Yesterday, I helped man my Caroline County GOP committee’s booth at the Harvest Festival in Bowling Green, Va. There were tens of thousands of people in town and it was one of the most interesting festivals I’ve been to in Virginia. What astonished me was that 95 out of 100 people at that fair were rabid Trump supporters.
Jeff Sili, our committee Chairman, brought about a hundred yard signs, which were gone in an hour. Virginia Delegate Margaret Ransone showed up and saved the day with another hundred signs or so. We were handing them out as fast as we could put them together. Thousands of people walking around the festival were carrying Trump/Pence yard signs and bumper stickers, or wearing Trump lapel stickers. One gentlemen was looking for a Trump button. We didn’t have any, so I gave him the one I was wearing.
Usually, when I run booths at fairs or events, I’m always walking around my table, looking for people to talk to, to draw into conversation. Yesterday, I was able to sit behind a table as thousands stopped at our GOP Committee booth to tell us that they were voting for Trump and how much they loved Trump; how furious they were with the establishments and how much they despised Hillary.
I had at least a dozen independents ask me to help them find a rationale to vote for Donald Trump, after the video made him seem so creepy. They recognized that Hillary Clinton is a greater evil and were looking for any rationalization or justification to pull the lever for Trump to save the country from Clinton. All I could tell them is to ignore all the campaign promises they’ve heard and to decide whether they want Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in charge of our military and foreign policy, of our federal departments and bureaucracy, and of appointments for federal departments and courts.
I look at the polls and it is clear that Donald Trump is going to lose, though I do not believe he’ll lose as badly as the polls predict. However, in rural America – people are fed up with their government. They want to be proud of their country again. They want good jobs again. They want an American culture to rise from the ashes of multiculturalism and to resonate with all the wonderful immigrants, fleeing their old countries and cultures, as they enter the gates of that shining city on a hill.
Unfortunately, it would appear as if our cities and the sheer number of government employees, subsidy recipients and city dwellers out number what appears to be a large and struggling minority of patriotic, red-blooded Americans. Or else, the polls are wrong.
We are witnessing a great cultural upheaval in America that will not end with this election. It would behoove the Republican Party to reach out to these Americans and to offer them real, meaningful, change. Cut through their prejudices and anger with an optimistic, pro-American agenda. We must overlook much of the ignorance in this country and, instead of despising the American People for failing to understand how governments and economies work, seek to explain to them the realities of the system and to let them know what they can do to help make America great again.
We can save this country, but first we must recognize that, as a party, we’ve long since abandoned “the people”. We no longer reach out to them and include them in our politics; depending, instead, on campaign advertisements and divisiveness to turn our supporters out to the polls. That has got to stop. We need to recommit ourselves to working directly with the people of this country and to offering them real change through meaningful legislation and public policy.
61 comments
You rightwingerdingers have a choice ahead of you. After Trump’s crushing defeat, at least three factions of the party will struggle for control:
— ideologues led by Ryan,
— an establishment embodied by former presidents
George HW and George W Bush (neither of whom endorsed Trump), and
— a
so-called “Breitbart wing”, led by Steve Bannon of the rightwing news network, now chief executive of the Trump campaign.
What a ridiculous article. 95 out of a 100 are rabid Trump supporters, but let’s ignore them, they don’t count, they are just ignorant rural hicks and rednecks that want free signs.
Ya know The Little People that don’t understand gov’t and economy, but wow, we can teach them! And Golly Wally, when you poll 1,000 democrats to 100 republicans, yeah, you might have some bad polling going on.
Did you see this in Caroline County?
https://youtu.be/DsmEu-Ia3Oc
Umm, your candidate actively courts people who believe there is a unified effort by the male human beings of planet earth to dominate and disenfranchise all females. Would you like to see some video of what these crazy ass people say ?
Steven, do you think Garett will be ok?
I don’t know. I certainly hope so. He’s a great candidate and would make an excellent Congressman.
