We hear many fallacies in election years. The fallacy that seems to be most popular this year is that, if Donald Trump comes close to getting the 1,237 delegates required to become the Republican nominee, and that nomination goes instead to someone else, then the convention will have ignored “the voice of the people.”
Supposedly Republican voters would be outraged, many would stay home on election day, and some might even vote for the Democrats' nominee, whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
Mr. Trump has more than once made the veiled threat that he would run as a third-party candidate if the Republicans failed to “respect” him. And of course Trump would himself decide what “respect” means.
In so far as the voting public believes the fallacy that choosing someone other than Trump is ignoring “the voice of the people,” when Trump has the most delegates, his threat carries weight.
In reality, Trump has never gotten a majority of the votes in any state. In other words, “the voice of the people” has been consistently against nominating Trump.
In a poll of Republican voters in Wisconsin, 20 percent of them said that they would be “concerned” if Trump became President of the United States, and 35 percent said that they would be “scared.”
If “the voice of the people” has spoken, whether in Wisconsin or nationally, what it has said repeatedly is “No” to Donald Trump. The illusion of Trump’s overwhelming appeal to the Republican voters has been maintained by the fragmenting of Republican votes because so many candidates were running as conservatives that Trump won primaries without ever getting a majority of the votes.
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So many people losing credibility this election. If so many people are so scared then why are his rallies not 100 people but in the thousands - more than most have in general elections. Also, why is he winning in states that are high evangelicals like North Carolina, South Carolina? Interesting that Mr. Sowell is tooting a party line when the establishment party is exactly what people are now rebelling against. It used to be that Sowell was on the side with the people, now he's just pandering to so-called conservatives lining up behind the destruction of America. Just really staggering and quite sad.
ReplyDeleteI agree, 902, Sowell is off base here. When there are three or more (like 19) candidates running for one position, one will NEVER get over 50% support.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder about where he gets his 35% number of people who would be "scared"? Is that the Democrats in the crowd along with half the republicans? They SHOULD be "scared", because Donald is about to come in and take away their candy and return it to us, the people.
We will not "settle" for Sanders or Hillary. WE are voting for Trump in November wherever he is, because WE are righteously pissed off at the establishment whores that tow the party lines.
So, put that in your pipe and smoke it!