WHY
THE
GOP
SHOULD NOT HIRE DONALD TRUMP
Originally
published in the New Hampshire Union Leader
By Jennifer Horn
April 27, 2011
As you sit drinking your coffee and catching up on the local
news this morning Donald Trump is barnstorming the state, shaking
hands,
kissing babies and carrying groceries for little old ladies, working
diligently
to get a foothold in the first in the nation primary.
Actually, he’s not doing any of these things, but if he was
serious about exploring a run for president, he would be. Today,
as “the Donald” copters in to attend a
few small, uber-private, highly secured meetings, New Hampshire becomes
just the
latest “date spot” in his love affair with the media.
I understand that Donald Trump has built his fortune as much
on his personality as on his investments and I understand that as long
as
people keep watching then the media will keep running with their
coverage of
this side show. But when he takes his
act on the road and parks out front in our beloved First in the Nation
state, I
figure it’s time to chime in.
Donald Trump is like a cat with a length of yarn, who keeps
jumping instinctively at the thread trying to grab it. Trump
can’t stop himself from reaching at the
media attention that has erupted as a result of one well-placed birther
comment.
Now it has grown into a firestorm of attention so fierce
that he’s practically giddy, unable to stop himself from spouting
outrageous
comments and placing himself ever more often in front of the cameras.
Donald Trump is not a credible candidate for President and
if the GOP allows him to hijack the primary process then they deserve
exactly
what they get.
I’m not sure why anyone, including Mr. Trump himself, would
even see him as a Republican candidate to begin with. He has
flip-flopped on his party registration
more often than John Kerry on Iraq. Trump was a Democrat, then a
Republican then,
in 2008, a Democrat and now he wants us to vote for him as a
Republican? Even the most experienced political
operatives get whiplash trying to follow his record.
His most recent exodus from the Republican rolls was over
health care reform; Mr. Trump supports universal, government mandated,
taxpayer
funded health insurance for all. I
understand this is going to be a big issue in this primary, but Trump
does not
fall on the right side of the line.
His political contributions reflect a history not of
supporting principles and policy, but of supporting whichever candidate
is in
power in whatever city in which he happens to be building a tower, most
recently a $50,000 gift to the mayoral campaign of former White House
Chief of
Staff Rahm Emmanuel.
Donald
Trump would have us believe that only he can solve
the challenges of an out of balance relationship with China, but he
is short on details. We already know
that we must enforce our trade agreements, hold China accountable for
devaluing the
dollar and reassert our economic authority, but how? By the sheer
force of his personality? If you recall, Barack Obama was going
to use
the same approach to right our relationships in the Middle East, and he
has failed miserably.
Donald Trump is a master of sound bites and our country’s
most successful self-promoter. He has
gone bankrupt more often than most of us can imagine and managed to
rebuild his
fortune on the investment of other people’s money.
In order to run a successful campaign he will either need to
convince his investors to come up with another 500 million dollars or
be
willing to sell Mar-a-lago. He will have
to spend the next 19 months doing the hard work of campaigning, mixing
and
mingling with real people.
I just don’t see it.
As our nation continues down a perilous path toward economic
collapse and the destruction of personal freedom, we are looking
desperately
for a principled, experienced leader. We
are looking for someone with a history of solving problems, with a
heart for
service and someone who shares our “America first” passion.
We are looking for a commander in chief, someone who can be
the leader of the free world, not a reality show character with an
attitude.
Sorry Mr. Trump, you are simply not qualified for the job.
Jennifer
Horn is the President of We The People and was
the 2008 Republican nominee for Congress in New Hampshire's 2nd
District.