I don’t concede that The Donald will lose, at all. Even with the demwit over-sampled polls, a Lame Stream Media throwing everything including the kitchen sink at The Donald while ignoring the corruption oozing from the Wikileaks emails, and a GOP elite intent on his destruction, The Donald is still in the game and fighting harder than ever. The excitement, which you rightly pointed out, is all on The Donald’s side and if he can mop the floor with Hillary in the next debate like he did in the second, I think he will be unstoppable.
Well all I can say is you’ve got my vote, and if Trump wins I hope he earns it. I didn’t support Trump, I wanted Cruz or a fiscal conservative to win, I don’t care about a lot of the issues that drive Trump voters. I’m not voting for Trump to vote against Clinton, I just don’t vote like that, I’m voting for Trump to give Trump and his supporters a chance to make good on all their rhetoric. Screw it up and I can assure you that you won’t have it next time.
I doubt The Donald could be as good as the GOP leadership in the screwing department. They have been screwing us since they gained control of Congress and I can assure you, they will probably maintain control through this election. Ain’t that a peach?
He has less support in the more populated urban areas, as well as low support in the suburbs. But you never know.
Looks like more than just rural country bumpkins are voting for Trump.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/10/5000-hindu-americans-turn-see-donald-trump-new-jersey-video/
Preface this by saying I’m not a big fan of Trump, but I am VERY reluctantly voting for him.
I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that Trump is probably going to lose this race and that we are going to end up having Clinton as President. I really have no point in writing this post except to consider what that’s going to be like.
Assuming Republicans keep both Houses of Congress, which is probably a reasonable thing to believe, and we have Clinton as President, can you imagine that ? She’s very unpopular even with her own party, and she’s not going to be very popular with Congress either, but I would imagine she’ll be somewhat easier for them to work with because she’s not as much of an idealist, she’ll probably want to actually accomplish something instead of just sitting in the oval office being “right” all day.
But can you imagine the fighting that will go on ? Without a house of Congress Democrats will be more dependent on the Supreme Court to get their way than ever, and they’ll rely even more on support in the press. Just think what that is going to do to those two institutions. Republicans have kicked the Supreme Court can down the road, but if Clinton wins then she’s going to nominate ideological leftists to the Supreme Court, you can count on that, she’ll be under a lot of pressure from Democrats who see that as the only way to get their way.
Because they only have control the executive branch they will push for more and more power in that branch of government, more executive orders, etc. Gone will be the days when the President’s job was to implement and oversee the laws of this country, the President will instead be at odds with Congress every step of the way, it will be a field day for people who want to consolidate power under the office of the President.
And the Press. Wow. Need we even talk about it. During the Obama administration we’ve seen unprecedented support for Democrats from the press. Not being able to get what they want through the legislative process the press has basically given up on all appearances of objectivity and become a mouthpiece for the Democratic party, and it’ll only get worse if Clinton wins. When Democrats held parts of the legislature and we had a Republican President they portrayed Congress as an important check to Presidential power, but with the situation reversed the press is going to drone on forever about an “obstructionist Congress” that “can’t get anything done”.
It’s hard to imagine the country becoming even more polarized than it already is, but its also hard to imagine it becoming less polarized.
Imagine what will happen too if the economy goes south in a big way, which seems very possible. You’ll have leftist blaming Congress for obstruction, Republicans blaming Democrats for 8+ years of leftist policies, and on and on.
Meanwhile, with a stalemate, the ACA law will continue to fall apart, health care costs continue to rise, debt continue to grow, tuition costs continue to soar, and the economy will continue to take a backseat to the leftist social agenda.
Reluctant votes from incorrect forecasters count as well.
Contributors to Drift seem ruffled by this article.
They’re miffed that you’re actually making them have to go find a little person to talk to — unlike Brodie, you wouldn’t catch them anywhere near a GOP tent at a public event. (Well, maybe at a cup or point-to-point, and the GOP tent would not be marked as such, or distribute pedestrian collateral to the watching class.)
Yeah, that’s not surprising. They are getting really excited by the possibility that Trump will lose.
SBT, I’d like to believe you, but we’ve been told the same thing for the past two presidential election cycles… the Republican candidate is doing better than what the polls indicate.
