Slow Weekend...

Not much going on in politics. What's that? What about all the violence at Trump's rallies? Well what about it?

From the moment Donald Trump held his first rally he has set a tone that encourages roughing up protesters. All politicians get protested, it's happening during this Presidential cycle at every candidate's rallies on both sides. But only Donald Trump has yelled from day one " get 'em outa here!" He has even had members of the press removed. At first it was done by his private security but now he has Secret Service protection and that changes everything. Why you ask does it change things? Because in 2012 a law was passed that says any political rally which requires the presence of Secret Service details will not allow protesting inside the rally. Protesters must remain outside and in a designated area. Violators of this law could face up to one year in jail.

Most politicians are immune to protesters and very good at dismissing them. If protesters become overly disruptive they are removed by security without brutality or much force beyond a firm voice. The politicians absolutely do not encourage their supporters to physically attack the protester. Not so with Donald Trump. His crass behaviour encourages violent action and laughter about it. His shtick is dangerous. I don't know what's in Trump's head but I would imagine it's something like this, "Trump,Trump,Trump,Trump,Trump,Trump,Trump, I can't believe I'm getting away with this, Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump!"

Donald Trump is a narcissistic salesman who will say and do whatever he has to in order to close the deal. He is responsible for encouraging the bad behavior of some of his supporters but he can't make them do anything. Those who have physically engaged others are doing so because they are already inclined to that behaviour and are using Trump's rhetoric as their justification. Naturally Trump denies any responsibility but does mildly state he doesn't condone violence.

As to the calamity that took place in Chicago this past Saturday night, it was inevitable. But once again we have Donald Trump telling a lie. He said after consultation with local law enforcement he decided to cancel the event. The Chicago Police Department and University of Chicago Police both state they never spoke with Trump or his campaign. They had deployed plenty of Officers and were prepared to deal with any disruptions.

Trump has been blaming Bernie Sanders for the problem which is not true. There were organized protesters present and some of them are pro Sanders but the campaign had nothing to do with it. This is classic Trump, deny all responsibility for your own actions and blame other people both real and fictitious.

I've said Trump is not Hitler or Mussolini and I stand by that analysis. He is more akin to a banana republic dictator or our own home grown demagogues  like George Wallace. He is all negative all the time. He recites a litany of problems but has no solutions except to elect him President because he is just so great he'll fix it all with the magic of his personality. He truly believes his strongman bully tactics can lead the greatest Republic in the history of the world. He believes that democracy can be twisted to suit his ego by force of will alone. He is sowing the seeds of hate with reckless abandon and so far it's working in his favor.

He uses the language of "taking back our country". This always begs the question, take it back from whom and return it to what?

The world is watching and wondering, is the U.S. losing it's mind? As a concerned observer I can only say I hope not. It is worth noting that Trump is not the first demagogue to run amok on the national stage. As a whole we generally come to our senses before driving off the cliff. Will we this time?

It has been said, by some, that the Republican Party had a large number of good candidates for President this year. I think not. If they do wind up in an open convention the big question remains, do they have the fortitude to say no to Trump? Unpredictability is exciting. It's also a bit scary. If Trump is ultimately victorious and Ben Carson is right that there are two Donald Trumps, which one will emerge from the convention? And should he become President, which one will take the oath of office on January 21, 2017?