This has been a very unusual Republican primary season, to say the least.  This time around, we have seen a larger pool of Republican candidates than we normally see.  The campaigning seemed to start earlier, and unless my impression is mistaken, the number of candidates to date has not shrunk as quickly as it has in years past.  So far, the only candidates who have dropped out are Lindsey Graham and George Pataki.  Graham’s problem was he never managed to rise above 0% support.  As for Pataki, most people never even knew he was running, and never noticed when he dropped out.  Then there’s Donald Trump.  When he announced his candidacy in Jun, I was sitting in jury duty, so I got a chance to hear his speech live.  I thought his remarks about Mexicans would doom him.  I was wrong.  Like most members of the media, as Trump continued to make non-PC remarks, I expected his sudden popularity to evaporate.  It did not. (NOTE – I use the commonly understood definition of “PC .”  Rather than “political correctness” my definition if PC is “political cowardice.”)  Every Trump comment that caused the media to predict his political demise only made Trump stronger.  For a long time, I wasn’t convinced that Trump really wanted to be President.  I thought he was just trying to raise issues that would not otherwise be raised.  I’ve changed my mind.  Now, I’m convinced that Trump thinks he can win and is in it to win.  Trump’s popularity is unprecedented, but not surprising, at least not to me.  The Republican Party is controlled by the Establishment wing.  The Establishment is just what the name suggests.  It represents the status quo, the system, what Ted Cruz calls “the Washington Cartel.”  The Establishment Republicans are content to nominate another good loser who will stand up, smile and go out of his way not to offend anybody, all the time trying to imitate the Democrat candidate.  They say that’s the only candidate who can win, and apparently haven’t noticed that these candidates never win.  Simply put, the Establishment has no problem with the Welfare State, as long as it gets to run the Welfare State.  Well, in 2016 people are fed up.  We are not about to accept another good loser, and that accounts for the popularity of Trump.

That said, I am not a Trump supporter.  Make no mistake, if Trump is the candidate, I will go out and work hard to get him elected.  Notice that there is no one from the Establishment who will say the same about Trump, or any conservative.  That’s the problem.  Conservatives will vote for the good losers when they are nominated, but the Establishment doesn’t believe that reciprocity is necessary.  My problem with Trump is not that he can’t win, but rather what will happen if he does win.  It’s fine to be a Maverick candidate, but the object of this exercise isn’t simply to elect a candidate, but to get control of the runaway government, reverse the unconstitutional actions of Il Duce Obama, grow the economy, build up the military and protect us from the threat of terrorism.  In order to do all those things, the next President needs some knowledge about how Washington works, even if we all agree that we don’t like the way it works.  And above all, the next President is going to have to work with a Congress which is not about to bend over and grab its ankles the way it does for Il Duce.  This Summer I had the privilege of taking a continuing education course on separation of powers taught by Justice Scalia.  Scalia was asked about the remedy for Obama’s extra-constitutional actions.  While skillfully avoiding getting enmeshed in politics, what Justice Scalia said was sobering.  He said that the Constitution is designed to give Congress the power to control the Executive, but that, if the Congress refuses to use the power that it has, you can’t expect the courts to fix the problem.  I guarantee that if Donald Trump, or any conservative, is elected President, the Congress will remember the powers vested in it by the Constitution.  That is why I am not convinced that Donald Trump will be able to carry out the policies he supports.  For my money, Ted Cruz has the correct combination of knowledge of and respect for the law, dedication to his principles and experience with the workings of the government necessary to get the job done.  Only time will tell.