Well, it was certainly true in the 2013 and 2014 gubernatorial and senate races. Polls had the R. candidates down so much and the pundits decided it was unwinnable, and the establishment Rep. party gave up and pulled out funding, and then we lost narrowing. In the case of the AG’s race, by fewer than 1K votes.
Around the world there have been surprises on the right. Brexit being the most striking, people were totally surprised about that one if they watched the polls.
Then there’s Brat vs Cantor. Those polls were a cluster.
Even though Cooch lost that was much closer than people thought it would be, so much so that it set off a lot of bickering about what could have been.
Not saying Trump is going to win, I really don’t think he will, but I think he’ll do better than a lot of people think he will.
He will win because the Trump voters are not your usual Republican surrender monkeys. “Trump down in polls? F- the Polls, I’m voting for him anyway.”
The peasants are indeed revolting, just not in the same way the elites are used to seeing them.
I’m not arguing that the polls are wrong, I’m merely pointing out that in rural America the enthusiasm for Trump is overwhelming.
I’m disappointed by the entire process.
It has been 8 years, and we still have not had a say in the biggest health care change ever made in this country. Now if Clinton wins it’ll be another 4, 8, 12 ? Who even knows how many years it will be before we finally have a say. The ACA law was passed on a party line vote and we have never had a chance to put our 2 cents in, it was forced on us, and we’re forced now to live with it, and one wonders if we will ever have a chance to have our voices heard.
It doesn’t feel like Democracy anymore, it feels like being told what to do by people far away all the time. It feels like people forcing us to eat &^%$, that’s what it feels like.
I appreciate the views in this article and can sense the same type of thing in people I talk to around Winchester in Frederick County. The media is not covering or telling the same story as we’re seeing with our own eyes as far as the true level of support for Mr. Trump. I hope people will turn out in big numbers to save our country and prove big media and the big pollsters absolutely wrong.
Whether Trump wins or loses, the anger the people feel will not go away. It’s been a long time building and will be a long time dissipating.
Interesting that a loss is conceded!
That’s just his style and a constant refrain in everything he writes — it’s what you get from the #nevers and the libertarians, fortunately they are few in number and followers of the Barbara Comstock School of Friendship and Influence.
The polls aren’t wrong. Trump could always change minds between now and November 8th, but it’s increasingly unlikely.
The polls are always right, it’s just a matter of who asked and what answered
Manufacturing is not coming back, regardless of what trade policy the politicians dream up. Chinese factory workers are paid $2/hr and our factory workers are paid $20/hr. Until the cost of transporting Chinese goods to the US market skyrockets (don’t hold your breath) nothing is going to change.
One thing for certain, if Hillary is elected it has absolutely no chance of coming back. Cutting taxes and regulations will bring it back and Trump knows it. You describe hopelessness. I go with giving American workers and entrepreneurs a chance.
And you’re going to recapitalize the military. And cut the deficit. Right? Do you have any idea how many US manufacturers currently pay zero taxes? What are you going to cut?
One thing’s for certain, if you don’t apply basic arithmetic, you will not know when politicians are lying to you, and you won’t help American workers one bit.
Cut regulations? Perhaps you could tell us the specific regulations you would abolish. Here are some you can start with.
40HR WORKWEEK. If employers could require workers to work seven twelve-hour days, just think of the personnel costs they would save . . .could cut your workforce in half or more.
WORKMAN’S COMPENSATION INSURANCE. Let’s do away with workman’s comp. After all, if you lose three fingers, an eye, or a foot, maybe you’re to stupid to be running dangerous machines.
OHSA. Let’s abolish all those stupid OHSA regs . . . you know, like kill switches and guards on power equipment. No more regs requiring workers to wear safety glasses when turning metal on lathes . . . what’s a few metal chips in the eye between friends? And those silly safety harnesses for roofers . . . after all, you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the excitement of falling off a roof four stories up.
ALL ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS. Let’s allow anyone to dump any quantity of anything they want in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, bays, oceans . . . on the ground if they are landlocked. Who’s afraid of a little hexavalent chromium? Acetone cyanohydrin? Benzal chloride? Chlorine trifluoride?
