THE CLOWN CAR IS PICKING UP SPEED......

Leader of the Pack......

You know, I just cannot understand the Republicans... especially, the Tea party flavor of the month.... whoever that might be.  I have to hand it to them - the Tea Party, though....  Their electoral saber-rattling has pushed the Republican Party to a place where Sainted Ronald Reagan could not get the nomination against quality candidates like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.  Between isolationist Islamophobia, fear of refugees, tax cuts for the rich and program cuts for the poor, and bombastic rhetoric about sending troops all over creation to express American "Exceptionalism" leading to giant deficits, these folks are dangerous.  Add to that, each candidate seems to be a flat-earth, science-denying, beltway driven NRA members (and apologists)... and women's health issue opponents.  Viewing the dialogue coming from the Republican lineup, it seems that each is trying to out-flank the other to the right... and the further that they go, the more that they leave the majority of the electorate behind.  Risky business.....

As I write this, we are on the verge of the third Republican debate.  Tonight we may witness the destruction of the "wall" of cooperation and camaraderie that existed between the front runner, Donald Trump and the candidate presently surging in the Iowa polls, Ted Cruz.  Both would build a wall to keep out dark-skinned Mexicans and other Latin Americans (only Trump said that he would make Mexico pay for it....  Why not Panama, Costa Rico, Columbia and the others pay their fair share?) Cruz (born in Canada although Trump hinted today that he was really born in Cuba)... has not indicated where the cash would be taken from - maybe food stamps?????   Certainly not from tax cuts for the rich. In any case, these two are now head to head in Iowa... and Trump doesn't much like it claiming that Cruz doesn't have the mental capacity or the ability to bring people together.... evidenced by his virtual expulsion from the Republican Senate caucus.  Trump says that he lacks vision and maturity too.....  and cannot be trusted as Commander - in - Chief.....  because he is a "maniac." After all, he did say that he would bomb Isis until the sand glowed in the dark!  But, of course, Trump - brilliant, calm, cool, collected, and in control - can be trusted with his finger on the nuclear button!  Are we really in "wonderland?"  And, who in this crowd is the Mad Hatter?  Trump?  Or, could it be Ben Carson?  Hmmmmm. The real question might be, is politics Brain surgery????? And does Trump need a really good hair cut???

Take your giggle pick!  

Carson had a momentary run up to the front of the line against Trump...  and then went on his book tour to promote his biography.  He thought that it might serve his presidential ambition to have his life story told with all of its flaws, near-death experiences, violence turned compassion (notice that he still wields a "knife").  Oops...  Biographies are meant to be a factual account of one's life.....  Ok, so maybe with some downplaying of the negative and emphasis on the positive.  His, it looks like, is a fictional novel.....  The more he moved around the nation on the book tour and spoke about his violent backstory, the lower his poll data....  Today, he announced that is Trump leaves the party due to the equivalent of "insider trading", he will too!  Now, that might be a proper Third Party ticket - Trump and Carson.  Woo-hoo.... And, the question remains - is the Republican Establishment really plotting a "deadlocked" convention so that their nominee is selected in the old fashioned way - is some smoke-filled (or whiskey-fueled) room by a bunch of Beltway Bosses who will "select" the "right candidate" for the Republican Party?

And, you ask, what is this "insider trading"?  It seems that the inner circle of the Republican Party is making plans to deny Trump (and maybe Cruz and others) the ability to gain the nomination of the Party through the Primary Election process.  In other words, months of battles and delegate fights - some won, some lost - and gaining some delegates along the way could result in the "party elders" pulling the run out from under the evident candidate, using their "super delegates" to do it.  With this many candidates in the field, it seems at least plausible that not one candidate would have enough elected delegates to secure the nomination!  You ask, how could that happen?  Well..... for the Rs, there are  3 unpledged delegates in each state. That makes 150.  Even if they choose to pledge their support to one candidate or another, they are not bound by law or party rules to cast their vote that way.  Even the elected delegates, pledged to a particular candidate, are only required to vote for that candidate on the first ballot. 1236 votes are needed to carry the nomination which may or may not include the 150 unpledged delegates.  If no one arrives at the Convention with 1236 or more - some in winner-take-all states and some from proportional states, then the convention could be brokered.  Both Trump and Carson have said that if the "winner" of the primaries does not become the nominee, that they will break from the Party....  Showdown at the OK Corral? 

So, lets re-cap.....   

FOREIGN POLICY:
       1.  We have the biggest stick, so we play follow the leader - us - or we will bomb you into dust!
       2.  Keep the hell out, especially if you are not a christian.... or you are a refugee seeking safety
from terrorism.  You should go back and fight!!!!  Even the 5-year olds should be turned back
(Chris Christie).  (How Christian of you Chris...).

DOMESTIC POLICY:
       1. Keep out or we will bomb you into dust!
       2. A giant wall at the Mexican border will result in long-term jobs! And, that's why we oppose any increase in the Minimum wage...  those new jobs will cost the taxpayers plenty!!!  And, Mexico won't pay for THAT. So, just work longer and skip vacation.
      3. Get rid of health care, cut medicare, medicaid, and social security - greedy bastards!  Hey, if

you want to make more money, then work longer (Jeb Bush.... remember, he can FIX IT...huh?)
      4. Deport Muslims, Mexicans, and anyone else other than us who does not belong here. Maybe

just everyone who comes from an "M" country! Look at how many jobs will be created for           people employed gathering all of  those millions of folks to be loaded on buses going home...
      5. Cut taxes on the wealthy and increase spending on the military - Yahoo!  Must protect the 

1per-centers who pay for all of our campaigns, after all.
      6. The military needs more cash!  In 2011 we only spent more than the next biggest 13 national

military budgets combined!  Hey, more means more....  Just ask Halliburton..... or, Trump.
      7. Eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood altogether, in spite of the fact that only a small

percent of their funding goes for contraception and abortion services.  And, Roe vs. Wade? Forget about that ancient history.....   we will make sure that abortion is either gone or unavailable even in cases or rape and incest!  Life is life!  So what if the Mom dies....  or carries an incestuous child to term.  Wouldn't you want to be both Mom and sister?

I could go on and on....  but this CLOWN CAR does just fine on its own.....  All will be revealed in due course over the months ahead.....  Lets see where this ride takes us.... on which roads.... and to which destinations....   More later....

Bobby J