This page was last updated on September 5, 2015.
It’s time to replace the professional politicians; Thomas Hughes; Beaver County Times; September 1, 2015.
If you’re not familiar with Mr. Hughes, he’s a flamethrower. In a 2015 letter-to-the-editor, Mr. Hughes said he was 60 years old.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Did anyone see the interview between Megan [sic] Kelly and Sen. Ted Cruz?”
[RWC] In a letter-to-the-editor of July 12th, Mr. Hughes declared Donald Trump is his candidate.
“She asked Cruz if two illegal immigrants have kids in the United States, would he deport the parents with their children? Donald Trump said yes. Cruz rambled on for 15 minutes without answering a yes-or-no question. A simple question and he couldn’t answer it.”
[RWC] You’ll find Mr. Hughes’ “15 minutes” is really two minutes and 20 seconds. Here are the video and transcript of the subject interview. Here is Megyn Kelly’s question to Ted Cruz: “If you had a husband and a wife who are illegal immigrants and they have two children who are here who are American citizens, would you deport all of them? Would you deport the American citizen children?”
Here’s Mr. Trump’s answer to a nearly identical question asked by Bill O’Reilly the night before: “‘We have no choice,’ Trump replied. ‘We have to send them out, and if they are wonderful people we will bring them back in an expedited fashion. We are a land of laws, we have borders, and these are illegal immigrants who are not supposed to be here. I have a bigger heart than anybody running, but our country is out of control and we have to get a process started. If I am elected, illegal immigrant gang members will be out on day one!’” Unlike Mr. Hughes, it’s fairly clear Mr. Trump didn’t treat the question as “simple” or “yes-or-no.”
Though Mr. Hughes claims Mr. Trump simply answered “yes” to the O’Reilly question, you can see he did not. Other than the “We have no choice” portion of his answer, the core of Mr. Trump’s answer was similar to Mr. Cruz’s.
I don’t like evasive answers, but I understand why they exist in politics. It’s no secret everyone is looking for something – no matter how large or small – to turn into a candidate’s “gotcha” moment. Let’s look at the subject question. Had Mr. Cruz answered “no,” it could have killed his primary campaign. Had Mr. Cruz answered “yes,” we would have been battered and flooded nonstop with sob stories telling us what a mean man Mr. Cruz is, complete with video of hungry and thirsty little kids wandering around Mexico near the U.S. border. Even if Mr. Cruz had qualified his “yes or no” answer, all we would have been bombarded with would be the “yes” or the “no,” depending on the opponent.
“Politics is not a game, it’s a disease. It’s time to get rid of this disease.
“We have three non-politicians running for president. They are rich and set for life. They owe nobody anything. They can’t be bought.”
[RWC] At first I assumed Mr. Hughes’ “three non-politicians” were Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina (hasn’t held public office but was 2010 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, losing the general election), and his guy Donald Trump. That assumption changed when I read Mr. Hughes’ July 12th letter. Mr. Hughes wrote in that letter, “There are 23 candidates running for president, and 22 are professional politicians,” meaning there was only one “non-politician” in the race at the time, Mr. Trump. Mr. Carson and Mrs. Fiorina announced their candidacies in May, however, over two months before Mr. Hughes July 12th letter. As a result, I don’t know who Mr. Hughes considers the other two “non-politicians” to be.
I mean no disrespect to any of the candidates, but how can anyone authoritatively make Mr. Hughes’ comment? To do so would require far more information about a candidate than we’re going to get from debates, financial disclosures, interviews, etc.
“Professional politicians are a dying breed.”
[RWC] What are Mr. Hughes’ guidelines for being a “professional politician?” I ask because Ted Cruz is less than halfway through the first term of his only elected office, U.S. Senator for Texas. Mr. Cruz’s other government jobs were clerk for an appeals court judge and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Associate Deputy AG at the U.S. DoJ, Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, and Solicitor General for Texas.
Do “non-politicians” – successful or not - automatically become “professional politicians” after their first campaign, or is it a perceived frame of mind?
Below you’ll find Mr. Hughes’ responses to these questions on the BCT website as of 9/2/15.
Now let’s take a look at excerpts of comments made on the BCT website.
sdcox posted at 2:07 pm on Tue, Sep 1, 2015. (Our BCT subscription is my brother’s, hence the “sdcox” screen name.)
“What are the guidelines for being a ‘professional politician?’ I ask because Ted Cruz is less than halfway through the first term of his only elected office, U.S. Senator for Texas. Mr. Cruz’s other government jobs were clerk for an appeals court judge and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Associate Deputy AG at the U.S. DoJ, Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, and Solicitor General for Texas.
“Do ‘non-politicians’ – successful or not - automatically become ‘professional politicians’ after their first campaign, or is it a perceived frame of mind?
“Robin Cox”
thughes2222 posted at 9:10 pm on Tue, Sep 1, 2015.
“Dear Robin, I guess you can’t read or comprehend what your [sic] reading. You stated all of Ted Cruz’s history. So if he’s not a Professional Politician? Why couldn’t he answer a yes or no question? How can you trust anybody that can’t answer a yes or no question? It’s very simple! Say yes or no! He could not answer the question. Why? Somebody has him in there [sic] pocket. Just like the other 15.”
[RWC] His letter is about “professional politicians,” focuses on Mr. Cruz, and then Mr. Hughes writes “So [what] if he’s not a Professional Politician?”
Back in July, Mr. Hughes said there were “23 candidates running for president.” Now Mr. Hughes says there are only 16 candidates, “the other 15” plus Mr. Trump. Is this correct?
Did anyone notice the guy complaining about someone not answering a question did not answer my question?
thughes2222 posted at 9:14 pm on Tue, Sep 1, 2015.
“PS Robin, 1/2 way through his first term and wants to be President? Seriously?”
[RWC] I infer from this comment Mr. Hughes thinks someone only “1/2 way through his first term” doesn’t have the experience to be President. If true, doesn’t that run counter to Mr. Hughes’ position only “non-politicians” should run for office? After all, if someone only “1/2 way through his first term” doesn’t have the experience to be President, how can someone who’s never held public office?
© 2004-2015 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.