By the way, are you aware of the fact that burning coal releases mercury into the atmosphere . . . coal-burning power plants account for over half the airborne mercury in the air . . . that mercury is flushed into the soil by rainfall where it is absorbed into plants and animals, mainly into fish . . . mercury causes birth defects . . . one in six American women of child-bearing age has enough mercury in her system to cause profound birth defects?
Maybe you need to go to Pochantas, VA and ask the old timers about how everyone had a job . . . but they couldn’t see the sun at midday and their lungs burned with every breath.
Do something about the drug epidemic, cut taxes and regulations, and business will blossom.
Nice platitude. Business is math. Many major American manufacturers pay little to no taxes.
Nothing there to cut.
If you have a zero corporate tax rate, the salaries paid to employees, the local support network of small businesses, and suppliers will be taxed.
You do realize that welfare recipients pay no federal income taxes.
Can you relate that to Jeanine’s comment in a way that makes sense?
“welfare recipients pay no federal income taxes” BECAUSE THEY DO NOT MAKE ENOUGH INCOME TO PAY TAXES.
Listen carefully: If you don’t want to pay federal income taxes, then, give up your job or whatever income you have to the point where your income is so low you don’t pay federal income taxes. I don’t know the current level, however, in 2012, a family of four with a total income of $26,400 would not pay federal income taxes . . . of course, they STILL pay: Payroll taxes, sales tax, fuel tax, and the myriad other taxes.
How about it — are you and your family of four ready to live on $26,400 a year? I thought not.
[…] on the ground just doesn’t reflect what he wants to will into existence in the polls. From the mouthpiece of the semi-broken faction of populists on RPV State […]
This is confusing to me, according to this piece Republicans will lose the national election because a majority of urban voters will vote Democratic so Republicans should do a better job pandering to rural voters?
Yep – you’re confused. 😉
Ok, thanks so steady as she goes then, got it.
Great article. Days of establishment Politics is over. America is moving closer and closer to a representative democracy. The election of Dave Brat has shown us what is possible and that we can have a politician who listens to his constituents and not big money.
It’s important to remember, however, that what we are looking for isn’t just anti-establishment. Lots of horrible leaders have been “anti-establishment”. We need good legislation and policy. We need objective, real-world reasons why the American people should expect a particular policy or piece of legislation to work. We need the American people to be looking for, not rhetoric, but thoughtfulness and reason.
And we need an inspiring leader capable of articulating the principles.
That’s probably the hard part.
That’s always the hard part.
That has been our problem forever. We have the right ideas, that the majority support, we just can’t get the ideas out there to to the masses. The right leader could do that. Reagan did it.
It’s a different world, in different times. We get what we deserve more than we get what we need.
But it wouldn’t hurt to have a smarter pool to draw from either.
We had one–his name was Marco Rubio, and tea party types called him a RINO and a traitor.
That happens during primaries, but he’ll do fine in Senate, unlike that Gallitin guy.
Oh, Mr. Gang of 8? Give me a break…
Rubio was a good candidate and a fairly conservative voting record. But Trump pointed that Rubio was a short man, so Republicans decided not to vote for him.
King John, of Leesburg
Principles??? And what might those be?
Agreed, but equally important is a leader that will speak that which needs to be said. Trumps greatest asset is his blunt honesty. Granted he may need a filter but the intent is genuine. This country has fallen in a whole due to political correctness or fear of offending someone. We use be open and honest if we are to arise from the abyss.
Will you join in our crusade ?
Who will be strong and stand with me ?
Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free..
Do you hear the people sing ?
Singing a song of angry men ?
It is the music of a people
who will not be slaves again.
We need a better tune. This sounds too communist. Something catchier and more singable.
It’s not a very good version. I suggest muting it and simulataneously listening to the original cast recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3whOHc5y9Q
,.,. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f7a3e2899682b32aa8c058c45725cd8644326022ba0292205a7976310a179751.jpg
ugh – that makes me sick to my stomach.
Today Hillary had on a white pant suit for her cat screeching speech of the day… Snow White and her dwarf Dopey here…