Politico, giving Trump some props

[SunsetBengal]

I wouldn't have believed it, until I read it with my own eyes.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/sorry-donald-trump-has-a-point-119662.html?cmpid=sf#ixzz3elLi5FnR






You are hardly a name-brand company if you haven’t dumped Donald Trump over the past seven days.

NBC, Univision and Macy’s have all thrown The Donald under the bus, in the heaviest blow to schlock culture in this country since the cancellation of “Jersey Shore.”

The carnage ranges widely across media, encompassing reality TV (“Celebrity Apprentice”), entertainment properties (the Miss USA Pageant), fashion (the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection) and even fragrance (Success by Trump).

Yes, the 2016 Republican field is so wide and diverse it includes perhaps the nation’s first presidential candidate with his own fragrance, and, it must be noted, not just any fragrance. Success has “a masculine combination of rich vetiver, tonka bean, birchwood and musk,” and “captures the spirit of the driven man.”

To imagine that Abraham Lincoln’s marketing was focused on posing for photographs for Mathew Brady. Poor old Abe — he could never think big.

The shunning of Trump is in response to his uh, memorable presidential announcement that included comments about the alleged criminality of Mexican immigrants that were typically crude. Trump could make a statement about arcane tax policy details related to accelerated depreciation for business investment — and still make you want to take a shower afterward.

Although this isn’t anything new. The companies fleeing from Trump were happy to be in bed with him so long as it suited their business interests. Now, they are acting on what has become one of the foremost principles of American public life: It’s no longer enough to be offended, you must punish the offender.

As it happens, Trump’s new enemies are doing him an enormous political favor, at least in the short term. There are few things that benefit a Republican candidate in the current environment of left-wing bullying more than getting fired and boycotted for something he’s said. And Trump’s smash-mouth response — oh, yeah, I’m going to sue Univision for a cool $500 million — will be even more endearing to primary voters.

I was skeptical that Trump was really running, but now that the boats are burned behind him, watch out. He is set to be Herman Cain squared — an early-nominating-season phenomenon with a massive media megaphone.

As for his instantly notorious Mexico comments, they did more to insult than to illuminate, yet there was a kernel in them that hit on an important truth that typical politicians either don’t know or simply fear to speak. “When Mexico sends its people,” Trump said, “they’re not sending their best.”

This is obviously correct. We aren’t raiding the top 1 percent of Mexicans and importing them to this country. Instead, we are getting representative Mexicans, who — through no fault of their own, of course — come from a poorly educated country at a time when education is essential to success in an advanced economy.

Trump’s comments made it sound as though Mexico is sending us moral defectives. That’s not the larger problem (although gangs certainly exploit the border and there are criminals in any population). Immigrants are willing to work. Immigrant men aged 18-65 are in the labor force at a higher rate than native men.

It’s just that a lack of education is an anchor around even the hardest-working person in modern America. This is illustrated in an exhaustive report based on government data, by Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors a lower level of immigration. I rely on it for the figures that follow.

Immigrants here from Mexico — which has sent more immigrants than any other country for decades — have the lowest levels of education. Nearly 60 percent of them haven’t graduated from high school. Only about 10 percent have some college and nearly 6 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

By way of comparison, the situation of immigrants from Korea, for instance, is almost exactly reversed. More than 50 percent of them have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and less than 4 percent failed to earn a high school diploma.

This puts Mexican immigrants at an inherent disadvantage, and it shows. Nearly 35 percent of immigrants from Mexico and their U.S.-born children are in poverty; nearly 68 percent are in or near poverty. This is the highest level for immigrants from any country (the Philippines is the lowest, with 5.5 percent in poverty).

Fifty-four percent of immigrants from Mexico lack health insurance. A higher proportion of Mexican immigrants uses means-tested government programs than immigrants from any other country—more than 57 percent. As Camarota notes, this is “even higher than for refugee-sending countries like Russia and Cuba.” By contrast, the lowest percentage is for immigrants from the United Kingdom at just over 6 percent.

