Donald Trump For President

The 2016 campaign has been very heated, reflecting the pulse (pun intended) of our nation.

The GOP is very divided, deservedly so.  Elected GOP representative think they are part of a production of Animal Farm, turning into the legislators we sent them up there to defeat.

A strong field of GOP contenders set out to gain the nomination.  Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Scott Walker could have easily won my vote.  I chose Sen. Ted Cruz, who had a vibrant history of fighting the establishment

However, Donald Trump won the race.

Unlike many, I did not take the #NeverTrump route, which I considered juvenile.

Donald Trump, who no doubt loves America, does not meet many of the principles and positions I as a proud member of the Reagan Revolution champion.

However, as we enter a version of The Fourth Turning, a historical and cyclical period of turmoil which places the continuance of our nation at risk, our nation will require exemplary leadership during this period. As Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform notes in researching The Fourth Turning, "The Grey Champion doesn’t necessarily have to be a good person, but they must lead and display tremendous confidence in their cause and path. Franklin, Lincoln, and FDR have many detractors, but during their Fourth Turnings, they most certainly led, casting aside obstacles (sometimes illegally) and enduring dark days and bleak prospects for success."

In my mind, Donald Trump fits perfectly the characteristics of a Grey Champion.

His opponent?

Hillary Clinton is an arrogant hypocrite, an intellectual progressive operative with disdain for the blue collar working families she professes to support, an individual who dreams of squelching free markets through taxation and regulation championing crony capitalism in support of self promotion and her political advocates all the while welcoming opportunities to abuse power. In no way, shape or form is this an individual we should even remotely consider for our highest office. She is a champion of distortion and failure.

The nation, due in large measure to the progressive policies engaged upon during the Obama administration, is in great peril. Things will worsen, at least in the short term, no matter who wins.

Should Hillary Clinton win, our nation ceases to exist as founded, and freedom and liberty retract measurably as the world enters deeper levels of violence, darkness and despair.  Yes, that bad.

Donald Trump offers hope, championing individualism and patriotism. We may not wish the Grey Champion to come, but come he must, and come he will.

He is here, his name is Donald J. Trump, and America desperately needs him to become the 45th President of The United States of America.

A Grey Choice

Jim Quinn, of the truly excellent blog The Burning Platform, quotes Franklin Delano Roosevelt from a speech in Philadelphia in June of 1936: “There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”

It seems apparent that America is facing such an important turning point in 2016.

Quinn has written extensively in spellbinding eloquence and intellectual fortitude about The Fourth Turning, a book written by Struass & Howe in 1997 which advanced the idea of generational cycles where decisions by particular generations of individuals have life altering consequences, not only individually, but for their generation and for generations to come. Similar to the Tytler Cycle, the thought centers that life is not led on linear progression, but rather a reoccurring circle of generational trials and tribulations, that if not dealt with effectively, can significantly alter the tract moving forward.

Both the book and Quinn's works on the subject I would highly recommend you seek out and consume.

Quinn summarizes in his writings the theory of a Grey Champion, who emerges at the time of the fourth turning, a period we have recently entered as a nation. Quinn discusses it as follows:

"The world is becoming increasingly chaotic and the American people are seeking a leader who can bring order, make tough decisions, and capture the zeitgeist of this moment in history. They are in search of a prophet generation (Boomer) Grey Champion, whose arrival marks the moment of darkness, adversity and peril as the Fourth Turning careens towards its climax. The Grey Champion doesn’t necessarily have to be a good person, but they must lead and display tremendous confidence in their cause and path. Franklin, Lincoln, and FDR have many detractors, but during their Fourth Turnings, they most certainly led, casting aside obstacles (sometimes illegally) and enduring dark days and bleak prospects for success. Is there someone of that stature ready to lead the American people now?"

Apparently conservative icon Sarah Palin thinks such an individual is Donald Trump, whom she endorsed at a campaign rally late this afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump

“I am greatly honored to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Mr. Trump said in a statement trumpeting Mrs. Palin’s decision. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”

In many ways, the endorsement of Trump by Palin is not surprising, but most would have thought she would have sided with the true conservative in the race, Sen. Ted Cruz. However, there is no doubt her endorsement will provide Trump a significant boost in the campaign.

Like many others, Palin feels Trump is a powerful force that will wrestle the power away from government and give it back to the people, making America great again.  She may not be wrong.

In fact, if you subscribe to the thought process of The Fourth Turning, Trump does in my mind fit the criteria of what a potential "Grey Champion" would look like.  Trump seems poised to upset the apple cart, dealing establishment politicians a heavy blow and disrupting the status quo, which as Ronald Reagan once noted, was Latin for the mess we are in.

