Trump's Election Battle of 2016

Early voting has started in most of the country and already people are casting votes to determine who our next president will be in 2017.  We have a choice now that will set the direction of our country not only for four years, but for years to come afterwards.  Trust between the military and their Commander-in-Chief, or mistrust and fear.  Trust between the American public and their President, or loathing and mistrust.

In recent weeks I've traveled a lot of Arkansas and Texas.  Everywhere I go I see signs that say Trump.  I see a few Hillary signs, but not nearly as many as I do Trump signs.  Positive talk about Trump dominates the social media outlets - yes there is negative too, but positive seems to be everywhere.  Experts on elections have already predicted that Trump should win - allegedly this one guy has not been wrong since 1984, but everyone makes mistakes.  Unfortunately, the mass media's polls seem to reflect that Hillary is leading.

The sad part is these polls have been accurate for elections where Carter was ahead of Ford, Reagan was ahead of Carter, Clinton was ahead of Bush....and so on.  The news is now reporting that no candidate has ever won with the poll numbers where they are currently and this close to the election.  Most media outlets are already preparing to write Trump off as a has been.  I imagine many of them already have their headlines ready for November 9th.

All we can do at this point is promote Trump to the world, show what he has to offer America and remind the American voter that Trump propelled to the top of the Republican ticket not because he was popular and loved, not because he was a great politician, and not because he is a great speaker.  Trump rose because he is a non-politician.  He is the opposite of what most Americans are sick and tired of seeing everyday.  Americans are tired of business as usual in Washington - elections come and go and Congress rarely changes.  Everyone talks big about fighting Obamacare and taxes, but once the elections are over, they return to Washington and go about business as usual.  In a nutshell, they seem to be telling Americans, we only need your votes to stay here - that doesn't mean we will do anything for you.  Trump on the other hand represents the opposite of that.  From the start he built his campaign with his money, he traveled on his dime and in his jet, and he reached out with his dollars to America. He gave up countless television opportunities and has taken heat for things he would never have been accused of doing had he not run for president.

In these final days, you can tell your friends about Trump, encourage them to vote for him, but there is a good chance that he will not win.   However, as I sit thinking about Trump's situation and I watch him still reaching out to America, I'm reminded of another politician that the media once said would not win the election for President.  So confident was the press, that they even printed the article before voting was completed.   That president simply kept fighting, kept going, and when the counting was done, the headlines would forever be immortalized as being wrong.   Funny how that man's name also started with a "Tru".

Trump and The Final Hours of the Campaign

We have now reached what can be called the final days, or in truth the final hours, of the 2016 Presidential Campaign.  It's a point where days no longer count, it's now the hours that must be counted.  Votes are already being mailed in and soon early voting will start.  Recent trends have been indicated that early voting in some areas is higher than voting on election day, so this has to be considered the final hours of the campaign.  As these final hours close, it's natural to expect all candidates to pull out all the stops, but once again it appears that the Democrat Machine is in full force for candidate Hillary.

Trump has seen his popularity go up and go down over the years and certainly he has made enemies and friends in business and television.  Because of his ups and downs with popularity, it is no wonder that the Democrats would have no trouble finding a list of people willing to attack Trump's character.  Suddenly out of nowhere women are stepping forward to say Trump grabbed them, touched them, and even forced himself on them.  One even said that Trump moved the first class armrest in a plane up so that he could touch her - an amazing feat for Trump since these armrest rarely are movable in first class - but hey.....maybe her memory wasn't paid enough, or maybe she just forgot.

Already we have seen the Democrat influence not only with these "Sudden Allegations," but also with the media.   Trump has said a lot in this campaign and often he goes off his speech notes.  Hillary has done the same thing.  In fact, both candidates have made mistakes in their figures, facts, and presented outcomes while campaigning to the American people.  After each debate there is no shortage of people pointing out the wrongs on both sides.  The Democrat Machine has worked tirelessly to take any statement Trump has said and ensure the media twist it, or leaves out key parts to make Trump look bad.  For the first time, perhaps in the history of American politics, we have the Democrat Machine manipulating people to turn out against Trump and manipulating the mainstream press to turn out against him at the same time.

But a funny thing has happened along the way.....Trump has remained constant.

