That’s the way people like Trump look at politicians. Why suffer the hassle of running for, and holding office, when you can buy or otherwise influence or control, a whole bunch of elected officials? This seems to be the way Trump operates his businesses as well. Why go through the hassle of running a company, when you can hire someone to do it for you? Trump’s a big picture guy, who doesn’t want to sweat the details unless he has to.
In a sense, honest people who run for public office, as I did in Alaska, are fools. I was in the Alaska Legislature from 1982 to 1990, at a time when there was so much oil money coming out of Prudhoe Bay that everybody in Alaska with any sense and ambition was getting rich. The lobbyists who would follow me into the bathroom when I was taking a leak, in order to get a word in with me, were making as much as half a million a year. I made $45,000 for a four month session, sometimes longer. If I would have sold out, as a lot of people in the Legislature did, I could have made big money too.
I’m not complaining. If had sold out, I would have been a whore, and I would no longer have any self respect. I’m saying guys like Trump think I’m some kind of chump. And maybe I am.
And so is Mike Pence. He’s worth $500,000. Total. He’s 57 years old, an able, capable man, at the height of his earning potential. And he’s still putting money away for his kids’ college. What a chump.
Trump and I are alike in many ways, and neither one of us should ever be President. I think Trump is as smart as I am, and there’s good and bad in that. Big picture guys, guys that don’t like to sweat the details, who don’t like being in a lot of meetings, who don’t put up with any bullshit, who are impatient with dullards, who just want to do things rather than talk about doing them, these kind of guys would not be good Presidents. For a :President, you want a normal, intelligent and diligent man. You want a Reagan, or a Pence. Trump’s not normal, and he’s only diligent if he really has to be. That covers me, as well.
What Trump is, is a traitor to his class. He comes from a different world than the one I came from. And I believe he wants to do right by people like those I grew up with.
I’m going to see him tomorrow in Reno. It’s about 100 miles as the crow flies from where I live in the Gold Country. I’ll get there early, so I can get as close to him as I can. I want a real good look at him. I won’t be wearing any Trump paraphernalia. Just an old Goldwater button.
reaganproject.com 