Among the most compelling drivers of our impending, national, “irreconcilable differences” divorce is the way we view politicians. Nowhere is this chasm wider than in considerations of Donald Trump, whose mere existence has spawned a deadly contagion: Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Pausing to consider these approaches may be instructive.

Republicans/normal americans: also recognized are Republicans in Name Only (RINOS), Never Trumpers and a few other sub-species. They have a healthy suspicion of politicians. They’re constantly being burned by politicians who talk a good game, but once elected develop Pasta Spine Syndrome (PSS). They expect all politicians to be fools, criminals and fast-talking grifters. However, they’re willing to be pleasantly surprised, just as they were with Donald Trump.

They tend to worship the one God, so they don’t see politicians as Divine, quite the opposite. They tend to call such idolatry what it is: blasphemy, though the term is, these days, underused. They do, however, see the Constitution as something approaching gospel.

They tend to be focused on what works, on merit, because they live in a world demanding they produce to survive. They don’t expect anyone to support them or their families; they’re ashamed if they can’t. Accordingly, they’re willing to continually re-examine and change policies if they’re not producing results. They know we’re all fallible, flawed—there’s that God thing again—and make mistakes.

They also live in a world built on individual and institutional trust. They make multi-million dollar deals on a handshake and tend to get a bit touchy when people lie to them.  They see duty, honor and country as far more than political rhetoric.

They’re people of practical application rather than faculty-lounge theory. They work hard, obey the law, leave others alone and expect to be left alone in turn. They really dislike criminals and the politicians that coddle them.

Image: Donald Trump speaks at the inauguration. Wikimedia Commons.org. Public Domain.

No sane american worships Donald Trump or any other politician. They recognize his many flaws and sometimes wish he’d just shut up.  

They’re ready to vote for him again, however, because his policies reflect their real world. They have no doubt he loves America and Americans and will put America first because he already did. They know Trump has to be among the most honest people alive. The Government spent millions and years, even before he was elected, pursuing Trump like the Hounds of Hell, and the best they can do is laughable political prosecutions designed to deny him a second term? A two and a half year Russia(!) investigation with every resource of the federal government yielded not even a jaywalking charge. That’s because government should have been pursuing Hillary Clinton and other leftists. They knew it was a scam from the beginning, and now everyone knows it.

They tried two impeachments, the second when Trump was out of office! Both failed.

Americans don’t like criminals, but they recognize the charges against Trump are political, not criminal, and they like that even less. They know most of the charges in the non-insurrection of January 6 are also political, and they’re looking forward to Trump making that right. They’re also looking forward to Trump draining the swamp more effectively than he did the first time. This time he knows who to target: the Deep State targeting Normal Americans.

Sure, they’re looking for a little tasty revenge, but mostly, they want their republic back. They want politicians and bureaucrats properly restrained by the Constitution. They want to live under the rule of law again, with one standard of justice for all.

Still, Trump confuses them. He recently said he wants to keep FBI HQ in DC, and build them a really wonderful new building rather than scattering them to the wind and salting the Earth. What’s that about? Human, fallible, nature.

Trump is a real estate developer, a builder. He made his reputation building what no one else could, under time, under budget with the highest quality. His instinct is to revert to what he knows. The smart thing, the Normal American thing, to do is spread government bureaucracies across the country, make them live among the people they want to control, give them a taste of American reality. That might have a sobering, restraining, influence. 

Or maybe he’s trolling them. He surely has no love for the FBI, just as his supporters don’t. Dangle a carrot, get elected, then snatch it away and ship them all to Sioux Falls? The problem is Sioux Falls wouldn’t want them.

Normal americans are going to vote for the Republican nominee on the firm belief whoever it is will be vastly better for America than any leftist. The closer they are to Trump’s known policies, the better. 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor and retired police officer and high school and college English teacher.  His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.