodoxy. He saw that debate as a key inflection point, the public revelation of the big fractures in Republican orthodoxy. He noted there are disagreements on what to do with taxes, what to do with Obamacare, what to do with the Middle East, what to do with banks, and what to do with immigration. My assumption is that all disagreement will be overwhelmed by Obama/Clinton disgust, but in the "good debate" of last night, and in the meeting I observed this morning, it is clear there is real disagreement on big issues, especially the presence and status of newcomers to America.
I may be tone deaf and out of touch on immigration. I realize I live in a bubble, a bubble of Multicultural Fairs, Chinese New Year celebrations, and bi-racial marriages. I am out of touch with America. There should be a Country-Western song mournful over my predicament.
With 800 people in a sold out crowd Trump's event was the largest in the history of a venerable political institution. The event is sponsored by local businesses and institutions. They served a nice breakfast.
It was familiar Trump talking points, done in the manner now familiar. Some self congratulation about the successful debate, in which he said "to be fair" he did very well, the introduction of his two adult sons, some nice thank you to the good people of New Hampshire, then Question and Answers.
The populist message is getting refined and clarified: America needs to take care of our own, we need to push hard to get our way and be winners. He is saying angrier things now:
"This stupid agreement the've done with Iran, done by incompetent people on our side, we don't have victories with Sergeant Bergdahl with this traitor, this dirty rotten traitor (applause) he gets no jail time" . . . (inaudible due to widespread loud applause)
There is a potential policy issue problem for Trump regarding the issue of eminent domain. Republicans are skeptical of government actions that take private property, even with just compensation, and some Trump developments have used eminent domain. Trump brought up the issue in the context of his support for Keystone Pipeline, a project uniformly supported by the Republican candidates. Trump said that the pipeline needed to use eminent domain and that this was a consideration that might make someone hesitant to support the project. Happily the dilemma is solved by negotiation. In exchange for the public involvement in eminent domain the pipelines owners should pay up. America should have negotiated a "piece of the action" for the transport rights. If Canada wants access to passage we should get 25 percent of the value. He said on environmental grounds.
This was very artful for Trump, since it traps supporters of Keystone. They cannot oppose eminent domain use for private development and simultaneously support Keystone. Trump sprung this trap without any reference whatever to his fellow candidates or to the issue of eminent domain being a controversy. But fellow candidates now know they will have a problem bashing Trump on this issue.
I got into line early for the event--before 7:00 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. event. Next to me in line was an experienced and informed local activist who has been involved with Republican campaigns for 4 decades, in support of Goldwater, Nixon, Kemp, and up to the present. She expressed some of the key elements in the Trump value proposition for Republican primary voters. Trump, she said, will support our quality of life by defending Judaeo Christian values. And, she said, he has the fierce temperament to fight for those values. She articulated a significant divide within the Republican party: international globalists versus American nationalists. She noted that Rubio was squishy and unreliable on this issue, having supported a Gang of Eight plan that included amnesty. She said the issue was very important to her.
My fellows in line in Nevada good a different direction. They emphasized Trump's financial independence, allowing him to be his own man, not a puppet for billionaire backers.
One of my readers wrote me to say that the Republican debate last night revealed deep unresolved divides within Republican orthodoxy. He saw that debate as a key inflection point, the public revelation of the big fractures in Republican orthodoxy. He noted there are disagreements on what to do with taxes, what to do with Obamacare, what to do with the Middle East, what to do with banks, and what to do with immigration. My assumption is that all disagreement will be overwhelmed by Obama/Clinton disgust, but in the "good debate" of last night, and in the meeting I observed this morning, it is clear there is real disagreement on big issues, especially the presence and status of newcomers to America.
I may be tone deaf and out of touch on immigration. I realize I live in a bubble, a bubble of Multicultural Fairs, Chinese New Year celebrations, and bi-racial marriages. I am out of touch with America. There should be a Country-Western song mournful over my predicament.
 |
| Donald Trump introduces his two adult sons. Family values. |
 |
| A table at the event. Behind is Chris Sununu, a Republican member of the Exective Council and is a candidate for NH Governor |
 |
| A big cluster of supporters, media, and camera big and small around Trump. I am reminded of bees swarming around a new Queen. |
 |
| This is the press dias, immediately after the event. There were some 20 TV cameras |
No comments:
Post a Comment