I had yet another conversation with one of the local party guys this week where the subject of Donald Trump came up. My friend told me that he actually likes The Donald, but he should “stay in his lane” and build successful business enterprises. The reason for this, apparently, is that Trump is great at being a boss, but totally unable to relate to the common man. The evidence presented for this was all the crazy stuff he says about things like immigration. Specifically I was informed that Trump’s whacky ideas about immediately blaming illegal immigrants for violent crime, such as the horrible murder in San Francisco, was so far out of the mainstream that nobody could take him seriously.

My friend may want to take a look at the latest Rasmussen poll on the subject of so called “sanctuary cities” and how the rest of those “mainstream” Americans feel about it. I’ll say this for Donald… he may rile a lot of folks up, but he also gets them talking. (From Rasmussen)

Following the murder of a young woman in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant from Mexico, voters want to get tough on so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to enforce immigration laws.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the U.S. Justice Department should take legal action against cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 26% oppose Justice Department action against sanctuary cities. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Fifty-eight percent (58%) believe the federal government should cut off funds to cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Thirty-two percent (32%) disagree, while 10% are not sure. This marks little change from May 2011 when legislation was unsuccessfully proposed in Congress to stop all federal funding for sanctuary cities.

That’s not a snapshot of a country who disagrees with Trump, nor even of a fairly divided nation where a plurality are leaning one way or the other. That’s more of a landslide, really. It’s not just a question of whether or not sanctuary cities are a good idea… 62% of Americans want the feds to do something about it. You can only muster up a quarter of the country who are opposed, and that’s basically the same percentage that probably think Nancy Pelosi would make a great President with the ghost of Che Guevara on the bottom of the ticket.

Even more surprising (at least to me) was that it was still a solid majority when the question turned to Washington going so far as to cut off funding to these cities until they come into compliance with the law. That’s a fairly major step which would have significant impact on many of the citizens almost immediately. If people are that fed up with the situation, perhaps the GOP need not be so timid when reporters demand that they distance themselves from Trump and all of his crazy comments.

These cities are not striking a blow for progressive values or leading the way into the future. They’re violating the law and placing their own residents (and the rest of the nation) in danger. Enough is enough. And while I’m still not coming here today to preach to you about what a wonderful president Donald Trump would make, perhaps our party leaders could be at least a bit more judicious in determining which portions of his diatribes they’re going to condemn when the reporters come calling. On at least some measures the guy has clearly tapped into what a lot of us were thinking for a long time.