We Don't Need Another Bush, Mitt, or Trump

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

28 January 15

onald Trump

It’s official: America doesn’t need Mitt or another Bush again. Donald Trump said so this weekend in Iowa. The Donald said Romney had had his chance and failed. He went on to say that Romney is one of those people who gets to the finish line and can’t close the deal. As for Jeb Bush, he favors Common Core and amnesty, and his brother was a disaster for America. While I agree we can’t afford Romney or another Bush, we can’t afford a Trump either.

Donald was clearly throwing his hat in the ring on Saturday at the Iowa Freedom Summit. I must admit I agreed with him more than the score of religious fanatics he shared the stage with. He did talk about rebuilding America’s infrastructure. He did say we don’t need another Bush. But he also tried to convince the crowd that he was the Messiah who could fix America, closing by saying he was “seriously” considering a run for president of the United States. God save us. Wait – that’s what all the candidates said.

Except for his exaggerated bashing of Obamacare, and his exaggerated ego, The Donald was one of the few who sounded sane during this day of right-wing posturing for 2016. We all know that it was just a show – this is the same Donald who still doesn’t think Obama was born in the United States. If someone can be duped by conspiracy theories like Donald Trump is, how can we trust him to lead our country?

The rest of the options were no better:

Rick Perry

Same old stuffed suit who will drown the deficit and immigrants with oil. Oil is the solution to all that ails America, according to Rick Perry. Perry’s speech was briefly interrupted by immigration activists.

Some 15 minutes into Perry’s speech, a half-dozen protesters jumped up in the balcony holding signs that read “Deportable?” That’s the term used by summit co-host Rep. Steve King to criticize Obama for bringing an undocumented immigrant from Dallas, 21-year-old Ana Zamora, to the State of the Union address to represent “Dreamers” – students brought to the country as children. Other Dreamers managed to make it into the theater where Iowa conservatives gathered to hear from two dozen leading conservatives, including more than a half-dozen 2016 contenders. Perry declared, as he has in the past, over and over, that if Washington won’t close the border, Texas will. Perry parroted the same solutions for what’s wrong in America as most of the others: approve the Keystone pipeline, close the border, repeal Obamacare, and kill the islamofascists.

Chris Christie

Chris Christie was also interrupted by an immigration protester. He was the only candidate who wasn’t reading from the same script. Unlike most Republicans seeking the support of Iowa evangelicals, he gave a speech that wasn’t a sermon. He was introducing who he is and what he believes, without offering solutions. It was a lofty speech when it came to his goals, but it lacked solutions. It was a polished stump speech that was tailored to appeal to more than the radical right-wingers in the room. He was attempting to introduce himself as a classic conservative who is not rigid. He said if you want to find a candidate you agree with on every issue, then you should just go home and look in the mirror. He is a threat. None of the other would-be candidates who spoke at the Iowa Freedom Summit have a chance to do well in blue states. Think about what losing New Jersey would do to the electoral map for the Democrats. The uphill climb for Christie will be to get the Tea Party and other right-wing radicals to forgive him for working with Obama after Hurricane Sandy. If he overcomes that hurdle, he will not be easy to beat in November 2016.

Mike Huckabee

When Huckabee took the stage I thought, here comes another sermon. We need to kill more pigs? If we don’t kill pigs we won’t get sausage? What was he talking about? Huckabee reminded me of Grandpa speaking at the American Legion Hall. Once again, it was the Islamic jihadists who are causing all of our problems. Hmmm, a maximum wage instead of a minimum wage – I support that. Let’s say a $250,000-a-year maximum wage. But his maximum wage thing was just rhetoric. He was cleverly using it to bash the minimum wage. He doesn’t understand that we are no longer asking for a minimum wage, we’re asking for a living wage.

While it was a patriotic speech, it was not a sermon. Mike Huckabee seemed to be trying to distance himself from his past as a preacher. He was the last to speak, and proceeded to sign his new book, “God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy,” in which he gives his opinion on the cultural divide. He prefers “Bubbaville” to Washington DC. Let’s hope the American people don’t house him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Carly Fiorina

The Washington Times called Fiorina the big winner at the summit. They quoted a former party chair from Oklahoma, and offered no other proof, because there was none. Her speech was a total snooze, one tone throughout. Her highlight line was based on fantasy.

“Like Hillary Clinton, I too have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe,” Fiorina told the crowd. “But unlike her, I have actually accomplished something. Mrs. Clinton, flying is an activity, not an accomplishment.”

Just what did she accomplish? She was a failure as CEO at Hewlett Packard. They paid her $40 million to go away. She rarely is mentioned in any polls. She is hiring staff and trying to convince people that there is a constituency clamoring for her to run.

Scott Walker

He is running on what he did in Wisconsin. His speech went over well in front of this crowd. He spent most of it talking about how he took on the unions and the liberals in Madison and will do it in Washington. He is a contender for the GOP nomination, but a dream opponent for the Democrats. Who better to unite the left than the Koch brothers’ puppet governor? He stuck to his record as governor and didn’t go down the islamofascist route. Out of all the speakers who spoke on Saturday, I would say Walker and Christie were the only serious candidates. The rest were contenders to win Iowa only to sink in New Hampshire.

Dr. Ben Carson

I’m going to say it: Carson is the token black that the GOP can point to and say they love him, but when it comes to sealing the deal they will vote for someone else. He reminded me of a slick motivational speaker. He should definitely buy 30 minute – not 30 second – spots. His volunteers can be a fake audience cheering at everything he says. He will poll well, but when it becomes time to vote, the GOP will remember that he is not one of them.

Rick Santorum

Yawn ... Same campaign as four years ago. He even talked about the origin of the sweater vest. He will save America by ending abortion, closing the borders, repealing Obamacare, and killing the islamofascists. It works in Iowa, but won’t travel.

Ted Cruz

Those who came to hear a sermon were not disappointed when Ted Cruz launched into his “Miracle of America” stump speech. Cruz promised the crowd that even though times are tough in America, a “miracle” could be on the horizon. He delivered a speech full of conservative objectives – “repeal Obamacare” and “abolish the IRS.” He suggested taking the 110,000 current employees of the IRS and sending them to guard the southern border. “Somewhat jokingly,” he said of the plan. (The side benefit would be, he laughed, that the agents would scare away would-be illegal immigrants.) Most notably, Cruz positioned himself to the right of all his potential rivals. He warned the audience that all of the Republican contenders would fashion themselves as true conservatives when they are not. “Talk is cheap,” he said of his fellow Republicans. He then drew from the Bible – as he did throughout the speech – saying, “The Word tells us, ‘You will know them by their fruit.’” It was red meat for the Tea Party faithful in the crowd, but as with most of the GOP field, there is no prayer for him to win in November 2016.

There were many other speakers that day, like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Marsha Blackburn, Jim Gilmore, and Mike Lee. The scariest moment for me was when Steve King said there were ten presidential hopefuls there. I counted nine. Did that mean Newt, or Sarah, or maybe even Marsha Blackburn is going to run? If so, maybe we should send a shrink to cover the Republican caucus in Iowa.

Scott Galindez co-founded Truthout and will be reporting on the presidential election from Iowa throughout 2015.