trump and clintons: the truth

People who dismiss the idea that Clinton and others privately encouraged Trump to run because they smartly calculated it would create disarray in the GOP (which has indeed happened) and help the Democrats in the long run, are vastly underestimating the brilliance of the Clintons and their inner circle.

The Clintons invented the modern concept of triangulation in Democratic politics (taking the GOP's strongest policy issues and coopting them) and of turning an opponent's supposed strengths into a perceived negative/weakness and then using it as a bludgeon to beat them over the head with.

Karl Rove does this on the GOP side, but the Clintons were so masterful at it that they did it without it even being obvious they were doing it. How many people reading this truly grasp the importance of the fact Clinton took Ronald Reagan and used him as an example of WEAKNESS and FAILURE in the GOP? Not just in messaging to Democrats, mind you, but to the public at large and (most importantly) to independents. And he did it without ever seeming to bash Reagan personally even though he was repudiating the entirety of Reagan's presidency and everyone who claimed it accomplished anything good.

The point is, the Clintons have a more nuanced and complex an understanding of politics and strategy, and of undermining an opponent, than anyone involved in modern politics. Bill Clinton himself could probably sell a fireplace to the Devil, that's how convincing and charismatic he is. He makes people feel like the most important person in the world, and to someone like Trump that would be a pretty powerful political aphrodisiac. Imagine having a former U.S. president -- and one commonly perceived as being among the smartest and most astute -- tell you you should run for president while he fans your ego (and in this theory, imagine you have possibly the biggest and hungriest ego in the galaxy).

Does someone have to KNOW they are a plant, in order to be one? Do you have to realize you're being used as a tool to dismantle a party machine, in order to function effectively as that tool? I say the answer to that is "no." If the Clintons and others secretly worked behind the scenes to convince Trump to run and fed ideas and encouragement to his worst tendencies in order to derail the already-shaky GOP nominating season, and if Trump listened to them and took their advice to heart, then he is functioning pretty effectively as their intended plant.

It doesn't matter if he realizes their motivations or not. He might indeed have been entirely conscious of how and why the Clintons perceived his campaigning as an advantage for them, but he just doesn't agree or just doesn't care so long as (a) it serves his own purposes of expanding his own brand, and (b) he thinks he might actually be smarter than them and able to actually win regardless of what they think. The bottom line is, if they had a plan and took action to implement it, and if so far it's worked out as they hoped and expected, and if Trump's awareness is irrelevant to their plan's success at this point in time, then he's functioning as a plant exactly the same as he would if he were doing all of this intentionally to help them out.

Now, IS it true? Well, I think it's clear Clinton had private conversations with Trump; it's clear Clinton wants to deny and silence any talk of having played a role in Trump's candidacy; it's clear Trump doesn't want anyone to think the conversations were a factor in his decision to run; and it's clear that Trump's campaign has had exactly the same impact it would have if the Clintons had planned it out and encouraged it. So, the outcome is the same as if the theory were true; we know they did in fact meet, which the theory depends on; and we know they want us to stop thinking about it, which is what they'd do and say if the theory were true. None of which proves the theory is true, but it certainly goes a long way to undermining any strong assertions that the theory is absurd or irrational, or that it lacks at least some basic evidence making it interesting to consider and reasonable to think it's at least possible. Calling it ridiculous etc just seems to demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the fact this sort of thing is extremely common in politics, and is extremely consistent with the sort of maneuvering the Clintons are famously capable of thinking up and pulling off effectively while nobody believes it's possible.

Oh, and if you're doubting it based on the claim that Clinton couldn't keep his sex life secret, then I'd just point out that the fact you're aware of some secrets that they didn't keep quiet doesn't mean you're aware of all of the secrets you don't already know about. The severe flaw in the simplistic "the government can't keep secrets" claim is that it relies on the assumption you already know all of the secrets, when in fact if the government has kept secrets then you by definition aren't aware of them yet. Then there are all of the examples of major secrets the government kept for years and decades. More to the point, though, for those who think this theory can't be true because Clinton/the government/etc can't keep secrets -- we're discussing it right here, right now, so obviously it ISN'T a secret anyway, right? Right.

I'll tell you what I think... I think the Clintons got wind Trump was considering another run, they realized it was probably just a minor ego-boosting idea in Trump's head, so Clinton reached out and encouraged Trump, and then also reached out to other people to get THEM to encourage Trump, with the idea Trump would be such a huge disruption he'd draw most of the media attention from other more "serious" GOP contenders while also (very importantly) drawing attention away from the ongoing controversies surrounding Hillary Clinton. Trump's press coverage is dominating all of the election reporting lately, and has done much to stain the GOP's image with independents, moderates, and the two most important voting demographics for the 2016 election -- Latino voters and women voters.

So I don't for a second believe Clinton was talking with Trump and that those discussions never touched on the election, and that it's a coincidence Trump decided to make a big run for the nomination. Coincidences like this, and the way it's played out, don't just "happen" when the Clintons are involved in an election, folks.

Trump agreeing to run after being influenced by Clinton and others doesn't remotely require him to have the intended purpose of harming the GOP nor of helping the Democrats, by the way. Clinton wouldn't have to approach Trump by asking him outright to derail the GOP, nor would Clinton suggest, "Hey Trump, you'd be so awful you'd make the public hate the GOP, so would you run?" He'd probably point to all of Trump's strengths as a candidate, the way certain policy positions and "plain talk" would rally the GOP base around Trump, how there are no really strong personalities in the GOP field at this time who can compete with Trump's personality, and how the outcome is a huge boon for Trump whether he gets the nomination or not since it will vastly increase Trump's personal brand and put him in a much stronger bargaining position for future TV shows and media deals.