Trump has done two things that Hillary has failed greatly at doing.  First, when confronted by an issue or a statement about his past that was true, Trump simply said that yes he did it.  In some cases he has even apologized to the person and the public for doing it.   Hillary has never told the truth from blaming a film for attacks against our embassy to making statements like "We were broke when we left the White House."  The truth somehow seems to evade her lips daily.

The second thing that Trump has done is to give up a lot for this campaign.  He has given up television contracts, had contracts cancelled, and has even poured his own money into the campaign.  Hillary on the other hand has continued to take in funds from her book sales, continued to receive donations at the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation (Yes that's the name of it), and continued to run her campaign almost 100% on donations from Democrats and supporters.  Trump has shown that he believes not only in America, but he believes in the campaign he is running.  Hillary on the other hand has shown that she might stop taking foreign donations at the foundation, if she is elected....

At the end of the day, those who might say Trump is his own worst enemy, may need to stop and remember some simple questions.....Where were all these accusations of misconduct against Trump when he was in the public eye and on television all the time?  The possibility of financial gain is no different now than it was then with a billionaire....so why now?  Could it be that the Democrat Machine is so afraid that Hillary might lose that they were willing to pour the money into these allegations now?  .....Think that's a wild idea.....then you may want to look back at how hard the Democrat Machine worked to beat a 75 year old Senator in their own party out of his opportunity to be the nominee.

Hillary Clinton's Deplorables

He thought people were deplorable too in his nation

Let's face the facts, politics has changed.  There was a time when supporters campaigned for their candidates without fear of reprisal, without fear of putting out campaign signs only to have them destroyed, and without fear of having damage to their private property simply due to their candidate support.  At that time we expected our candidates to fight it out with words on stage.  They would start out saying what all they would do, and end with how bad their opponent would be if elected.  Those times are over.  

Since the Tea Party supporters and Republicans were targeted by an IRS encouraged by the Obama Administration, it has become clear that we are now a nation of parties.  Democrats have continued using any position of power to intimidate and threaten Republicans and their allies.  In fact, Democrats used their ability to intimidate to ensure Hillary would become the nominee of their own party.   Since Trump's nomination, they have thrown eggs at supporters, torn down signs, and even tried to sabotage vehicles owned by supporters.  

While you can not point to the entire party on the actions of these few supporters, it is natural to expect the leaders of the party to condemn those actions publicly and respect the voters regardless of their choice.  That is no longer the case.  

Hillary Clinton stated that she put over half of Trump supporters in what she calls a "Basket of deplorables".  She then went on to describe us in further derogatory details.  Hillary is considered the top of the Democrat party elite at this time.  By calling Trump supporters, or Republicans, deplorables, she has crossed the line from campaigning against Donald Trump to targeting a group of Americans simply based on their political views.  

Hillary Clinton has made one thing very apparent.  If elected, you can expect she will go after those deplorables.  It can further be expected that her definition of deplorables will expand to cover anyone not agreeing with her agenda.  She has already proven that she feels and appears to be above our laws.  So, if she wants the gloves off and wants to be brutally honest, we deplorables would much rather be grouped together with Trump than to be stacked with her.    Perhaps we should be calling her "Hitler Hillary" since it was once Adolf Hitler who called various people in his country names based on their religious, political, and private views.  Once elected to office, he did everything within his power to persecute those people.  It leaves us wondering if Hillary....apparently capable of campaigning like Hitler did...will consider persecuting Americans that she decides are deplorable simply based on her own views and to the extent that Hitler once did. 

Clinton Simply "Extremely Careless" With Our National Security

First the DOJ puts off any findings until after the election, next Bill Clinton meets privately with the head of the DOJ, and now the FBI releases that there will be no charges against Hillary Clinton.  The quote running around the world is that she was "extremely careless".    You know, basically an "Oops" on Hillary's part.

What exactly does "extremely careless" mean to us, the American people?  Did she put our sons and daughters around the world serving in the military at risk?  Did she maybe ignore emails that might have saved others....Benghazi?  Or maybe, she was just "extremely careless" with promotions within the State Department.  One thing is certain, until someone does a Freedom of Information Request, and who knows how long that process will take, the rest of us in the nation will simply have to wonder what does "extremely careless" mean?

