Pundits, on both the right and the left, have taken one look at Sarah Palin's endorsement of the Donald and are stepping over themselves to declare the GOP ruin as a political force.
To borrow a word: Hogwash.
It should be clear by now that I'm not a fan of Donald Ego, that I find Sarah Palin about as interesting a public figure as a half constructed night-stand. In short, I've got little use for either of the two. But it's important to remember that nary a vote has been cast in the primary election as of yet and at this time, eight years ago, Hillary Clinton was still viewed as the "shoo-in" to be the 44th President of the United States of America.
And even IF Donald Trump scores the nod, to run against Sanders in the general election, neither the GOP or the DEM party will be dead. Ballot access laws, incumbency protection fundraising schemes and gerrymandering almost assure it.
Suggesting that Trump (or Cruz for that matter) undermines the "brand" that the GOP has built is ignoring the fact that the GOP "brand" is currently a wheezing, rusty relic that's doing good in low-turnout elections but which struggles on the grand stage.
What's happening right now is that the people being polled (not the voters remember, we haven't gone to the polls yet) are throwing a hissy fit. A nation that has spent the last 15 years watching American Idol and other shows is suddenly realizing that the guy from "The Apprentice" is running for President and it seems kind of neat.
They KNOW him, and they don't know many of the others. Oh sure, most on the Left and the Right know OF Hillary Clinton, but they can't get around the fact that they just don't like her all that much. Clinton is robotic, elitist and doesn't seem like a person you would enjoy sharing a beer with. As a matter of fact, she seems like the type who would order a soda water and then spend the afternoon lecturing you on why she made a better choice. Sanders, on the other hand, would have a beer but would then spend the rest of the evening complaining that the brewery is owned by rich people. Not only would this grow tiresome but, by the end of the night, you'd really wish he would find his own ride home.
Cruz looks like he might skip out on the tab, Rubio would take FOREVER trying to figure out what he wanted, Rand Paul would sit in a corner and accuse everyone of doing it wrong and Jeb? would spend the entire night telling stories about how he USED to be the best beer pong player in his frat house, back in 1985. Kasich is probably and angry drunk, as is O'Malley, Fiorina would giggle nervously all night until you wished she'd just go away and Carson would spend all evening telling you about how bad beer is for your health. Rick Perry would have been fun, but he doesn't count anymore. Santorum and Huckabee, of course, don't drink.
Trump, on the other hand, looks like a guy who would chug the beer, order the table a round of shots and then goose the waitress when she brought them. Yes, he'd talk too loud and most of his stories would probably be full of shit, but he at least seems like you'd get some laughs out of the deal. None of the other candidates are offering that right now. Because of this, and because he speaks out of turn and seemingly doesn't care when other candidates land damaging blows, people are gravitating to him.
But this still doesn't mean that the GOP is somehow dead.
What it really means is that one reality TV star has endorsed another, and that the first reality TV star is hoping to parlay that toward a second VP nomination in hopes that she can either continue to feast at the government trough or, at least, after losing parlay that into a renewed round of interest in her TV career.
Just keep in mind, the first ballot has yet to be cast.
