WasWinM, on 2026-May-22, 09:20, said:
Here in Oklahoma many of the Republican political ads condemn "career politicians" as the evil that's ruining the country. I got to thinking about that. Isn't that reasoning part of the problem so many can't let go of Trump? For decades, the dream of the Republican party has been to run the federal government like a business, with a CEO replacing the president. It's hard to let go what you've always believed to be superior when your fantasies turn out to be false. The goals of a government and a business are vastly different and the skills do not travel.
Part of the problem is that he wasn't actually a very good businessman. Think of all his businesses that failed. It's not like when Ross Perot ran for president.
He was also a pretty crooked businessman. When he did succeed, it was often by stiffing suppliers and contractors.
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As for "career politicians", it's pretty simple: when you have to have an emergency surgery, which are you hoping to see right before sleep takes you and the scalpel slices you open: a "career surgeon" or the owner of a family real estate business?
There's certainly a conundrum there. You want people who are experienced, but you don't want people whose priority is keeping the job rather than doing the job well.
In the real world, if you don't do your job well you usually get fired. That's not the case in politics, where keeping your job is often more dependent on things like personality and money. You just have to convince people that they don't want to elect your opponent.
And you can lie your ass off when campaigning.