Massachusetts Conservative Feminist | Ordinary: Degrees of Moderation and Sanity

Friday, January 29, 2016

Trump Rally for Vets – C-SPAN – What the Viewers had to Say

Although Fox News held a Republican Debate in Des Moines last night which was, as the network noted “Trump-less” (Fox News). The Trump campaign was in full swing down the street. The rally was over on C-Span.org (C-span.org link to Trump Video). The question of just now many people watched C-Span, is not available as the network is not rated (Ad Week), yet based on the callers into c-span after the rally, one would anticipate more people found C-Span last night and they might just have had a ratings spike.

The Video below, from C-Span, is the call lines and callers comments after the debate. Worth watching to get the idea of exactly how much support this candidate has from the general public. What remains to be seen is how many of these voters will cross party lines, or vote at all for the first time, when the ballots begin to be cast next week.

Although the tone from the general media is more disdain for Trump than anything else, they continue to follow any move he makes, from the tarmac to events. As of this morning, #1 top topic in news on Google News -

Monday, January 11, 2016

What do Ted Cruz, Barack Obama and John McCain have in common?

Barack Obama, John McCain and Ted Cruz have all come under scrutiny over their right to be or become the President of the United States under the Constitution vis a vis where they were born. Under the Constitution it states one must be a natural born citizen, however, that clause includes the roles of one’s parents. Therefore if one’s mother or father is a citizen, they are considered natural born.

When Ted Cruz recently released his mother’s birth certificate the document clearly states his mother was a citizen of the United States, therefore Cruz is indeed a natural born citizen. (CBS News)

John McCain, who ran the unsuccessful campaign in 2008 against then Senator Barack Obama, had his birth origins challenged, being born in Panama, but having parents that were U.S. citizens. McCain, has forgotten that jab, however, as he is now questioning Senator Cruz’s eligibility (Daily Kos)

Finally, unless on has been living under a rock, our President, Barack Obama had his citizenship questioned, as his father was not a US citizen and he spent some of his childhood outside of the US – however his mother was clearly a US Citizen. . (Politico).

It is the season of campaigns, and of course, if one is chasing a front runner or is not liked by those who live in glass houses, one has to prove themselves.

All three men, and there were others, have been questioned on their ability to run for the highest office in the land based solely on their birth.

Friday, January 08, 2016

Trump Visits Burlington, Vermont

Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, made a visit to Burlington Vermont to hold a rally yesterday. One might think, in practical terms, that going to past-“blue” Vermont would be a huge waste of time; however, in watching the live stream, it was apparent that was simply not the case. The video on You Tube (here) is telling. The venue was small, holding 1400 people with 100 of those members of the press, and of course, being in a college town, there were more than the usual protestors mingled with the crowd. It was interesting to watch the manner in which he was at fist amused, but as the mini-bursts continued, his mood changed to one of apparent disgust, so he called them “rude”. It was the usual Trump rally, however, with more noise from supporters than from those students and professors who so rudely go into venues to protest.

Overall, what is always telling in his appearances is his connection to those supporters in the crowd, and his affection for them. In watching a half dozen of these event via streaming, and attending one in Worcester, MA with a crowd of 14,000, if one listens to his tone, watches his demeanor, one begins to understand he’s sincere, has a wicked sense of humor, and is having the time of his life, but, at the same time, feels compelled to be there out of a sense of duty.

Of course, this is a personal perspective, yet, six months ago, it was easy to dismiss the man, given who he was in the public eye, an entertainer, pure and simple.

What he has done to date is show the American people who are interested in listening to him, that there is hope and that as he can and will say exactly what they are thinking. He is a rare individual indeed, one willing to lose opportunities to enrich himself, in order to run for the Presidency – which is, sadly, not always the case.

Therefore, with a six weeks or so before the primaries begin, it is with a great deal of interest that one watches a candidate invest time in places where no one else has bothered to go, winning hearts, changing minds, and throwing the bums out who so rudely interrupt.