The Republican leaning media has convinced us that Hillary Clinton is totally unworthy to be President of the US. Just some of her failings such as  Whitewater Billings, lying to the parents of the Benghazi  victims, her  private server and the Clinton Foundation are enough to disqualify her from ever occupying the Oval office . Of course, the list is much longer. How can we elect someone whose proper residence is a jail? However, we are also aware of the arguments of the Democratic leaning media proving Donald Trump shouldn’t even be considered for the top job. An authoritarian bigot who seems to think the Constitution is a suggestion and whose shady business practices might be punctuated by a jury finding him a fraud, Trump would be a disaster. Well, they’re right. Trump should never be president. Our two great political parties have given us unacceptable choices.

How did the Greatest Country on Earth get in this position? Duopoly. Without  real competition our two major parties didn’t need to put forth the effort to insure they offered the best possible product. That’s the way it is with limited competition. After World War II GM and Ford dominated our auto choices. (yes there was Chrysler but they just followed along behind). By the end of the sixties we had cars where nothing fit and fell apart before their auto loans were paid off. The companies got big profits and their unions got outlandish wages and benefits. The consumer got screwed. Along came some foreign cars than actually were a value and the landscape changed. Cars like the legendary Datsun 240Z showed us what our money should buy. The Big Two had to either improve or go out of business. Under the gun of real competition they now produce cars that they can be proud. It’s time to look for that Datsun. Unless some people are willing to break ranks and and try something foreign to them nothing will ever change.

This election we have a real third choice, the Libertarian Ticket of Gary Johnson and William Weld. They will be on the ballot in all 50 states. If for no other reason than to punish the two major parties for giving us unacceptable choices and delivering the message, “never insult us again”, vote for this ticket. But there are many more reasons to take this action beyond penalizing the two party political establishment. Johnson and Weld , both have been successful two term  Republican Governors in blue states. They actually have more executive experience than the two major party candidates combined and records of successfully working with the opposition. Having a President who is neither Republican or Democrat opens up possibility of tackling our most intractable problems. Entitlements and immigration are just two things we desperately need to confront now before we suffer real damage. The two major party candidates refuse to even  entertain entitlement reforms even with the absolute knowledge they can’t be sustained in their present form. The fight over immigration is tearing the country apart. (actually as we pointed out in recent post “On the Move” entitlement reform is in part dependent on immigration reform). With someone in the White House that favors both, we’d have someone to mediate solutions. More importantly, the parties would have someone to blame for the benefit of their respective bases. In this endeavor, William Weld in the Senate would be invaluable in forging the needed compromises as no vice-president before him ever could. With a ticket that is fiscally conservative and culturally liberal, they simply would have far more room to horse trade.  Just maybe it would give us a needed timeout from partisanship to achieve reasonable and needed outcomes.

This is supposed to be the year of the outsider and this ticket surely fits the bill better than the ultimate insider Hillary Clinton and the man who by his own admission paid often and well to obtain crony capitalist benefits, Donald Trump. Beyond change,we could actually solve some of our problems and bring the nation closer together. This would be tall order but for the guy who conquered Everest and cast 750 vetoes, Gary Johnson is tough enough to do the job. He and Bill Weld just might be inline with where the  majority of Americans actually are. If you take a look and compare, you’ll buy the Datsun.