Americans (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, etc.) would do well to remember that  Hillary was part of the administration that was "extremely careless" in releasing the name "Seal Team Six" to the public.  It should further be noted that several high ranking military officials have made "extremely careless" mistakes like this before and been removed from the military and even charged, prosecuted and put in prison.  It's starting to sound like an Obama controlled Washington will do anything to make sure that Hillary has no roadblocks to the White House.

So, do you really want someone who is "extremely careless" having the power of the President with her finger on our nuclear weapons?  Will you trust your children's future in this woman's hands?  It would be "extremely careless" as a voter not to pay close attention now.

Update at 2:45 p.m. - Within a few hours of the above announcement by the FBI, Hillary and Obama are campaigning in North Carolina.  Does anyone not find that suspicious that they are able to plan a campaign event within hours of a public announcement from the FBI?  WAKE UP AMERICA - THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND HILLARY CLINTON THINK YOU ARE ALL FOOLS!  

Asa Hutchinson: Fighting for Arkansas, Not Politics

Update:  I received the following from Asa's office by way of Twitter:

 In reply to Clint Thomas, Th.D.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson ‏@AsaHutchinson  Jun 11

@ClintonSThomas Thanks Clint. You lay out the facts fairly and with balance. Keep writing.

0 retweets1 like

 

 

 

Asa, as he is known around Arkansas, took office in 2015 and in over a little over a year and a half has stirred supporters and opponents almost on equal grounds.   Recently a clash over the Arkansas Highways to raise money without raising taxes had Asa in the spotlight in a positive way for Arkansas.  However, there are other situations such as the Medicaid Expansion plan that has drawn fire from Republicans.  Finally, the same detractors from Asa's record tend to forget that he is setting the Arkansas education system years ahead of most other states with the coding program.

On social media there are tweets and posting saying things like "He's no Republican" and "I'll never vote for him again."  Most of the tweets are centered around Medicaid issues and Arkansas Works, but these people - expressing their free speech as they should be doing - are overlooking some key factors that Asa not only represents, but understands.

First, Asa has been in Washington serving before.  He knows how the government works and he understands how funding to the states works.  He understands that if the federal government supports a program within a state, then often matching federal dollars roll into that state.  The fact of the matter is the Affordable Healthcare Act is here to stay.  While we all would like to see it repealed, the best we can safely hope for is some future modification of the program.  There are no politicians in Washington going to fully support repealing a program that provides healthcare to millions of Americans because that equates to millions of "voters".  Politicians do not work that way no matter what they tell the people.  Asa and many other Arkansas legislators recognize that, at least for now, the Affordable Healthcare Act is here to stay in its current form.  States that have fought back against the federal government in this area have lost money and continue to lose money.  Those states, once they start losing federal tax dollars, then have to look at making Medicaid cuts within their own borders.  Those cuts affect the disabled, the elderly, nursing homes, state institutions, hospitals, clinics, group homes and if that doesn't have your attention enough, ultimately employees from physicians clear to direct care staff working in those settings.  The bottom line is Arkansas, like many other states, needs that federal money to keep programs going.  Asa knew that Washington would cut funds to Arkansas for failing to meet the requirements of the Affordable Healthcare Act.  Asa and others in Little Rock found a way to work with Medicaid expansion, help our people, and keep the state rolling without putting the tax payers out on the block.  People bashing Asa need to stop and remember those annual tax returns they complete - that money you send to Washington, often comes back to Arkansas where it's needed - Asa is just working to make sure we maximize that money.  Does this make him look Anti-Republican?  Sure, in many people's eyes it does - but as stated he is not simply working Arkansas to get votes, he is fighting to help Arkansas.

While the state argued over how to fix the roads, where to get the money, and what happens to the money once it is received, Asa put forth a plan that used excess money, did not raise any taxes, and guaranteed matching federal dollars to the state.   Republicans and Democrats alike should be hard pressed to find anything wrong with Asa's plan here, but once again he did it for the people of Arkansas and not for politics.  He could have sided with a modest tax raise that in all truthfulness would likely have been forgotten by the next election or he could have simply opted to do nothing.  Instead, Asa recognized that safe roads help bring industry, reduce accidents, and increase tourism opportunities for the state.  He focused on improving the state, protecting tax payers, and obtaining federal money to help the program.

Finally, early in Asa's term he pushed for high schools in Arkansas to have "coding" as part of the curriculum offered.  Coding means simply "Computer Coding" and it goes way beyond your desktop computer.  Coding is used in everything from your coffee maker, to your smart phone, to the security systems that control your home.  There is almost no industry today that is not affected in some way by coding.  This push by Asa propelled Arkansas far ahead of other states, and isn't it about time that Arkansas moves ahead?

The author with Asa (I'm the fat one on the right) :)

Make America Great Again....Again

picture source

In 1980, a former California Governor and movie star burst back on the scene for his second run to be the GOP nomination for President with a campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."  First use of Make America Great Again At the time the United States was suffering with a poor economy, high jobless rate, a prolonged Cold War with the Soviet Union, rising gas prices, and an Iran that had taken Americans hostage.  For many, it seemed that America wasn't such a great place after all.  Although President Carter had the poll numbers that indicated he would win the election, a failed hostage rescue, along with other factors seemed to contribute to the win of the unknown, and untested, former California Governor and movie star.  The unknown went on to win not on the GOP nomination against the better judgement of the established GOP elite, but he also won the general election and became President.

Ronald Reagan would go on to survive an assassination attempt and help grow America's economy back into a power-house among nations.   To many, he would become one of the greatest motivators the country has ever seen and to this day he is still called "The Great Communicator."  Unlike any President since, he would make positive and pro-American comments on almost any situation from the need to defeat the Soviets, to the need for a strong family as the American backbone.  While there will always be different opinions about exactly what Reagan did right and what he did wrong, few can argue that his campaign slogan became a driving force behind the 1980's boom.

The slogan originated, perhaps because until that time nobody wanted to ever admit that America might not be as great as it once was.  It has become the cornerstone of dozens of political campaigns since.  It's no wonder that Donald Trump, the presumed nominee for the 2016 GOP presidential candidate, would latch onto Reagan's famous slogan.  Once again "Make America Great Again" is being splashed across the world.  This time, unlike in Reagan's time, social media, websites, text, and community journalism around the world is picking up the slogan.  For, or against him, Trump has made the slogan almost seem like his own.  It's apparent to anyone paying attention, that the slogan "Make America Great Again" is back....again.

Some things the reader may want to keep in mind as we rapidly approach the general election.  First, like Reagan, Trump is also an outsider to Washington politics.  Both had ties to people in Washington, but neither one had ever held a Washington insider job before.  The second thing to keep in mind is that both had their share of radio and television time before running.  In other words both are able to reach out to the general population and communicate.  While many may say Trump is politically incorrect, those same people would do well to remember that without social media quoting everything he said each second of the day that Reagan was also politically incorrect on a lot of things.   Finally, both Reagan and Trump were not well liked by the GOP top tier.  In other words, they were not the party favorite for the nomination.  That one thing they share alone may be enough to push Trump into the White House, because the voters seem to want Washington outsiders who care more about America than about looking good on the news while making their party grow.

Republicans Jump to Attack......Someone?

News of Justice Scalia's death had barely reached the world when Republicans in Congress began voicing their plans to block the President's nomination to the court.    Remember, at this point President Obama had not even commented on who, when, or if he might nominate someone before leaving office next year.  Instead of waiting to see what the President said, or who he nominated, Republicans forced the cart out onto the road without the donkey, so to speak, in what is becoming a more routine and dangerous practice by both parties.

Here are the facts:  Justice Scalia was nominated by President Reagan.  Most people feel that he was a conservative judge who protected the second amendment and first amendment.  He was 79 years old and could have easily passed away at anytime - any of us could.  We have no way of knowing for sure who the next President will be and a nomination from a new, unknown and untested, President could be more dangerous than a nomination from Obama.  Obama faces a battle with Congress in that Republicans control it.  Obama also has the advantage of having several Democrat allies in Congress; however, those Democrat allies are very much aware that Obama will leave office and leave them to fight their own reelection campaigns within the next year.  Finally, it is the responsibility of the President to nominate a replacement and it is the responsibility of the Congress to review that nomination.

