By Patrick F. Cannon
Now that Bobby Kennedy (Jr) has left the race and endorsed his hero, Donald Trump, we are left with a two-horse race, except for write-in candidates like yours truly. As the election gets closer, you may have noticed that the candidates have changed their positions on certain issues. Both will, of course, accuse the other of flip flopping. The term dates from around 1900, and originally described a kind of dance move, but now is mostly used to describe a change in political position.
Trump, for example, was originally pro-choice, then became pro-life to pander to the religious right. Indeed, he became their hero when he packed the Supreme Court with devout Roman Catholic justices who helped put the screws to Roe v. Wade. Do you see the irony here? The evangelicals who thought John F. Kennedy was going to bring the Pope over to help him govern, being handed the end of unlimited abortion by a bunch of papists!
Because of the backlash against the decision by many female voters, Trump is now claiming a flexibility on the issue that has some of his bible thumpers wondering about his steadfastness. Harris, not to be outdone, has gone from favoring a single-payer health care system, to the current status quo. In both cases, political reality has triumphed over principle (not that Trump has any, except as they directly affect him).
As it happens, the majority of American voters are moderate in their views. Most would generally agree with the following statements:
- Capitalism, abuses, and all, is the only economic system that makes sense. Most support social programs, but not Socialism.
- The Federal budget is out of control, and something needs to be done about it.
- Not everybody loves us, and we need to be able to defend ourselves.
- No more going to war unless there is a clear national interest, and we plan to win.
- Every elective office should have term limits.
- People who game the system should be both fined and jailed.
- Social Security is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be tinkered with. Ditto Medicare and Medicaid.
- If your religious or other principles reject abortion, don’t get one. On the other hand, don’t impose your religious beliefs on others. This goes for a lot of other religious stuff too!
- People know what’s best for themselves and would prefer that governments at all levels mind their own business.
- Americans are the most generous people on earth and are happy to help their neighbors out if they are willing to go to work every day.
- Because they or their ancestors came from somewhere else, most American support reasonable and legal immigration, not open borders.
Now, I don’t think every voter would agree with all of this, but most would agree to most of it. Although it might not have dawned on them, the rigid positions of candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are what has doomed them to remain forever in the Senate, where they can scold us to their heart’s content. It is the wise politician who tailors his or her message to what the voters want, instead of what they might wish they want. So, expect more flip-flopping. It can make sense. But don’t be surprised if the candidates revert to their old positions if elected. That’s called, I guess, flop flipping.
Copyright 2024, Patrick F. Cannon
cannonnadedotcom 
“Read my lips! No new taxes”!
Politicians change their minds, some to do the right thing, others with a whim of iron.
In Bush Sr.’s case, it cost him re-election.
We agree almost completely on the things moderate Americans favor. Somehow, our elites are unhappy with that.
RFK, Jr. changed his party out of a sense of duty, I suppose. Duty to an ideal of public service that seems to be a compulsion of the Kennedy clan. He tried to run as a Democrat in the primaries, but the POS triumvirate (we won’t say mafia, they have more honor!) didn’t want the competition, so they put him to bed with the fishes. I don’t know if Bobby regards Trump as a hero, but Trump at one time was a Democrat. Make America healthy again! Why not?
Trump is a businessman, not an ideologue. He knows you can’t sell people something they won’t buy, and women don’t like to be told what to do. For a politician he’s been remarkably consistent, on immigration, the economy, energy, jobs, national defense, crime and foreign policy. I don’t think he’ll ever get the black women vote but black men seem to be favoring him.
Trump is flexible on abortion. The issue has no definite solution, one way or the other. SCOTUS handled it as fairly and logically as it could by referring it to the states. There interested parties can meet with their representatives and legislative action as can be taken as deemed appropriate.
Prior to Roe vs. Wade, abortion had never been “legalized” as an act of Congress (which avoided it like the plague) signed by the president. It’s not the Supreme Court’s authority to pass laws, only to resolve disputes regarding them. Today most states have laws on abortions, some less restrictive than others (but there are almost always some restrictions). Talk of national legalization is just pandering of the worst sort, it will never happen and shouldn’t. Religious groups can taken positions, but none of them is imposing its views as much as they might want to.
