
New Hampshire voters handed stunning victories to the two outsiders: Trump and Sanders.
Donald Trump won 36% of the GOP vote, followed by Kasich at 16%, and then the three also-ran Amigos- Canadian-born Cruz, Bush Jr. and Robatic Rubio- all at 11%.
On the Democratic side, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders humiliated Hillary Clinton by defeating her 60% to 39%.
I love the fact that the majority of so-called political experts and pundits on both the left and right in both the US and Canada- are stumped and stupefied over the success of the Trumpster and the raging septuagenarian socialistic Sanders, the junior senator from small town-state Vermont. These elitist lame stream commentators and analysts and even the long time political Democratic and GOP hacks are positively verklempt over the unpredictable political success of these two characters.
Trump’s reality TV show run for the presidency was supposed to have fizzled months ago. The experts had the GOP coalescing behind the heavily-funded and favored Jeb Bush or the younger and more immigrant-friendly, youthful and telegenic Marco Rubio.
But the Jebster, the silver spoon-fed Waspy preppie since birth, the apple of Papa George’s eye, was ironically, just not and will never be ready for prime time. In the debates, the Jebster came across as boring, weak and indecisive, burdened down by his tight-assed New England upbringing and his brother George’s shoot from the hip, overly militaristic and economically unsustainable, deficit-ridden Texas cowboy presidency.
Rubio is just a poor man’s middle of the road Cuban Mitt Romney. Caught in the vortex of the Hobbesian GOP’s highly primal primary politics. Which is short, brutish, no holds-barred, and down and dirty. One day Rubio is for legitimizing the illegal immigrants. The next day, bowing to the anti-immigrant GOP right wing, he is for deporting most of them out of the country. In the most recent publicly televised New Hampshire debate, Rubio shot himself in both feet as he robotically repeated his talking points, twice in one pathetic response much to the distress of his followers.
The problem for Rubio, Cruz, Christie and all the other pretenders to the GOP throne, is that none of these political dudes appear comfortable in their own skin. They all appear, weak, indecisive. Tacking one way, then the other, as the always shifting political winds.
Very much like the now reviled and weakened President Barack Obama. President Barry started with such “hope” and promise. But he has been exposed as the weakest, the most obsequious and the sorriest US president in the last century. He talks and talks and talks. But on the world stage, he carries a very limp stick.
Barry, the leader of the most powerful country in the world, is openly mocked by the thuggish Putin, Arab oil sheiks, and Iranian mullahs. To whom Prez Barry continually prostrates himself. Kissing their rings and their behinds. Constantly seeking their approval as he unsuccessfully sought, throughout his life, the approval of his distant Kenyan father, who had abandoned him at an early age.
Obama will be forever be associated with the pussy-whipped slogan, “leading from behind”.
His disappearing “red line in the Mideast sand on Syria”, was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. To mix Mideast metaphors.
From that time forth, Putin jumped in and overshadowed him. The Iranian mullahs mocked him. And Barry’s key allies in Europe, the Mideast (Israel), Asia ( Japan) and South Asia ( India) began distancing themselves from him and America.
The result- a horrible and embarrassing near fatal blow to America’s confidence and national self-esteem, both domestically and internationally.
On the domestic front, the economy has benefited the wealthy on Wall Street in New York in the east and the Silicon internet-based bazillionaires on the west coast. But the large American middle class of Middle America- not so much. And angry Middle Americans blame Obama and the political elites from both parties for their financially stagnant lives.
The pussy-whipping of Obama, both literally at home and abroad and American middle class economic stagnation are the major reasons for the rise of Trump and Sanders.
As the brilliant Ross Douthat , argued recently in Sunday’s New York Times, Americans- young, old, white, male, female and of color, want America to be great again. They are tired of settling for mediocrity. Of just getting by. They want to prosper. They want a better financial and economic future for themselves and their children. They want to have a shot at what Trump has- and is promising. A stronger and more competitive America. Which is not afraid to compete and beat China, Japan and Germany on the economic front. And is not afraid to stand up for American values both at home and abroad. And to exercise its military power and will against its enemies, ie Russia and Iran.
As for the Democrats. Sanders genuinely believes that government can be a force for good and can uplift all Americans, beyond mediocrity to greatness. Sanders has captured the youth vote, (both women and men) with his call for massive change. For a revolution. Free public college tuition. Universal, single-payer, publicly-run, affordable, government-controlled health care. The Canadian model.
And like Trump, Sanders has attacked the Wall Street and Silicon elites who appear to be prospering at the expense of hard-working average Americans.
The big story in New Hampshire and in these primaries in general, is that the under 45 year old Democratic men and women are flocking to Sanders and have abandoned the Hillary. And for many good reasons.
These young and middle-aged Democrats see Clinton as “Yesterday’s Woman”. A tired, old and fat congenital liar and prevaricator. Scandals, lies and deceptions are embedded in her DNA. “Whitewater, Benghazi, destruction of her national security/private emails, Slick Willy selling access to Secretary of State Hillary, for millions of dollars- Hillary sucking Wall Street’s teat- the list goes on and on and on- with no end in sight. Until Sanders drives a stake in the primaries- once and for all- through Clinton’s cold-hearted chest.
Young Democratic women also see Clinton as no advocate for women or women’s rights. Instead theyview her as a power-hungry Lady Macbeth, tainted by the blood of publicly humiliating and destroying scores of vulnerable and innocent women preyed on by her sexual predator of her husband.
I predict a Trump/Sanders fight to the death. And a Trump White House in 2017.
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