I have a history with Donald Trump. Having rescinded an invitation to him to a gathering in August after his comments on Megyn Kelly, I watched as Trump supporters descend on social media, my radio program, my phone number, and my mailbox to express their outrage. It was weeks before my children could check the mailbox again. I still get random and assorted hate mail over the incident.
Despite that history, when this election season is concluded, Republicans are most likely going to owe Donald Trump thanks. This season of Trump has fleshed out and forced out some rules of politics that only applied because they had never really been tested. Like Howard Dean in 2004 proving that the person with the most money does not really always win, Donald Trump is proving that the Republicans with the most veteran Republican political consultants do not always win.
In fact, at this writing, Jeb Bush hovers around three percent in the polling and has gone from multi-thousand dollar fundraising dinners to just trying to fill rooms with people. Had Trump not entered the race, Bush would have faced a traditional field and probably been much more competitive. That different, traditional field tends to line donors up with establishment picks. People forget the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan has only nominated one person since 1980 who backed Ronald Reagan in the 1980 primary cycle. That was John McCain.
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