Too much Trump? Not for the other GOP candidates
Donald Trump is doing Republicans a big favor right now.
Right now, GOP presidential contenders could be engaging in a too-early brawl with one another, sullying everyone and causing intramural divisions that would require a too-long period of making up after the nominee is chosen. (Don’t think the divisions would last long in a race against Barack Obama? Consider the sour GOP grapes that persisted in last year’s Senate races in Delaware and Alaska, costing the Republicans one potential pickup of a seat and nearly a safe one as they were struggling to gain a majority in that chamber.)
Instead, The Donald is taking up all the oxygen– dominating the 2012 storyline with a hint that he could run as a Ross Perot-like independent if he doesn’t get the nomination, just a day after presumed front-runner Mitt Romney took his first official step toward getting in the race.
And my guess is that’s just fine with the other Republican candidates. Or at least, it should be.
Sure, contenders like Tim Pawlenty are expending a lot of energy right now to boost their name recognition, and might like to get in on the exposure Trump is receiving.
But Trump is getting attention right now for one of the same reasons he’s perhaps the best-known businessman in America: He’s willing to make the big splash, even if it’s risky. Bringing up the issue of Obama’s birth certificate; talking about running as an independent, when in all likelihood the most he could do is match Perot’s vote totals in 1992 (and, as in that case, throw the race to the Democrat) — these are the positions Trump is using to get attention. Neither Pawlenty nor Romney nor anyone else wants to make that kind of splash.
If a little less TV time means fewer chances for the rest of the field to say things they end up regretting, or having to take back or flip-flop on, so much the better for them.
There is still plenty to time to take back the spotlight from Trump. Were Trump a more traditional or respectable candidate — Perot was quirky, but at least he hadn’t steered multiple businesses into bankruptcy — it might be dangerous to let him get too comfortable in the limelight. But I just can’t imagine many voters going to the ballot box and thinking, I’m voting for Donald “Ivana/Marla/Casinos/Reality TV/Hair” Trump to be president of the United States. I really am. So, I don’t think they have to worry too much about that.
And because Trump is such a persona of his own, and only recently affiliated with Republicans, I don’t think the attention he’s getting will reflect poorly on the party as a whole or its eventual nominee — the way Sarah Palin, for instance, can have a polarizing effect for the Republican brand in some quarters.
“Trump 2012″ may or may not be good for the national political discourse, but I don’t think it’s bad for the rest of the GOP field.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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79 comments Add your comment
Darko
April 12th, 2011
3:25 pm
“The same way Dole and Kerry were embraced by the base”
Really, neither of those candiates were embraced by the base, rather they were tolerated. A good candidate from the Republican side could have shown much better than those two with their RINO tendencies.
MM
April 12th, 2011
3:27 pm
My point was, having a black man run for elected office, caused a lot of blacks who never voted, to get out and vote. Unfortunately they voted for him because of his skin color.
And I do care where he was born. He has broken so many of our “laws” because he is an arrogant a$$hole without a clue. That idiot has spent more in 2 years, then ALL our previous presidents PUT TOGETHER!!!! Again, he has no clue. Just spend spend spend. The treasurey will make more money right???? He is driving us into bankruptcy. I mean he DROVE us to this. Gas prices are off the charts, spending is out of control and dems and repubs are fighting like the civil war. We are in big trouble!!!!
And yet when the going gets tough, Obama goes on vacation.
chef pierre
April 12th, 2011
3:31 pm
Joe , you think The Tea party is funded by who? The Kool Aid guy..
chef pierre
April 12th, 2011
3:33 pm
Its not about white or Black . It’s all about Green.
Clinton "Skink" Tyree
April 12th, 2011
3:43 pm
The Donald shoots from the lip and would be a castrophe as a politician.
First, good CEOs make bad politicians and bad CEOs make horrific politicians.
Trump thinks he knows everything, so wouldn’t listen to his advisors and would end up embarrassing himself. He knows that, so he will never run.
He’s just milking this thing for all the publicity he can for the moment.
He would be “roadkill” in a political debate where particulars must accompany charges and rants.
Illiteracy Rules
April 12th, 2011
3:45 pm
….doesn’t it, Gm?
Rush has a $85 million contract and a Gulfstream.
