It seems almost daily that Republican Candidate Donald Trump casts another insult at someone or something previously held in high regard in this country. Think about it--women, the disabled, Honored Prisoner of War Senator John McCain, His Holiness The Pope, Mexicans, Muslims, Gold Star Military Families, President Obama, and African Americans, among others. Each time, the national media speculates that Trump's campaign for President will flame out, as others have done in the past, for fewer transgressions. So why does Trump seem to rebound in the polls? Why doesn't Teflon Don stick? These might be some of the reasons:
1. As many of us remember from Norman Lear's television series of the 70's, there are many Americans that harbor deep seated dislike for many minorities in our country. Trump has targeted these angry Americans for his vitriol. The more he talks, the more these people respond.
2. Some of the pent up support for Trump comes from a feeling that our current government has gone too far in internal partisan bickering, mandated government programs like Obama Care and same sex bathrooms for children, and government set asides for minorities sometimes at the expense of majorities. Very little is offered as an offsetting concession to the conservatives from the liberals or vice versa.
3. Neither major political party has reached across the aisle for bi-partisan support of a current major issue like, Criminal Justice Reform, Confirmation Hearing for Judge Merrick Harland to the Supreme Court, or Zika Funding, to name a few.
4. But, without question, the main reason Trump rebounds after each gaffe, is a similar horrific disclosure about his opponent, Secretary Hillary Clinton. Her list includes numerous allegations about her lack of veracity dealing with government emails, conflicts of interest, glaring omissions, and outright lies to the American public. She recently pandered to an LGBT audience by insultingly calling half of Trump's support a "Basket of Deplorables." Also, try as she has to recruit them, new and young voters, especially followers of Senator Bernie Sanders have not come over to Clinton.
Insults may feel good to cast, but they come with a price to pay. We are a country deeply and somewhat evenly divided between Red and Blue, Liberal and Conservative, and Black and White. The winner, at some point, will see that success lies in the middle.