Revolt vs. Risk

Revolt vs. Risk.

That seems to be the best way to describe the Presidential race now that the presumptive nominees have both been decided.

Do voters revolt against the establishment and vote for Donald Trump?

Or is voting for Donald Trump just too much of a risk?

That is what this election is all about.

There is no one more tied to the establishment than Hillary Clinton. She personifies the unholy alliance between special interests, politics, power and money. Privilege, politics and power has been her stock in trade her entire life.

You see evidence of that throughout her life.

She supposedly turned a $1,000 investment into a $100,000 profit in cattle futures over the course of 10 months in 1978 and 1979 while Bill was Governor of Arkansas. Despite this smashing success, she never invested in futures again. If you were good enough to turn 100 times on your money in less than a year, why would you quit? Why would you bother practicing law? Why would you ever be "dead broke" years later?

She was the first woman partner in a Little Rock law firm but that was at the same time Bill was Governor. How much of her practice depended on that relationship?

She ran for the U.S. Senate in a state she had never lived in right after leaving The White House as First Lady. Of course, she stated that Bill and she...

"came out of the White House not only dead broke but in debt,"  had "no money"  and "struggled to piece together the resources" for mortgages and her daughter Chelsea's college education.

Of course, things worked out pretty well for Bill and Hillary after they left The White House.

It worked out even better for them when Hillary became the U.S. Secretary of State.

Bill Clinton earned $48 million in speaking fees while Hillary was Secretary of State. More than half of this amount came from companies in foreign countries. Wasn't that convenient?

Here is a list of speaking fees by Hillary Clinton herself between the time she left the State Department and when she announced she was running for President. She collected almost $22 million. Click here for a full size image.

The Clinton Foundation raised upwards of $500 million from 2008-2012 (during her run for President in 2008 and tenure as Secretary of State), with substantial sums of it in the form of donations from foreign governments and entities. In the last year before Hillary embarked on her Presidential campaign the Foundation received $178 million in "donations".

In fact, in 2013, according to tax filings, the Clinton Foundation spent less than 10% of its budget on charitable grants ($8.8 million). It spent $17.2 million on travel, rent and office supplies. The Clinton Foundation exists principally to promote the Clintons, rather than

The activities of the Clintons are a big reason people want to revolt against the Establishment.

The system is rigged and the Clintons have spent a lifetime of rigging it in their favor. Trump calls her "Crooked" Hillary. Have the people reached the breaking point and will they revolt?

On the other hand, is Donald Trump just too risky?

What will he be like as President? Savvy businessman? Supercilious snake oil salesman? Tough negotiator? Temperamental tyrant? Proud patriot? Petulant politician?

Those are the questions before voters. The Democrats will doing everything they can to paint Trump as too risky and reckless to take a chance on. If they took a choir boy like Romney and made him look bad, you can only imagine what they will throw at Trump.

Credit: KansasCity.com

However, Trump fights back. Hard. If people want a real revolt they are not looking for a nice guy. They are looking for a fighter.  However, Americans also want someone who they perceive to be fair and honest.

Ronald Reagan led a revolution of sorts in 1980. He was a nice guy and he was still portrayed as risky and reckless. He was able to allay those concerns and won by a landslide over Jimmy Carter. However, the result in doubt until people went to vote. The polls were dead even heading into election day.

Can Trump do the same thing?

The voters seem willing to revolt. The primaries point to it. However, voters are only willing to risk so much. If he wants to win, Donald Trump needs to be seen as reasonable and rational while also being seen as revolutionary. It will not be an easy task.

If he can do it, he will win.