Trump's comments worry NC Republicans
Published November 27, 2015
by Laura Leslie, WRAL, November 26, 2015.
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump knows that inflammatory statements get a lot of media coverage - and he's made a lot of them lately. Now, there's growing concern among Republicans in North Carolina and nationwide that his comments are hurting the party's image - and its ability to attract moderate and independent voters.
Yet, he's still the solid leader in GOP polling in North Carolina and nationwide.
"People are buzzing," said longtime GOP political consultant Carter Wrenn.
Wrenn is no stranger to bare-knuckle politics. He worked for late N.C.Senator Jesse Helms, running negative ads against Democratic challenger Harvey Gantt that drew national attention. But he's never seen anything like the Trump phenomenon.
"In politics, most things are repeats of past things. Trump’s sort of a new thing. And the rules have sort of been suspended. And that's caught a lot of people by surprise," Wrenn said.
Meredith political science professor David McLennan said Republicans are right to be worried about Trump's effect on their brand.
"Donald Trump is going after minority groups that they’ve been working hard for years to try to bring into their large Republican tent," McLennan said. "I think from a strategic perspective, if you lose women, you lose all the African Americans, you lose the Hispanic population, where do you go? There’s not enough old white guys left to win the presidency."
Wrenn says Trump's poll numbers increased after the Paris terrorist attacks of Nov. 13th, as potential voters looked for a strong response.
"He may be bellicose, he may get his tongue into gear sometimes before his brain, but he seems strong," Wrenn said. "They want to defeat ISIS. They’re scared. And I think Trump has appealed to the need for a strong man to face the enemy."
McLennan noted that Trump's rivals are starting to push back against his statements much more forcefully than in the past. Jeb Bush called the Muslim registry idea "abhorrent." Marco Rubio said Trump's 9/11 story is "not true." And John Kasich's super-PAC is buying $2.5 million in ads attacking Trump for his inflammatory comments.
"I think they’re starting to realize that Iowa’s just around the corner. If he wins Iowa and New Hampshire, how do they stop him?" McLennan said.
He added that other Republican candidates have reason to worry as well, especially those who need to appeal to independents and moderates.
"Sometimes voters don’t separate the person at the top of the ticket from other Republicans down-ballot. If Donald Trump is the nominee, then you look at Governor [Pat] McCrory, Senator [Richard] Burr, all the way down the ballot – they’ve not made those inflammatory statements, but they could be collateral damage," McLennan explained.
"They’re playing defense against their own candidate, not against Democrats," he said. "I think that’s the real concern."
Wrenn says it's too early to say whether Trump's candidacy or his potential nomination will affect the GOP's image in 2016.
"It's sort of like a hurricane out to sea. Is it going to come ashore and wreak havoc? Or will it just dissipate? Nobody knows right now," Wrenn said.
Meantime, North Carolina Republican Party director Dallas Woodhouse downplayed concerns about Trump's comments.
"We are currently having a healthy robust debate among a wide range of candidates on a wide range of issues that will help Republicans and unaffiliated voters make a decision in an exciting and competitive North Carolina primary," Woodhouse said in a statement to WRAL News. "This debate is good for our party and country as a whole, as opposed to the Democratic Party which is determined to coronate a flawed candidate who is in lockstep with President Obama"
November 27, 2015 at 10:54 am
Dr. Boyd D. Cathey says:
Laura Leslie's comments about Donald Trump illustrate both poorly researched news making and an ideological bias which is scarcely concealed. Following this campaign closely--which Leslie SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING to write her report--she should have discovered that THE WASHINGTON POST (Sept. 18, one week after 9/11) DID indeed report that Muslims in New Jersey were dancing in the streets and on rooftops celebrating the destruction of the twin towers; she should have also discovered that Trump's reference to Mexicans who come across the border who are rapists and murderers was presented with specific examples, and NOT a wholesale statement that EVERY illegal coming in was such a criminal (will she deny that?); she should discovered that the "gotch question" about registering Muslims was couched in Trump's response by a reference to building a border wall and, as he stated afterwards, a complete registry of ALL who come in from war-torn countries where Islamic terrorism exists, and indeed, his opposition to entry at this moment; she should have discovered that the Black Lives Matter protester was hurling profane expletives and screaming insults, and that he was expelled by event security and NOT beaten up by attendees; she should have discovered that Trump never called "women" generally bimbos.
Interesting, she partakes in the ridiculous far Left immigration lobby technique of appropriating the overused and denatured term, "fascist," to describe Donald Trump. It is, I would suggest, a classic extreme Leftist tactic, that is, to label your enemy with a "devil term," rather than support your accusations with in depth and thorough--not to mention, balanced--research and reporting.
Donald Trump has, certainly, a checkered past, and he is a master of strong, even fierce rhetoric. But most everything he says is backed up with a factual basis. What Laura Leslie doesn't seem capable of realizing is that millions of Americans are completely fed up with the Establishment, the DC cocktail circuit, the Wall Street/Sheldon Adelson/pay-to-play manipulation of the Republican selection process, just as they are furious at and frustrated with the direction that the American nation has taken, not just under Obama, but under Bush and Clinton earlier.
They are willing to put up with bombast and hard talking, even some crude remarks, if they believe that the man standing before them will shake up, even bring down the Establishment. And if that man takes no funds from the lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce, and Wall Street--if he funds his own campaign and is not "owned" by any of the GOP fat cats and is independent of their bidding, all the more reason to support him.
Thus, none of the one-sided, tendentious reporting of a left wing hack like Leslie will influence them. Rather, her attacks will only strengthen their resolve...and rightly so.
Sincerely,
Dr. Boyd D. Cathey
State Registrar, NC State Archives (ret'ed.)
MA, University of Virginia (Thomas Jefferson Fellow)
PhD, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