Immigrants make progress on almost every indicator over time, but are still far behind natives after two decades. (The exception to the general progress is welfare use, which actually increases among immigrants here for 20 years compared with immigrants here fewer than five years.)

For all its crassness, Trump’s rant on immigration is closer to reality than the gauzy clichés of the immigration romantics unwilling to acknowledge that there might be an issue welcoming large numbers of high school dropouts into a 21st-century economy. If we don’t want to add to the ranks of the poor, the uninsured and the welfare dependent, we should have fewer low-skilled immigrants — assuming saying that is not yet officially considered a hate crime.

The point surely could be made much more deftly by anyone not named Donald J. Trump. In the meantime, he fills the vacuum, and enjoys the whirlwind.

Rich Lowry is editor of National Review.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/sorry-donald-trump-has-a-point-119662.html#ixzz3elullNeZ

[SunsetBengal]

And, all of our P&R favs., on the Left, are absolutely speechless.

[SteelCitySouth]

(07-02-2015, 07:10 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: And, all of our P&R favs., on the Left, are absolutely speechless.

lol...I literally only saw this because I got a pm from another member about something and decided to check the forum on my phone.

why are you shocked that no one has responded to your post, liberal or conservative, at 6:00 the day before the 4th of July.  I mean it's like you have no clue but you're gonna run with whatever makes you feel like you've got a win, and right now that win for you is everyone else is out in a bar celebrating our country, while your waiting for a reply.

now i'm gonna get another beer.......keep waiting.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-02-2015, 07:10 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: And, all of our P&R favs., on the Left, are absolutely speechless.

Why is "left" capitalized?

[*bfine32*]

(07-02-2015, 08:30 PM)SteelCitySouth Wrote: lol...I literally only saw this because I got a pm from another member about something and decided to check the forum on my phone.

You guys really do that? No wonder the LOL can muster so fast. This explains a lot

SteelCitySouth Wrote:why are you shocked that no one has responded to your post, liberal or conservative, at 6:00 the day before the 4th of July.  

You could possibly own the worst Calendar ever.

[*wildcats forever*]

(07-02-2015, 08:30 PM)SteelCitySouth Wrote: lol...I literally only saw this because I got a pm from another member about something and decided to check the forum on my phone.

why are you shocked that no one has responded to your post, liberal or conservative, at 6:00 the day before the 4th of July.  I mean it's like you have no clue but you're gonna run with whatever makes you feel like you've got a win, and right now that win for you is everyone else is out in a bar celebrating our country, while your waiting for a reply.

now i'm gonna get another beer.......keep waiting.

And maybe, just maybe, the left versus right rhetoric has become so stale....so damned tiresome that no one gives it much credence anymore. 

[GMDino]

(07-02-2015, 07:10 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: And, all of our P&R favs., on the Left, are absolutely speechless.

[SunsetBengal]

(07-02-2015, 09:32 PM)GMDino Wrote:

Funny, but I don't attack your comments.  I read them, interpret them, and respect them if they have merit.

[*bfine32*]

(07-02-2015, 09:55 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Funny, but I don't attack your comments.  I read them, interpret them, and respect them if they have merit.

One has to wonder if he realizes the irony in posting a cartoon that makes fun of people that attack posts in an effort to attack a post.





My guess is no.

[GMDino]

(07-02-2015, 09:55 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Funny, but I don't attack your comments.  I read them, interpret them, and respect them if they have merit.

Funny...but it was a joke based on your belief that we were all speechless at your awesome post. 

(07-02-2015, 10:46 PM)bfine32 Wrote: One has to wonder if he realizes the irony in posting a cartoon that makes fun of people that attack posts in an effort to attack a post.





My guess is no.

You understand "irony" like Lucy understands "more".

[*bfine32*]

(07-03-2015, 12:31 AM)GMDino Wrote: You understand "irony" like Lucy understands "more".

