After the defeat of Mitt Romney in 2012, I opined that in order for another Republican to become president of the United States we would have to find someone who could use the style of liberal politicians while promoting conservative ideology.
From the moment president-elect Donald Trump walked down the escalator, he has manipulated the media. Liberals are masters at media manipulation.
For instance, when Harry Reid and Pres. Obama likened Senate Republicans to Iranian terrorists, it was effective. When Obama presented 'hope and change' on the idea that 'the system is rigged,' it resonated. When Trump said the same thing it was immediately deemed radical and un-American.
Democrats have done an incredible job of convincing Republicans but they have to walk a ‘tight rope’ of politically correct language in order to have a chance at winning an election.
Past Republicans have been manipulated into a culture of doing the exact opposite of what winners do.
Trump painstakingly drove the Republican Party back to the boldness and bravado that ultimately has empowered the massive coup of liberalism that has reshaped our country over the last eight years. He played their game, their way and won as a conservative.
The media doesn’t realize that Trump is a master of keeping them confused, defensive and outraged. He makes his competition so distracted they cannot function. I find it hilarious to watch.
Between July and November 2016 he steered Hillary Clinton from ignoring him to making her entire campaign about him; he messaging became outrage at Trump verses promotion of her policy.
Trump uses shocking hyperbole to capture the emotions of his supporters and distracts rivals.
Trump spent the year prior to his campaign listening intently to talk radio across America. It seems apparent that he was listening for the callers sharing their frustrations, opinions and fears about the direction of America.
Trump made those fears and frustrations his campaign platform. Because the mainstream media spends most of its time ‘blabbing’ and not listening to it’s audience, they couldn’t connect to the brilliance of his messaging. Trump commanded the ingenuity of the listener (re: voters).
This past week someone shared a story with me describing how a few neighbors on a single street in an Atlanta suburb decided not to put up their Trump-campaign signs until the day after he won. Once one neighbor put up the signs, several followed. They didn't want to invite the hatred those signs might have attracted from opposing opinions in their community (prior to the election).
Just a couple of days ago, Trump tweeted that he believed American flag-burning should be illegal, punishable by up to a year in jail and/or the loss of citizenship.
As usual, the media went bonkers. My contention is that most flag-burning is on a public street or on property where such an action is not legal. I don't believe he's asserting that burning a flag in your own yard should be punishable by jail time.
Flag-burners almost always burn flags in the middle of the city on public streets, blocking roadways, disturbing the peace and risking private property and the personal safety of others. That is already illegal whether you are burning a flag or a bag of trash. Trump simply wanted to blow a dog whistle to law enforcement that he would ‘have their back.’ As usual, the media spread the ‘Trump-message’ for free.
Most of Trump’s hyperbole and resulting media outrage is a ruse or distraction to create a national debate that results in what Trump really wants. Let me translate:
If you are burning a flag in the middle of a public street, facility or property for which you do not own, it should be illegal and you should be punished based upon the existing laws in place. If you steal a flag from private or public property, you should also be punished for theft and for relevant laws that are violated.
This is the ‘play’ Trump is making with his ‘flag-burning’ Tweet.
This tweet resulted from the fact that students at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts stole their campus flag and burned it. This was theft and arson and the students responsible should have been jailed (not because it’s a flag, but because it’s property that didn’t belong to them).
We are about to witness four years watching Donald Trump behave like a liberal in order to accomplish progress on conservative values and policy. Liberals are disruptive, extreme, hyperbolic and frankly effective at penetrating the discourse with their message. Finally, we have a Republican who is even more effective at the same.
The media will not learn and they will react to each hyperbolic suggestion with outrage and offense never to realize that ‘the compromise’ will be exactly what he intended from the beginning. The media will continue to arrogantly believe they are keeping him in check.
You no longer attract attention to your issue in America by being logical, professional and diligent about your proposal. Unfortunately, liberals have taught our nation to use outrage, hyperbole, exaggeration and extravagance in order to draw the spotlight on your position.
Isn’t it exciting? The mainstream media will wither into irrelevance as Trump continues to send them 'chasing the rabbit' while he steers America away from failure and toward its potential.
Trump will use liberal-style to influence conservative policy that can actually work.