Samson's Jawbone

Have you noticed that ever since Reagan said to Carter "there you go again," the Presidential debates have been either innocuous or controlled to advance a liberal agenda? Until Candy Crowley moderated the Ryan/ Biden Vice Presidential debate and interrupted Congressman Ryan 176 times, making her own political assertions, it was done through loaded questions and subtle suggestions. Now a moderator is extolled for their “Candy Crowley moments.” They are supposed to "fact check," which is a euphemism for measuring what a candidate says against the approved media narrative. Fact checking seldom involves an examination of official records, or peer reviewed sources but a google search for pseudo -commentary to make the moderator seem credible. Who chooses these moderators? Who makes the rules? Why do we call them debates? Are they? Are there two sides of an argument allowed? What do we really learn from these debates? These debates are usually opened by a "h...

Yesterday my wife asked me, "What is the Republican party going to do with a corrupt crook at the head of the ticket?" My initial response was "I don't think Trump is a crook. He will likely win the nomination legally; the party has little choice but to get behind him and hope he wins. The sad thing is that if Hillary wins the nomination both parties will have a 'corrupt person at the head of the ticket." The conversation has gotten me thinking about what the Trump nomination means for the G.O.P. My entire adult life Republican consultants, commentators and pundits have espoused a political strategy of reaching "across the aisle," and bringing democrats and independents into the party. Candidates should tailor their message to independents (by not being too conservative). The country is "left of center,"they say. "We need someone who can bring more people into the party by negotiating with the other side 'to get things done....

After two debates and the exit of Governor Scott Walker the Republican 2016 field appears to be narrowing. Donald Trump and Ben Carson are tied, Fiorina is next followed by Marco Rubio. Rubio and Carson appear to have gained the most from Walker's exit. I was  a Walker supporter. I liked Governor Walker and appreciated his accomplishments in Wisconsin. Walker seemed to blame his demise at least partially on Trump. Walker's problem was Walker. His campaign was not organized for a sustained national effort. Although Walker effectively defended his gubernatorial record, he was unable to connect his accomplishment to national issues. Additionally Walker's campaign was top heavy with little grass roots organization. I have worked in several campaigns over the years and tried to contact Walker's team to offer my support. All I got was a request for money. Walker is young and he may yet be a viable candidate in future cycles. As he left the field many pundits suggested that R...

Samson's Jawbone: Outsider Candidates are GOP's Last Best Hope : I am not a Trump supporter, at least not yet. If the decision were mine alone I would give the nomination to another candidate; on the othe...

I am not a Trump supporter, at least not yet. If the decision were mine alone I would give the nomination to another candidate; on the other hand, neither am I one who is wringing my hands waiting for him to drop out of the race. If Trump gets the nomination I will vote for him. We could do a lot worse. Trump is the healthiest thing for the party since the nomination of Teddy Roosevelt.  It is becoming more and more evident to me that Trump may actually be the nominee. I agree with much of what Trump says. I  like most of what he says, and I love the way he says it. It is about time someone told the truth. The one thing that distinguishes Trump and the outsider candidates, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, is that they understand  that the fundamental quality of leadership is credibility.  I would vote for any one of them in a heartbeat over any of the democrats or the moderate Republicans like Bush, Christie, Pitaki, Gilmore and Kaisich, or the amnesty advocates like R...

Samson's Jawbone: GOP Can Learn from Trump : Earlier in the week Presidential candidate Donald Trump made some statements some interpreted as disparaging to Senator John Mc Cain. Many ...

Earlier in the week Presidential candidate Donald Trump made some statements some interpreted as disparaging to Senator John Mc Cain. Many pundits predicted that his groundswell of support would vanish, that he had taken his bellicosity too far. Instead, his popularity seems to have increased. The next day, in the home state of fellow Presidential Candidate Lindsey Graham, Trump called him an "idiot," decried that he was "zero" in the poles, then red aloud his personal cell phone number. Graham's home state audience seemed to love it. Now today the Republican establishment is meeting to see how they can ameliorate the damage Trump has supposedly done to the party. There hasn't been any votes casts, and yet some Republicans see Trump as a danger to the party. What some Republicans fail to understand is that Trump has not damaged the party at all, rather the party has wounded the constituency to whom Trump appeals. I am not a Trump supporter. I am a