Why I Supported Donald Trump

I was on the Trump train pretty early. As far back as the end of last year I said he could win if he ran against Hillary. I also believed he would lose if he ran against Bernie and I still believe that to be the case.

So why did a lifelong Republican who is conservative on fiscal issues and moderate on social issues go against his party to support a billionaire businessman and reality TV star?

Simple really, I was sick of being let down by my party. I'm a guy who voted for president the first time in 1988 and pulled the lever for George HW Bush. I did so again in 1992. I held my nose and voted for Bob Dole (good man, horrible candidate) and then every Republican since. I may have voted for a Democrat in a down ballot race like school board but that's doubtful.

When Barack Obama came into office, he had the House and the Senate and wreaked havoc. Obamacare, Cash for Clunkers, the bailout and myriad other expensive ideas that did nothing but enrich his cronies. Those years really sucked--much like I suspect they will suck for Democrats the next two years.

The GOP told us get us the House and we will use the "power of the purse" to rein in Obamacare and withhold the funding. I believed them. They won and they elected John Boehner to lead them. The guy was a joke who cried at the drop of a hat and wanted nothing more than to not make waves. He had no intention of blocking Obamacare.

Then we were told that they really would stop Obama if they got the Senate as well because just having the House wasn't enough. So we worked and got them the Senate and they elected Mitch McConnell to lead them. He made Boehner look like a genius. Obama worked McConnell over repeatedly and sometimes I think he would mess with him just for fun. Every single time we had an opportunity to make a statement, the GOP would buckle. They would get some minor concession and Obama would get more than he ever expected. Establishment Republicans proved to be exactly what many had said, spineless elites who only wanted the stays quo. Win a few elections and then go lobby  where you could make big bucks. Romney was just more of the same even though I supported him.

The first crack in the armor and a prelude to Trump was Eric Cantor getting beat in Virginia. A ranking Republican lost his seat. He was the sitting House Majority Leader and lost by 11 points to a Tea Party candidate. The Tea Party won a few other impressive victories and they set the stage for the emergence of Donald Trump.

So, completely disenchanted with the GOP for how they treated the Tea Party and how they belittled those who supported the cause, there wasn't much choice. I started reading what libertarians had to say but they are anti-military and that's dangerous.

Then here comes this boorish, brash, non-politician on the scene. But I liked that he was a guy who could make the party a big tent party like Reagan did. He said what he felt without a filter. I think I described him as a Facebook comments section come to life. He let nothing bad said about him pass and I liked that finally we had a fighter. He would battle the media on a daily basis while the GOP establishment was kissing up to them. Where the typical republican would actually care about what the NY Times said about him, Trump would berate the NY Times and dare them to write something bad about him.

He knocked off some pretty heavy hitters in the Republican Party. Cruz, Rubio, Scott Walker, Christie and so on. He beat the biggest field in my lifetime and did it without surrendering an inch. As the primaries rolled on, he started battling the establishment Republicans to the point that the National Review devoted an entire issue to taking Trump down. Conservative icons like Krauthammer, Krystol and Will were knocked off their plinths in much the same manner as that young soldier pulled down that statue of Saddam. He kept battling. He played the media the entire time and they fell for it every time.

In the general election he really won over a lot of people. Yes, Hillary may well have been the worst Democratic candidate since Kerry and she carried semi trailers full of baggage but she had the full support of the media and the undying love of her party who even cheated to help her win. Trump went after her and the media went after him and the media lost.

So why did i support Donald Trump? Because we finally had a candidate who willing to fight. When  the media hit him he hit back 10 times as hard and repeatedly. He had the ball to call Hillary exactly what she was, a criminal who should be in jail.

Let's see how this all plays out. I'm hoping he sticks to the important promises--fixing the VA, rebuilding the military, building a wall, checking unvetted refugees and cutting corporate and personal taxes. Here's to hoping he succeeds.