Yesterday I switched from your program and ultimately settled at NPR’s Weekly Review. It was then that I realized that a bond with an old friend had been irretrievably broken. No we have never met, but having tuned you in when possible for decades believing I had a reliable on air small government free market soul mate, for me it was a relationship. While your program went national after the Reagan Revolution had already taken place, you provided a daily dose of not only your thoughts but those like minded conservative thinkers. Talking not only of your meeting  William F. Buckley, but reading from contributors to his National Review. You quoted endlessly from Thomas Sowell’s books and columns. Even when you were off we were treated to  your most popular guest host, Walter Williams. All this did much to further the cause. Without  many other capitalist media sources, you provided a megaphone for free market ideas and exposing the follies of big government. Yet here I was listening to you mocking Thomas Sowell and all those “establishment elites” contributing to National Review and it’s  like minded sister publications. How could they talk about media ratings whores that just might include you? The thought that you might fit the description came to me when I heard you speak of Baseball’s Arizona Diamondback owning Kendricks who were willing to spend millions in  order to stop Donald Trump even if it meant losing ticket sales without any comprehension or understanding of their convictions from you. Chicken or egg, which came first for you, following some of your audience drifting into Pat Bucannan nativism  or did you get there all by yourself to attract the “blame it all on others crowd” to bolster your ratings? It doesn’t matter. Here you are endorsing, a mercantilist big government nativist. Thomas Sowell , the other “Elites”or I haven’t changed our convictions, so it has to be you. Look in the mirror and tell us what you see. Is it a man who changed out of conviction? Then you owe it to your audience to explain your journey to from  free markets to protectionism and all the rest. Is it being a media ratings whore? Others such as Glen Beck, Mark Levin and those Wisconsin talkers all risked losing listeners but went with their convictions but  not you if you still believed in free markets. Or maybe you see a Trump slogan spouting guy in sun glasses who refuses to listen to rational argument. Repeating the hoary argument of anyone is better than Clinton when you can’t possibly know what in fact Donald Trump believes or would do in office puts you behind the sunglasses.. “I’m against  raising  the minimum wage/I’m for raising the minimum wage” “I’ll open the coal mines, but I’m for Nuclear power” and on and on. At least with Hillary we know where she stands and can oppose her. With Trump you’re probably sleeping with the enemy and all that portends. In any case, it isn’t just a choice between the two. Conservatives vote Republican because it is closest to their convictions, but now many will find the Libertarian Party and their  candidate philosophically closer than either and they will have that choice in every state. After all, this is a year where anything can happen. Well, what about the Supreme Court you cry? One thing we know is that the Trumps are a close knit family. Who would Trump go to for advice on appointments, his left leaning judge sister or some “loser”conservatives?  What would you bet your future on? A libertarian would be a much safer choice to appoint judges that would limit government excess. Empty slogans not reason. At least the sun won’t get in your eyes.

I don’t expect an answer and if you comment on the air I won’t hear it.  Just getting some closure to a long term relationship. I’ll post this on the Blog detourontheroad.com so in the future people will know why I have no Idea what Rush is saying and have no interest in finding out. .

Trump’s Health Plan-Nothing really new here.  There’s no way this plan would have a positive effect on health care costs other than being able to buy policies across state lines. This of course has been part of virtually every alternative plan including our “Dave’s Plan”,but by itself it can’t hope to make a meaningful reduction of costs. Remember our plan (for new readers find under Policy the series describing the plan) aims to actually bend the cost curve down by on one side making people spend for healthcare out of their own savings (Personal Benefits Accounts PBAs) while relieving providers of the bulk of paperwork and credit risks associated with healthcare. These kind of market pressures have resulted in lower costs in other fields and we have no reason to believe it won’t have the same effect in healthcare.On the other hand, by covering preexisting conditions, tax breaks and further expansion of medicare, the Trump Plan could indeed cost even more than Obamacare. Dave’s plan initially could also add to cost but only because it covers everybody, but it does it with exactly the same cost per person as Obamacare. Future costs will be reduced by it’s powerful market features. Add complete portability and leveling the playing field between small and large businesses and we really have a plan that empowers individuals in their own healthcare. Against this, Trump’s Plan seems to be a grab bag of previously advanced ideas without serious intent. It’s probably a good thing that the plan’s ideas are so old that the statute of limitations probably prevents him from  being sued.