Once upon a time in the Boards prior to this someone tried hard to debate the meaning of Irony (it was all they had left), because they were made to look foolish.

Irony means: "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been,expected.".

So when somebody tries to attack a post by posting a cartoon showing how stupid it is to attack a post then that is ironic (given to irony). We could also call it stupid, but I'm better than that.

Still guessing you don't see the irony in your post   

[SteelCitySouth]

by the way...i don't think trump should lose his show.

[SteelCitySouth]

(07-02-2015, 08:39 PM)bfine32 Wrote: You guys really do that? No wonder the LOL can muster so fast. This explains a lot



You could possibly own the worst Calendar ever.

friend request....

i started celebrating so hard i missed a day.  

[GMDino]

(07-03-2015, 01:28 AM)bfine32 Wrote: Once upon a time in the Boards prior to this someone tried hard to debate the meaning of Irony (it was all they had left), because they were made to look foolish.

Irony means: "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been,expected.".

So when somebody tries to attack a post by posting a cartoon showing how stupid it is to attack a post then that is ironic (given to irony). We could also call it stupid, but I'm better than that.

Still guessing you don't see the irony in your post   

I guess you still don't get cartoons.  

[fredtoast]

(07-02-2015, 06:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote:  The companies fleeing from Trump were happy to be in bed with him so long as it suited their business interests. Now, they are acting on what has become one of the foremost principles of American public life: It’s no longer enough to be offended, you must punish the offender.

Damn that free market.  How dare the American people use their purchase power to punish people for saying something offensive.


And I wish we could get back to the good old days when anyone could offend anyone without ever having to worry about consequences.  I remember when you could call people all sorts of nasty names and hurl insults without anyone every doing anything about it.  

[fredtoast]

(07-02-2015, 06:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: For all its crassness, Trump’s rant on immigration is closer to reality than the gauzy clichés of the immigration romantics unwilling to acknowledge that there might be an issue welcoming large numbers of high school dropouts into a 21st-century economy. If we don’t want to add to the ranks of the poor, the uninsured and the welfare dependent, we should have fewer low-skilled immigrants — assuming saying that is not yet officially considered a hate crime.

Right because saying that people lack education and skills is ALMOST exactly the same as saying they are all rapists and criminals.

I can't believe that all those silly liberals don't realize that "rapist criminal" is just another term for "uneducated".

[mallorian69]

(07-03-2015, 01:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Right because saying that people lack education and skills is ALMOST exactly the same as saying they are all rapists and criminals.

I can't believe that all those silly liberals don't realize that "rapist criminal" is just another term for "uneducated".

Technically they are all criminals. They broke our immigration laws by not going through the process to come to this country legally. I would think that someone who is supposed to be a lawyer would know this.

[SunsetBengal]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/03/blue-state-blues-trump-understands-the-american-consumer-so-the-media-hate-him/


This week, a new CNN survey showed that despite the national outrage over the Confederate flag, a majority of Americans view it as “a symbol of Southern pride” rather than a “symbol of racism.” The poll results contrasted sharply with CNN’s editorial approach to the flag, which had been to inflame public opinion around the issue.

Much the same is happening with Donald Trump, the billionaire Republican running for president: the media hate him, but he is surging in GOP polls.
The left has a convenient, and false, explanation for all of this: America is racist, and the Republican Party is even more racist, so the racists in the party are rallying around him. More sophisticated observers might allow that some of Trump’s appeal to the party is the fact that he is willing to stand up to the media in the face of staggering pressure–boycotts, threats, and ridicule– when other Republican figures fold at the first sign of a challenge.
But there is another reason for his appeal: Trump is speaking for a large group of Americans who are ignored by the political system.
Take, for example, his now-infamous comments about Mexican immigrants:

Quote:When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

There is so much that is wrong with that statement that it is difficult to know where to begin. He fails to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. He says Mexico is “sending” people who are usually leaving on their own volition. He allows that “some” Mexican immigrants are good people, rather than giving “most” the benefit of the doubt. Worst of all, there is that jarring refrain: “They’re not sending you.” Who is the “you” to whom he refers? The implications are troubling.
And yet look at what happened in San Francisco this week.
A 31-year-old woman–young, beautiful, hard-working, loved by many–was gunned down at random while sightseeing with her family. They watched her suffer before she passed away at the hospital. The man suspected of killing her has been deported five times and has seven felony convictions, but he was on the street because local authorities have decided to push immigration reform by ignoring federal deportation requests.
Who speaks for the victim and her family?
Not the elected officials of San Francisco. Not the Democratic Party or its most likely presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, who has vowed to expand President Barack Obama’s pro-amnesty policies. Not the Republican Party leadership, which is determined to pass immigration reform in a well-intended but misguided effort to stanch the bleeding of Latino support.
The media recite the growing list of companies that have cut ties with Trump, as if expecting him to back down. Those joining in include the City of New York, whose hapless far-left mayor, Bill de Blasio, threatened to cut Trump’s contracts with the city.
As numerous legal experts have pointed out, de Blasio’s threats are entirely unconstitutional and violate the First Amendment. But Instead of rallying around Trump as a victim of censorship, the media keep piling on the pressure.
Trump deserves better–even if his remarks about Mexicans do smack of bigotry, even if his policies are strange, even if his Birther crusade back in 2011 was ugly and offensive.
Recall that in 2009, when the media rounded on Miss California for daring to support traditional marriage, it was Trump–not quite an “out” Republican–who stood up for her when few would.
No one is stepping up to defend him now that he is the target. But instead of shrinking from the fight, he embraces it.
Trump is filling a vacuum on immigration, and other issues. He is also providing the kind of spirited opposition voters are craving–including the 10,000 who packed a stadium in Madison, Wisconsin to hear no-hope candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speak this week.
Elsewhere in Wisconsin, President Obama blasted Republicans on economic policy, days after they gave him “fast-track” authority on trade. When cooperation is so rudely punished, demand for opposition grows.
And so Trump is providing it. He is not just campaigning, but selling a product–opposition–to Americans who, rich or poor, enjoy more power as consumers than they ever will as voters. They might not actually vote for him, but they are rewarding him with attention–and high poll numbers.
The media do not understand consumers, which is why so many outlets are failing. But Trump “gets it”: his companies not only provide value for investors, but good service to customers.
Voters know they are not “getting value” from either party–or the media. He is a long shot to win, but Trump is challenging the D.C. monopolies. And they hate it.

[*Nately120*]

Didn't read...won't get elected.

[Belsnickel]

So, a couple of things. First, this isn't Politico giving anyone props, this is a guest column by the editor of a semi-monthly Conservative magazine. So the commentary is not surprising.

Second, yes, there are a lot of issues with the current immigration system. Tons, in fact. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in an attempt to insure we are bringing in immigrants that will thrive in our society and make it easier for them to do so. However, this article is really just an apologist rant to try to make Trump's comments appear less abrasive from how they came across. The truth of the matter is that Trump wasn't talking about all of those immigration policies. He has said himself he was talking about border security with those comments. To make an attempt at elevating the comments he made is disingenuous.

He was saying that those that came across the border were responsible for increasing crime rates, and he did say some, he assumed, are good people. Technically speaking, all undocumented immigrants are criminals, but the majority are not committing other crimes in this country. They aren't dealing drugs or raping people. They are just trying to earn a living here. These people aren't really included in all of the statistics that article in the OP put out there because they are undocumented. They can't get these benefits they bring up, they won't talk to pollsters and census takers.

I do think that Trump suffers from that all to common condition of his mouth working faster than he thinks and his comments have been taken in a way he did not intend. They do sound as though he is painting more of the undocumented immigrant community as violent criminals than there actually are. But we've heard worse from other politicians and this is primarily a mountain being made out of a mole hill.