With the above facts in mind, it seems a little hypocritical for the Republicans to be doing two things.  First, they are screaming about a nomination that has not even been made yet.   Second, they are screaming that a President who they have hounded for overstepping the Constitution will in all likelihood follow the Constitution on this matter.  Republicans and Democrats are constantly doing something that many people in this nation have grown extremely tired of and that is put the party ahead of the country.

To be blunt, if the President said that milk is good for you, Republicans would say that it's not good for people who are lactose intolerant.  If Republicans said we should eat beef, Democrats would say that beef is bad for you and you should only eat chicken.  We live in a country where the loyalty has been drawn away from the country and to specific parties instead, and that is a very dangerous path to go down.  In Germany during the 1930s, the people were encouraged to put their loyalty into a party.  The people did and the result was Nazi Germany rose.  The party replaced the flag with their party flag, symbols were replaced with party symbols, and views were only allowed which coincided with the party views.  We can not allow the United States to go down that path.

Republicans need to sit back and wait.  Watch and see what nominee the President puts forward.  Once the nominee comes on the floor, then they can question, review previous rulings, and determine what is the best avenue of action.  By screaming that they would block the President's nomination before he even made it, they essentially made themselves look like a bunch of crying babies in a playpen screaming they do not want what is lunch before even being told what is for lunch.  But more importantly than that, they showed the nation that the party comes before the good of the nation, and that is something that should raise a red flag to all of us, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike.

Obama Misses the Opportunity....Again.

There is an old saying, "When opportunity knocks, answer the door."  Unfortunately, our friends in Iran had a golden opportunity knock on their door,  but instead of answering the door, they complained of the noise.   Specifically ten U.S. sailors had their disabled boat drift into Iranian waters (at least that's the story we get).  Iran could have taken this opportunity to show the world a compassionate Iran by making the incident a rescue and assist mission.  Instead, they filmed U.S. sailors with their hands over their heads as the Iranian Guard boarded the boat.  Later they would show this film along with a U.S. sailor explaining how they "drifted" into Iranian waters on the state television shows.  In other words, they showed how bad the U.S. is to their people and how the Iranian Guard captured the intruders.

While the Pentagon scrambled to get the story out and take appropriate actions to get the sailors back, President Obama stuck to his planned State of the Union address.  In this address he talked about how the Iranian agreement has halted Iran from getting nuclear weapons.  He also talked about how we have prevented another war - although nobody is really sure what war he is talking about- and how the world worked together to develop the deal with Iran.  The President made no mention that the Iranian Guard took U.S. sailors at gun point, posted their pictures as captives on the state-run news station, and filmed one of them basically confessing to crossing into Iranian waters.  Those listening to the President's speech after watching the news must have been left wondering if Obama missed the latest briefing.

In truth, it's highly unlikely the President missed a briefing.  It's more likely that he knows even more than we do in the general public about the incident.  The fact is, the incident did not fit neatly into Obama's view of the world.  The President views the world as a place where Iran will never get the bomb because of the treaty, and a world where some unknown war has been prevented because of the Administration's fabulous work in Iran.  The facts just don't fit into his ideology.

The point is Iran has been hostile against the United States since the Carter Administration.  It is likely no coincidence that the hostages held in Iran were released shortly after President Reagan was sworn into office.  Each President since Carter has had to deal with Iran, and not in a positive way.  Iran has burned U.S. flags in the streets, taken our citizens captive, sworn to destroy our ally Israel, allowed and promoted "Death to America" chants, worked toward a nuclear capability, and now taken ten U.S. sailors on a small disabled boat hostage before releasing them.  These are not the actions of a country that deserves to be praised for a Nuclear Treaty - well, unless we are wanting to praise the treaty just to praise the Obama Administration.  The fact is, Obama has missed the point of his job as President.  He is to protect Americans and uphold the U.S. Constitution (we won't even go there) and he has continued to fail time-and-time again.  It's fine if he wants to talk positively about his treaty - a treaty that many in the U.S. and around the world feels is a failure- but to give a State of the Union address without even mentioning the ten sailors was a huge missed opportunity.  At the least, the President could have mentioned them and asked for prayers for their safe return as the military worked to bring them back, but he did not.  Once again, the President misses a key point.  Instead of building up Americans and supporting the country that elected him, he allowed our enemies to look good.  Both the Iranians and the President had an opportunity knocking on the door and they both ignored it.