Trump winning-People have said we were wrong in our prediction that Trump had topped out.(Hitting the Ceiling 3/3/16 Commentary) We concede nothing. Trump has been winning more delegates in a divided field, but he has done it with virtually the same 30-40%. He is now faced with having to acquire the needed 1237 delegates before the convention or be faced with some ugly alternatives and unless he can expand his base it’s unlikely he gets there. With his increasing opposition from women,  foreign policy flubs and total incoherence on abortion expanding his base is increasingly a mirage. If he is unable to win on the first ballot, he’s done.  Trump has no chance on future ballots. The delegates just aren’t his people. Trump needs to win Wisconsin and then get over 50% in New York to be a winner taking all to have a clear path to 1237. Stumble on either and the path looks like a contested convention. Losing both would be a Trump’s worst nightmare. On the eve of the Wisconsin Primary it doesn’t look promising for Trump. Polls show him with a wide over 50% lead in New York  but this could be a double edged sword. a slippage especially under 50% and all the news will be how he is slipping which could further his downward momentum. At some point he’ll have to confront the possibility of a convention 1st ballot loss. If he can’t reach 1237 before Cleveland on his own he’ll have to use his supposed negotiating skills to make a deal or deals to get there. The problem is with who? Continue reading →

While this morning all the noise is about how Donald Trump is going to take over the country, may we just say that the Donald has already peaked. Didn’t anyone notice while we had big Republican Super Tuesday turnout with all this these supposed new voters, Donald got the same mid 30% of the vote he has been getting. Even though some polls showed him expanding his base he under performed across the board. Generally at this point in the primaries the leader is expanding his or her’s base. Instead the exit polls 50% 0f the expanded number of voters said they really don’t like him. In other words, Trump is   bringing out equal or greater numbers of people who are against him. This is horrible math for the front runner. The under performance was after less than a week of sustained attacks on Trump. A lot of votes had already have been mailed in before his last horrible debate performance and the attacks. It is hard to see his base growing in the face of these sustained attacks he will see all the way to the election if he ever gets that far.

Why he wasn’t exposed earlier, will be question for the ages, but it’s started and it is a target rich environment. Maybe the Republicans took it easy on him, but the Democrats won’t. All his bigotry and misogyny will be used to gin up the opposition while leaving him stuck with a minority of a minority base.? Of the 50% of Republicans that really don’t like or worse fear him form a huge pond for the Dems to fish in. Many won’t vote Dem but won’t vote for Trump either. Another candidate or write ins are always a possible. For a candidate that hasn’t received 50% in any primary, where exactly does he go for votes? If he actually gets the nomination he may add those getting  or hope to get a check from the party and those who habitually without thought vote Republican. Not much there to expand the his base. After all how many Christies are there? Yesterday will be remembered as Trump’s best day. A deeply flawed system may let him win the nomination with far from a majority of voters but the nomination under these circumstances will be fool’s gold. It will be all down hill for Trump from  here.

Nobody seems to have thought of the irreparable harm Trump win or lose will do to his brand. Half of the country would avoid staying at an Obama Hotel. Let’s play golf at the Obama club? That’s if he wins. More likely he loses but is faced the major discomfort women would feel having anything to do with the Trump name. Given the wide choice of hotels, office building and golf clubs, why would anybody take the real chance of offending. Hispanic groups, you have to be kidding. The value of saying I live in a Trump Tower would take on a whole new meaning. One that wouldn’t denote increased value.

That brings up the question of judgement not only of Donald Trump but of his family. Anyone looking at Trump’s financial statements would quickly surmise that his greatest asset and the one that everything else hangs on is the Trump name. Why would you risk everything knowing that name for many will become synonymous with bigotry and misogyny. It’s impossible not to clearly see the harm when millions and millions of dollars will make that perfectly clear. Maybe Donald is an out of control narcissist,but where are his supposedly brilliant children? Are these actual Stepford Children? Sell out first then run would’ve made sense to anyone but maybe that would’ve shown his empire wasn’t what he claimed. The real worth of anything is always what someone is willing to pay. From this day forward, the Trumps will find their speedy trip to Ego City ends going off a cliff. Everyone should’ve seen it coming. Unfortunately a lot of other s will also suffer. But that has never been a Trump concern. Check his numerous bankruptcies.