You?
Road Scholar
April 12th, 2011
3:50 pm
What if he runs as a 3rd party candidate? How would you feel then? Would he dilute the conservative vote?
Ramzad
April 12th, 2011
3:56 pm
Trump is an example of what is wrong with America. Lots of borrowed money. Lots of low budget publicity. Lots of propaganda, and very little effectiveness.
ChuckDoberman
April 12th, 2011
3:57 pm
Cool MM, you just encapsulated the past 6 months’ propaganda which cost the GOP big time to put out there in two or three posts! You are the result that Rush/Herman/Sean/Bill and the rest of the GOP Media Assassination Corps have hoped and prayed for! You swallow whatever they cast your way hook, line and sinker and then do your best to repeat it loudly and often to anyone you can, and the best part is you ACTUALLY SEEM TO BELIEVE IT! I mean, given a few seconds of consideration, their hate propaganda is pretty darn easy to see through and identify. Even so the GOP is picking up advocates like you by the thousands it seems (hey, some folk don’t have that few seconds to spare for thought and reason I guess), and has a really good chance of spreading that hate and possibly picking up the votes needed to swing the next election their way with the “Anybody but Obama” tribe. (see other posts on this thread) Yep, it cost the GOP big-time for the airtime (and AC with all that hot air blowing in) and we all know that $ is the true Jesus to these folk. Even so I think they believe their money is well-spent. Heck I believe that… it’s working… we become more ignorant as a country by the day.
Brock
April 12th, 2011
4:02 pm
Population:
Whites-72.4%
Blacks-12.6%
This gets old mm. If every black person including the kids voted for obama he still could not get elected because of their vote. It’s factually impossible. but don’t let that get in the way of your argument .
ChuckDoberman
April 12th, 2011
4:03 pm
For clarification purposes, I am not an Obama supporter. I was a lifelong republican until 2000. (probably 8 or 12 years too long) At present I’m registered as an independent and I vote for those I believe will lead best regardless of party and propaganda. I find myself sickened by the rhetoric from BOTH SIDES, but especially for the past 12 years or so the ignorance campaign espoused by the GOP. America can ill afford getting dumber, yet that seems to be republicans’ primary goal any more. It’s sad
JF McNamara
April 12th, 2011
4:34 pm
If I were a Republican, I would want my issues to come out early while there is time to recover. I can see it your way too though. Ideally, I would want nothing bad to come out or happen.
Trump is a promotional clown. His dad was the biggest builder in New York, but he likes to come off like a self starter who did it all on his own. He’s just a trust fund baby whose convinced the world he’s a super genius. He wouldn’t even take from the Republican front runner in the race.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Thee Magnificent!!! mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 12th, 2011
4:44 pm
Let’s see here, obozo and his fellow dummycrats have steered the entire country into bankruptcy while Trump dumped a couple of businesses but still came out with billions to spare.
What “choice” are you talking about, Wingnut?
A clown is better than what we got now…
Michael H. Smith
April 12th, 2011
5:04 pm
“Trump 2012″ may or may not be good for the national political discourse, but I don’t think it’s bad for the rest of the GOP field.
At least not for the moment, which will probably change as time goes on. As a third party candidate Trump can only hurt a Republican nominee in the general election.
Kyle Wingfield
April 12th, 2011
5:08 pm
MHS @ 5:04: Yes, that’s what I meant.
Michael H. Smith
April 12th, 2011
5:21 pm
In all honesty I hope the GOP can come together and unite this time around, no matter who gets the party nod. obama has to go, I can’t truthfully think of one good thing, other than giving the nod to shoot the hostage takers on that seized ship, the man has done for the country. He and the Democrats have created a very big money bubble that is just waiting to pop. The GOP candidate better be good at defusing fiscal bombs, this one could be the worst that has ever been created.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Thee Magnificent!!! mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 12th, 2011
5:21 pm
The real problem is a Republican psychology that is unable to understand that the entire American Left, after decades and decades and decades of tax-and-spending, has now effectively become the political equivalent of an addict. An alcoholic or a drug addict, except instead of scotch or crack cocaine the drug of choice is something even more powerful: money. Specifically, your money.
