Trump has risen because voters see him as authentic, independent, direct, firm,
— and believe he can’t be bought. These are the same character traits our candidates should be advancing in 2016. That’s Trump lesson #1... People talk about problems, not issues. So, focus on the problems and offer your solutions. Avoid Washingtonspeak (legislation, bills, insider talk) in favor of Main Street common sense.
.. Feature them in your issue phase while
you assume the role of a citizen-servant. This also protects
you from opposition attacks since real world people are
talking about real world things you did for them. How can
someone challenge that?.. Trump has been gaining Democrat adherents
and he’s solidifying GOP cohorts who feel they’ve been
totally ignored by the Washington Ruling Class. If the
environment aligns properly, Trump could win. It’s not a
bet most would place now, but it could happen. That’s
why it’s important for our candidates to run their own
races, limit the Trump criticisms (other than obvious free
kicks), and grab onto the best elements of the antiWashington
populist agenda.
Wary of Donald Trump, G.O.P. Leaders Are Caught in a Standoff
Two of the most potent financial networks in Republican politics, that of the hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer and another led by the industrialists Charles G. and David H. Koch, have each had preliminary conversations about beginning an anti-Trump campaign, according to strategists involved. But Mr. Trump has already mocked Mr. Singer and the Kochs, and officials linked to them said they were reluctant to incur more ferocious counterattacks.
Is Trump the Candidate Reform Conservatives Are Seeking?
In an analogy that won’t make anyone very comfortable, he said Mr. Trump could be useful in the same way George Wallace was in 1968: “Wallace talked about a lot of issues, many of them pretty dismaying, but he also seized on the crime issue. Crime was rising fast, and it was not an issue that respectable politicians wanted to talk about. The result was that Richard Nixon stole his issue and deracialized it.”
.. Well, not exactly. Pressed on whether Nixon’s anticrime language could really be considered deracialized, Mr. Frum argued Nixon “diminished its racialism and incorporated it into something like a workable policy agenda.”
Do the G.O.P. Debates Really Matter?
Since August, we’ve had four of them, and neither of the best debaters in the race—Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz—is leading in the polls. Instead, two of the most mediocre performers—Donald Trump and Ben Carson—are still way out in front.
.. In one sense, of course, the debates do matter. To the extent that people (particularly donors and bookers for television shows) base their thoughts and decisions on the post-debate commentary taking place in the media, a performance that reporters and pundits consider to be powerful can give a candidate a boost, and a performance that is perceived as weak can do damage.