When asked about Palin's endorsement of Trump, Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said on CNN’s New Day "I think it [would] be a blow to Sarah Palin, because Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause, and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly, she would be endorsing someone who’s held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion.”

Bristol Palin

While Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, and apparently Sarah herself, took great offense, Mr. Tyler is correct.

Although it may not be a central factor in the grand scheme of things, or as part of the emergence of a Grey Champion, Trump is not a conservative. Trump has previously supported eminent domain, bailouts, a single payer health care plan and a wealth tax.  Good grief!

Trump is so far away from conservatism, and given the potential of a Hillary Clinton presidency, which we feel would doom America as founded, we encouraged Trump in 2011 to play a real trump card and run as a Democrat to derail her.

An area which we disagree with Trump strongly on is when he often notes that our government is being run by incompetent people.  That through process is incredibly naive and dangerously incorrect.  The folks running our government, full engaged in orchestrating the transformation of America, fully understand what they are doing, and without any real push back from the GOP, have been quite successful in their endeavors.

Furthermore, Trump thinks, that with his intellect and proven success as a businessman, he can control the levels of government in a much more efficient manner, bringing America back to prosperity with the right administrator.

Except I wish to drastically reduce the levels of government, whether it is "administered" by someone whose ideas I champion or someone whose ideas I vehemently oppose.

Ben Shapiro wrote a great piece today, noting "The Palin Acid Test: Do You Care More About Conservatism Or Fighting The Establishment?"

Sarah Palin

I have been and continue to be a big fan of Sarah Palin, and this may the first time I have parted company with Palin. While I am also a fan of Donald Trump, and will gleefully support him should he win the GOP nomination, I will remain true to my principles in the primary, and like Shapiro, position myself at home with the conservatives.

However, it is worth noting, that as a subscriber to the ideas presented in The Fourth Turning, it certainly does appear Trump may be just who are nation is not only looking for, but needs.

We may not wish the Grey Champion to come again – but come he must, and come he will.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe – 1997

Perhaps that is what Palin is seeing and feeling. Maybe I don't disagree with her after all.  The choice is Grey.

A Crazy Diamond

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

Time-Pink Floyd

This truly excellent piece by Jim Quinn over at his top notch website The Burning Platform is not only well worth your time, but must be defined as required reading.  Mr. Quinn, who I would not know if he rang the front doorbell, has remarkable knowledge of the economic and social adversities plaguing our nation and presents well thought out and referenced material backing his eloquent opinions, the majority of which I find to be right on target.

On many occasion, you can find the stellar work of Mr. Quinn re-posted over on Zero Hedge, certainly among the top sites anyone interested in economics, finance and the intervention of government around the global economy.

Quinn has an additional gift in matching lyrics of time tested material by the finest in music, most notably Pink Floyd, to assist in his demonstration.  Each of these efforts have been tremendous, as is his latest tying the classic Floyd tune "Time" to the citizenry failing to recognize "No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun".

Intervention by government has placed the citizenry in a financial box by design. Seniors wealth is being eaten away and the difficulty of the young to obtain decent wealth levels has grown exponentially, strangled with a lack of quality available employment and extreme debt. 

In chasing the American dream, we are all "Shorter of breath and one day closer to death." 

Stealing wealth from the citizenry, eliminating employment opportunities through taxation and regulation places a stranglehold on those seeking prosperity through the freedom of the marketplace.  Some will achieve greatness in the face of this orchestrated adversity, but the greater majority will be beaten down by failure and succumb to the crowd whose monthly income is enhanced by government assistance.

It is important to note that those who are endowed enough to promise such benefits are equally able to take them away, unless you conform to their wished.  The electorate drowning in the sea of irrelevance described by Aldous Huxley become those "Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town, Waiting for someone or something to show you the way".  

Think about all those who complain about "The Man", then go out and vote for those who employ "The Man", the progressive big government officials the low information voters think is working ever so hard to help them. All part of the Cloward & Piven strategy.

You cannot go out and discuss with the low information crowd the affects of price controls have on them, or how raising the minimum wage actually raises unemployment, makes life more difficult for those who receive the higher wage and limits choice of all of consumers.

Getting their attention can only be accomplished by an intervention in culture.  Glenn Beck is attempting this over at The Blaze, and Jim Quinn, through his utilization of Pink Floyd, often presents the compelling facts entangled with musical brilliance, which would shine like a crazy diamond for anyone who wishes to see.