Is Donald Trump a Conservative or a RINO?

If you've been watching the Republican presidential contest for the nomination, you will have noticed all the hype surrounding Trump. Early on, the common sentiment was that, "Don't be concerned; he's just a showman and will burn out soon."

Well folks, that didn't happen and the pundits are getting nervous. They're not sure why he is demonstrating such holding power. It's easy to see; he has tapped into a nerve common to the average Joe and Joan on the street.



He's talking about the issues that concern the common citizen. The established Republicans have long promised to tackle these issues. They include jobs, illegal immigration, the economy, crime, local and national political corruption, and more.

The professional politicians have a habit of making promises regarding these issues while on the campaign trail but once elected, they promptly forget and proceed glad-handing with the boys carrying the money bags.

Now that they are getting nervous they are crying, "Trump's not a real conservative!"

But how many true conservatives are really out there among the candidates or sitting in Congress? I can't find one except for Ted Cruz. Even though Republicans control both the House and the Senate, they continue to capitulate to the liberal Obama administration.

John Boehner was a huge disappointment as Speaker of the House. Paul Ryan showed promise early on but has since proven to be Obama's lap-dog.

Donald Trump scares them because he is not beholden to special interests, speaks his mind (coinciding with the average man and woman on the street) without worrying about political correctness, and is actually a financial success unlike the mainstream ruling class suckling the government teat.

It's impossible to say in advance how conservatively the Donald would run the country, but one thing's for sure. He couldn't do any worse than the current batch of RINOs. Let's make America great again.

Rep. Frank Says Yes to Marijuana

Ron Paul (R-Texas) joined Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in sponsoring a bill that would legalize the use of medical marijuana and, in addition, decriminalize the use of marijuana.

This idea has been floated in the past. In fact, some areas have decriminalized possession of small amounts and allowed it for medical reasons, only to have the pendulum swing back the other way by federal intervention. (Some would say meddling in state's affairs.)

The timing of this bill is interesting, coming just as the presidential primaries are reaching critical mass; well, at least in the Democrat camp. It will be interesting to see how this plays if the candidates are put in the position of having to state an opinion.

And no, no one wants to hear that lame line about not inhaling.

Frank does have a good point when he stated, “I think it is poor law enforcement to keep on the books legislation that establishes as a crime something which in fact society does not seriously wish to prosecute.”

The problem here is that the issue of the war on drugs, at least where it applies to marijuana, is nothing more than a political football. Like IRS reforms, so many federal jobs depend on it that it's just not going to go away.

Clinton and Obama Mine Buckets of Money

The interesting thing on the Democrat side of the presidential primaries, other than the infighting, is the amount of money being raised for this incredibly tight race. Hillary Clinton soaked up $35 million in February alone while Barak Obama trumped her with his own $55 million - a record.

Where is this bonanza coming from? MoveOn.org, for one. Trial Lawyers are another group that has a vested interest in seeing the Democrat Socialist agenda succeed. And of course, we can't forget about all the Hollywood crowd.

The labor unions are also bedding down with both candidates, but that's just to be expected. There was a time when labor unions really did serve an important purpose in this country, but in most cases it's pure nostalgia (and big business) now.

Last year I spent some time at a Lyondell refinery and it was a very eye-opening experience. There was a very real emotional and political wall between management and the workers but it was all very surreal. It was literally the only place I have ever been where workers without college degrees pulled down 100K per year and still moaned about how "the man is keeping me down." The word crybabies comes to mind.

But back to campaign finance. How are things faring on the Republican side? Senator McCain is the only man left standing on this side of the fence which gives him a decided advantage at this point.

The focus of his fund gathering can be for the general election, not the nomination. Also, unlike Obama and Hillary, he doesn't have to spend gobs of money courting superdelegates.