Saying that Donald Trump isn’t a constitutional conservative is understatement. Calling Trump a despicable man who’s only interested in himself is totally justifiable, especially in light of this video:
DONALD TRUMP: In life, you have a thing called condemnation and cities have a right to condemn for the good of the city, whether it’s New York, whether it’s Los Angeles, whether it’s any other place. Atlantic City is one of those places and it’s got the right to condemn.
DANA BERLINER: In the 1990s, Donald Trump was behind an outrageous case of eminent domain abuse. Vera Coking was an elderly widow who lived in her home alongside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. She bought that home and Donald Trump wanted Vera’s home so he could build parking for his casino across the street.
TRUMP: Everyone coming into Atlantic City sees that property and it’s not fair to Atlantic City and the people. They’re staring at this terrible house instead of staring at beautiful fountains and beautiful other things that would be good.
JOHN STOSSEL: You’re bullying these people out…
TRUMP: Excuse me. That’s wrong. For you to use the word bully is very unfair. This is a government case. This is not a Donald Trump…
STOSSEL: Yes, it’s Donald Trump. It’s you and your cronies in government working together.
TRUMP: For you to call these people cronies is very unfair. You’re calling good public servants cronies.
BERLINER: An unaccountable state agency tried to condemn Vera Coking’s property and transfer it to Donald Trump. He convinced the government officials to use their eminent domain power to take Vera’s home. This was public power but it was used for private gain.
Eventually, a case like this made its way to the Supreme Court. We know it as Kelo v. New London. The Rehnquist Court sided with the developers. An entire neighborhood was demolished, supposedly to build a shopping mall. After the ruling, though, the development never happened. An entire neighborhood was destroyed for nothing. Here’s more to the Trump-Stossel fight:
STOSSEL: Basic to freedom is that if you own something, it’s yours. The government doesn’t just come and take it away…
TRUMP: Do you want to live in a city where you can’t build schools? Do you want to live in a city where you can’t build roads or highways or have access to hospitals? Condemnation is a necessary evil.
STOSSEL: But you’re not talking about a hospital. You’re talking about a building that a rich guy finds ugly.
This is proof that Trump is no more a constitutional conservative than Hillary Clinton.
What’s disgusting is the fact that otherwise level-headed Republicans are actually buying Trump’s schtick. They’re saying that he’s a fighter. They’re partially right. Trump can always be counted on to fight for the things that interest Trump. Trump’s hardline statements against illegal immigration are part of a charade that’s soon to be exposed. Trump is, putting it charitably, a temporary border hawk. That’ll become apparent when the opposition research on Trump shows how his properties were built with illegal immigrants.
Donald Trump is no more a conservative than Hillary is. In fact, Trump has contributed to her campaigns in the past. He’s also contributed to the Clinton Foundation.
Although you may be correct, I don’t think comparing Trump to Hillary is the correct syllogism. That’s at best a race to the bottom. At least give Trump credit for saying the right things now, and for annoying the dickens out of both the MSM and GOP “establishment,” even if past actions make him less than credible. Hillary isn’t even doing that much; she’s trying to get to the left of Bernie Sanders.
I won’t give Trump credit for saying the right things now because he’s saying those things to help Hillary get elected later. Trump isn’t a real Republican. He supports the Kelo v. New London ruling that essentially ended private property rights. When he’s contributed to political campaigns, 54% of those contributions went to Democrats, including Harry Reid & Hillary Clinton. He’s contributed to the Clinton Foundation. His properties were built with illegal aliens.
He’s a liberal who’s doing this to promote himself. That’s despicable beyond belief.
I think I see your point. You think Trump is damaging the Republican brand, and you could be right. As for his motivations, I agree it has far more to do with his promoting his own brand recognition than any ideology, and mostly for entertainment. Fortunately I don’t think he has a real chance at the nomination and maybe won’t even make the cutoff to enter the debates.
The one thing I wish would rub off on the other candidates, though, is the ability to say things that annoy the media but sound to the public like the plain-spoken truth. Scott Walker has some of that.
In 2004 Donald Trump was on CNN with Wolf Blitzer and said that he identifies more as a Democrat!!! more as a Democrat?
He also claimed that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.
see
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/21/le.00.html
Trumps also says is friends with Chuck Schummer, attended Chelsea’s wedding, has donated CASH to Hillary’s election campaigns and the Clinton Global Scandal Innitiative.
He is a total fraud.
I believe he is being paid (or will be rewarded later by the Clinton’s) to be the new Ross Perot. Donald Trump has divided what little hope we had and is leading us down the path to a Clinton victory.
Here is Mark Levin dissecting Trump’s financial support of the Democrats. Right Scoop on Apr 15, 2011
Listen to AUDIO at
http://therightscoop.com/levin-rips-donald-trump-to-shreds/
He’s hurting Republicans in the sense that his words will eventually get wrapped around our nominee’s neck.
My only concern about Trump’s words being “wrapped around…” is alleviated by the knowledge that the Democrats and MSM are going to be 100% negative in their campaigning- it’s all they’ve got- and where they can’t cite actual “wrong” issue positions of the candidate, they will use guilt by association, and where they can’t do that they will just make $%^! up. Let them expend that effort on somebody the GOP won’t put up anyway. Trump as stalking horse.
The Republican brand is dead. They will never win the White House or the Minnesota Governor’s office with the RINOs in charge. and I think Wisconsin will go back to the crappy blue state it was before given the RINOs in charge now.
Gary - It surprises me. We agree. Trump at heart is a developer.
Developers ARE Crabgrass.
And you appear to agree. Trump-wise, if not otherwise.
Dead? RINO RINO RINO!!
Most of the time the people who call Republicans RINOS are, in fact, NOT Republicans (which makes them the real rinos). They (the real rinos) usually hate the Republican Party because Republicans win elections and the Libertarian/Tea Party loses time and time again.
If anything is dead it is the Tea Party Libertarian Alliance which is even less popular than Obama!
Now I am not saying the Tea People, or that Glenn Beck and Palin (and whoever ect.. ad naseum) are wrong. In many cases they are absolutely correct. It’s just that they are only popular amongst thier own kind.
Anyway, Donald Trump should be re-named the TOXIC REVENGER because that is what he has become. He was widely despised and rejected by the Republican base in 2008 and now he seeks revenge so he is trying to poison the process with Toxic rhetoric.
Carpenter:
I think you’re wrong about the Tea Party being dead.
The Tea Party was developed because people saw government with horrible rules destroying health care, schools, businesses. There is a large percentage of the population (and a lot of it believes they are democrats or independents that believe in the things that the Tea Party stands for). The biggest problem with The Rino’s which you complain about is when the leaders of the House or Senate (both on a national level or state level) will make a deal just to get something signed which if you had a Republican they wouldn’t be making that horrible deal to begin with.
The most important thing is we nominate in 2016 a Republican who will run on the Tea Party agenda and be trusted to show that he or she will act on it. In that sense it’s not Donald Trump.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN