Dakota Beacon

The surge of Donald Trump as an outsider should come as no surprise. If it weren’t for the behavior of the Washington establishment there would be no need for Donald Trump. The Trump phenomenon is nothing new. The Republican Ruling Class created the current situation.

I know. I speak from experience.

In 1987 I was still on active duty with the US Army serving in the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As such, I could not be politically active. I was “Hatched,” a term used for government employees who were covered under the Hatch Act and prohibited from partisan political activity.

My wife, however, was not prohibited and participated fully. She worked with direct mail pioneer and conservative Richard Viguerie in Northern Virginia on various political campaigns. This brought us into contact with a variety of political notables such as Morton Blackwell and his Leadership Institute and President Gerald Ford’s Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf among others. These were heady times in Washington, DC under President Ronald Reagan. After retiring from the Army I, too, became politically active.

Many lessons were learned not the least of which was that the established rulers within the Republican Party (and the Democrat Party) do not like newcomers gaining ascendancy. And they do not like conservatives. This was very obvious in Ronald Reagan’s case. Reagan was both an outsider and a conservative. In the end he prevailed.

For the better part of the last century the US Government has been run as an appendage of the controlling Democrat Party with its liberals and progressives and with the complicity of the Republican Party.

The dominant media has also been increasingly complicit with liberals, progressives and Democrats. In effect, the media served as the public relations arm of the Democrats. In doing so, the media lost its moral authority squandering it with the American public long ago. The media cannot be trusted as an honest broker. This illustrates how far out of touch with the common man the media really is.

Enter Donald Trump. Professional Republicans hate him. He speaks to issues from which the professional politicians run. Nor does Trump need their money which means he can’t be bought. He resonates with the American public giving voice to their concerns and discontents. So what if he doesn’t have a “plan” for every situation. He has a thought and that is better than the Republican Ruling Class who has neither a thought nor a plan. They accomplished nothing even when given a majority by the American people in both houses of congress. Shame on them.

And that is why Donald Trump – and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have surged. They are not of the elite and American voters appear tired of elites.

The truth is the Republican Ruling Class does not offer a “big tent” in spite of their rhetoric. They have never truly welcomed conservatives or outsiders. They do not want conservatives or outsiders anywhere near the reigns of power. But when it comes to elections, the establishment most certainly will claim the mantle of conservatism because they want votes. They take the American public for fools. But, who are the fools when the Republican establishment picks losing moderate candidates to run for president?

North Dakota’s Republican Senator John Hoeven and Congressman Kevin Cramer are part of the establishment. Where is their leadership when it counts? On most of the following items, especially military legislation, they haven’t even co-sponsored legislation much less led on the national scene. They remain part of the inert establishment enjoying their perks. As part of the majority of their respective houses they have accomplished zero on illegal immigration, the devastating sequestration, the depressed economy, the fight against terrorism, correcting America’s disastrous health care policy, reversing the upward trend of the ever-increasing national debt, thwarting the monstrous spread of federal regulations – the list goes on. They are part of the establishment. Nothing changed in 2010, 2012 and 2014. What becomes of 2016?

The Republicans, including our own Senator and Congressman, are afraid of Democrats. They are afraid of the media. They are afraid of Hillary Clinton. They are afraid to lead. If their failure to lead is not enough, they are also indicted by their silence on outsider Donald Trump. The only person to give voice to America’s concerns in plain English is Trump. And conservative Senators Cruz and Rubio are anything but part of the establishment.

Next year, 2016, will not be routine on the political scene. Voters are irate.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).