Friday, July 17, 2015

REALITY TV MEETS THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY


"Can a nation remain healthy ... whose brightest stars are film stars?" - Winston Churchill

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

Upon hearing today that Donald Trump had topped the poles among Republican candidates for President, I immediately thought of the above two quotes. Here at the beginning of the twenty first century we are confronted with the spectacle of a reality TV star becoming the frontrunner for the Republican Presidential nomination.  I am certain that the Democrats can scarce contain their glee. Given the reports that Trump has contributed over $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, one might suspect that his candidacy is aimed more at helping Clinton get elected than at getting himself elected. Unless he is totally out of touch with reality, he has to know that he has zero chance of getting elected. He does, however, have a much larger chance of turning the Republican Party into a laughingstock and sabotaging the candidacy of the eventual Republican nominee. Yet he is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

All of which puts me in mind of another aphorism:

“In a democracy you get the leaders you deserve.” - Joseph-Marie, comte de Maistre

No comments:

Post a Comment