Harris is ambitious. A Berkeley leftist at heart, she’s portrayed herself as an oppressed black woman despite her privileged Indian and academic background. She managed to get a Senate seat and a vice-presidency by doing almost nothing. I doubt she has any real ideas in her head. She’s already adopted a couple of Trump’s more popular proposals. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she tinted her skin orange to match Trump’s complexion if it proved expedient. She’ll do whatever her bosses Pelosi, Obama, and Schumer tell her to do. Right now, they’re telling her to keep her mouth shut and avoid the press. Her lips are sealed, and unreadable.
Trump’s weakness, in a sense, is his autonomy. He is his own boss. Nobody controls him, but he could use some good, hard advice. Like stop talking. I don’t know why he’s running. It’s not for money, he doesn’t need it. It’s not for power — he’s not a charismatic leader. Maybe it’s ego, but that drives most people. At his rallies, he’s more like a stand-up comic or entertainer than a preachy politician. He likes attention, that’s for sure.
His adversaries warn that he is dangerous. But how? As president he might have been self-centered but a dictator? Hardly. Who got hurt? He could have gone after the Clintons and others, as they went after him, with criminal persecutions, but he didn’t. Some said he hated minorities, but blacks, among others, prospered, and I know gays here who liked his policies. The only people who stood to lose were the entrenched elites, Democrats and Republicans, in Washington. What have they done for us lately?
I wasn’t going to vote for Trump but I think I will. It may be flipping, but not flopping. He did a surprisingly effective job in his term as president, despite constant subversive attempts to undermine him by the previous regime and their allies in the media, DOJ, FBI and CIA. And they are still out to get him. These people shouldn’t have power in government. Trump’s election may not rid us of them, but it’s a start.
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Whoever wins will have a divided Congress, so not much harm can be done!
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That’s the only thing that has kept the Dems under “Biden” from doing more damage. They already are talking of eliminating the filibuster. They hope to pack the Supreme Court as FDR tried to do. If they win they won’t stop until they turn everything upside down and have control everything. You live in Illinois, you can see the future!
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In Illinois, we like to retire our pols to the penitentiary!
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Hanging’s too good for ’em! Did they ever get Madigan and Burke behind bars? Clueless Blago put himself in jail. I understand he’s doing Elvis impersonations now. Today you can get away with plenty in the name of the law. Especially if you appoint the judges and manage elections.
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P.S. As to voting for Trump, in Indiana it’s like voting for Harris in Illinois. I don’t share your sanguine view of him, however. He has always been vindictive; now, he’s vindictive old man with a grudge.
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Trump should have a grudge after eight years of vicious harassment, a Secret Service Administration that got him shot, two politicized impeachments engineered by a vengeful Pelosi, Mueller’s three-year collusion investigation based on false evidence paid for by Clintons, an election loss resulting from specious mailed ballots, and a series of contrived indictments costing him millions in legal fees and designed to cripple his 2024 campaign, all enhanced by a biased media intent on vilification, misinformation and outright deceit. So what did this guy do to merit such hostility? You say he’s vindictive but how? Who suffered from his terrible wrath?
The country prospered under his residency. Harris as president and commander-in-chief is an absurdity. What are you thinking? Illinois will vote for her, Indiana for him. I prefer Indiana. Its record of government is far superior.
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I suppose you could say that “sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” As to Trump, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m not looking forward to four years of chaos. I will probably exercise my right not to vote for either.
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If there’s just ONE thing I wish Trump supporters could see, it’s this: He does not give a rat’s ass about anyone or anything but himself. Not you, not me, not our country or its Constitution, NOTHING BUT HIMSELF! Whatever position he takes in any given moment is only to appease whatever person or group wants that so they will cheer for him and vote for him. It bothers him not at all to say the opposite a day or an hour later.
I agree with everything on Pat’s list, and I can agree with many traditional Republican policies. But I absolutely will not vote for a guy who has a black hole where his soul should be.
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I agree, but self interest causes some people to look beyond his character in the vain hope that he’ll somehow change next time, or the system will restrain him.
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You’re right that hope drives some people. Just like the abused woman believes that her abusive husband won’t ever hit her again. He’s 78. According to several of his own family members, he has always been this way. He’s never going to change.
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