Well, I still say they are doing crack too but whatever.
gm
April 12th, 2011
5:39 pm
MM: Just found your new love for your country since Obama came in office, did not hear hypocrites like you when George Bush ran up the debt, got over 4500 American troop killed, 5000 American dead in NY under the cowboy polices:
Did not hear you when Bush was on vacation every month when 2 wars were going and driving up the debt, please hypocrites shut up.
Illiteracy Rules: he made his money off of low middle class whites like you, never seen fat boy march, rally or go to the streets for any causes, dont have to, when you have idiots like you who love to get expolited.
Give me a BREAK
April 12th, 2011
7:50 pm
Trump is an arrogant, opportunist, a$$hat who couldn’t get elected dog catcher. His repeated and shameful disrespect for the President is disgusting and shows the whole world that he lacks true substance, credibility and character. Obama’s mother was an American so what difference does it make where the man was born? He’s playing Pied Piper to the hordes of useful idiots.
Dabir Dalton
April 12th, 2011
8:38 pm
@ JConservative
The average Republican voter is a fool!
bxnyc
April 12th, 2011
8:39 pm
As a NYC resident let me assure you in the south that trump is not running because he would be embarassed at losing both his claimed home state (NY) & his casino state(NJ)by record numbers. What I see is those who think they will someday be rich are are protecting their assumed future wealth, those who are articulate racists and think we cannot see past their language into their bigotry, those still fighting the civil war like groundhog day, and lastly those who dont really care about rational reasoning if it does not comport with their narrow world view. We are happy to have trump muddy the waters because he only contributes to the margin of your party’s defeat in the presidental election and hopefully lose the right more seats than they gained in 2010.
ragnar danneskjold
April 12th, 2011
8:57 pm
Good evening all. I have not seen any name yet that would not be a significant upgrade from the current occupant of the oval office, and that includes my own suggestion nominating a cabbage if it holds a long-form birth certificate. Much heartened by the buzz around Herman Cain, good man.
MrLiberty
April 12th, 2011
10:26 pm
Ron Paul 2012. We may only get one more chance to set this country on the right course before the end. Everything he has been warning about since the mid 70’s has come true and everything he has proposed to address the problems continues to be the right solution – Liberty. All the rest of the GOP field (with the exception of Gary Johnson) are complete idiots and simply big-government pro-war neocons. We have already seen how much damage that group can do to our country and our constitution.
MrLiberty
April 12th, 2011
10:29 pm
As for Herman Cain, as a past officer of the criminal Federal Reserve bank, he is inelligible to ever be president of a country that wishes to restore its economic house. The Fed must be abolished and replaced with market derived competiting currencies and sound economic priniciples. He has been part of the problem. He will not step up to be part of the correct solution. He sounds great on paper, but then so did the idea of fiat paper money. What a mistake that was.
FootInMouthGOP
April 12th, 2011
10:37 pm
Kyle says “If a little less TV time means fewer chances for the rest of the field to say things they end up regretting, or having to take back or flip-flop on, so much the better for them.” Where is the GOP field that is not worried about these problems? Not to be found?
Michael H. Smith
April 13th, 2011
4:17 am
While speaking on the matter of foot and mouth diseases it might serve truth in advertising some good for the rabid lamo leftwing-nuts to review a few statements made by their fellow comrade and dear leader obumer, past and present: obumer before he became a war President ignoring the Congress and Constitution and obumer before he decried a failure to raise the debt ceiling as something unconscionable.
Now with both of his feet planted firmly in his mouth, as a matter of record, he hasn’t a leg to stand upon.
Bray on lil dunkeys, bray on.
Joel Edge
April 13th, 2011
7:21 am
Never thought of it that way. A target for the shrieking media to vent against. Good one.
Not a snowballs chance I’ll actually vote him.
Fletch
April 13th, 2011
8:14 am
Rather than waste all the time, energy and money on shoddy candidates from either party, why don’t we just have a sock puppet show. Sock puppets are simple, and would have broad appeal to the sheep from both the Left and the Right. The sock puppet that says the most things that people like, will be declared the winner, and we can all go on with our lives ignoring the really important things happening around us.
poison pen
April 13th, 2011
8:54 am
What goes Around, Where is the outrage when Obama keeps us in 3 Wars and our deficit in the Trillions?