By the way, glad you're back again :)
Thanks!
If Trump is a puppet of the establishment, why is he saying so many things that are destructive to the carefully constructed narratives of the establishment and why has the establishment launched such a grand effort to denigrate him?
Maybe it's sort of Meta. The elite, self referencing the elite, in a derogatory way from a unpalatable source (to many) in a childish, inflammatory way. Almost like, if it IS coming from Trumps mouth, it's almost assured to be 100% BS or hyperbole. At least, that's how they may have expected most people to see it (and many do). What better way to discredit these ideas than to have a bloviating gasbag who would seemingly be willing to say or do anything for power.
Look at what he's famous for. He's always saying ridiculous things like "my golf course is going to be the greenest, bestest, most opulent golf course anyone's ever seen" or "my hotel is going to be the most awesome hotel anyone's ever seen". Let us not forget Trump Steaks, that were supposed to be "the best steaks anyone's ever tasted".
Most of his endeavors fail or do not come anywhere close to living up to the hype he gives them. Most people see him as dishonest, egotistical, rude and just downright silly. Shit, even his hair is a joke.
I don't think anyone, elite or not, ever REALLY expected anyone (save for a few "wackos") to take him seriously.
His main accomplishment this cycle has been to divide the anti-establishment crowd.
He's too extreme for ANY progressive and even for many conservatives. He will not get a single dem vote. He likely would not get all the conservative vote, and he's fractured the independent/libertarian segment. And perhaps that's what he was supposed to do.
This "live free or die" was gaining traction, possibly in a large part due to everything that's happened since the 2008 corporate socialist bailout (i.e. Wealth gap increase, job loss, erosion of labor unions, the failure of Obama to bring "change", the military-industrial complex most Americans are against, constant intervention in the ME that most Americans are against, etc. etc.). What better way to nip this thing in the bud than to divide those who are feeling disenfranchised, fed-up and have lost so much or enough that they are willing to risk fighting for a revolution?
Dividing the nation according to the two party line has been incredibly successful thus far. But I would argue that there has never been such a dearth in qualified candidates in a long time, maybe ever. Every republican in the running was a joke. Hillary is a criminal and even many of her own "party" won't vote for her. Bernie has a very loyal following, but that seems to only have succeeded at dividing the progressives and captured some independents. He will never get a conservative vote, nor will Hillary. I would be shocked out of my skin if Bernie got the nom. And while many progressives hate Hillary, those same people will then vote for her, if not only to ensure Trump doesn't get in. So, you divide the cons/ind/libertarians, enough to ensure there is enough disagreement to ensure he doesn't get elected. And they had to do that to make it look plausible that Hillary gets elected. She cannot carry enough votes on her own, so they had to divide the cons/ind/lib vote, the most ardent Bernie supporters will sit the election out, a little voting fraud/data massaging and voila! Hillary becomes our first female president (first a black man, now a woman?! We really have come a long way, baby!)
Hillary has been practically elected already according to our media, which as we've seen, shit in the media has a scary way of actually determining future realities (more proof, IMHO, of just how much this whole thing has been manufactured).
Like I said before, though, it really doesn't matter. What I find most poignant is the fact that Trump v Hillary is really what it has come to. Our government is so non-functional, so incredibly bought and paid for and devoid of all real power that I hold very little hope for this country at all. I pray with all my might that a bloody revolution doesn't occur. But the more this charade continues, the worse things get, I don't see it changing any other way. Trump is no savior. There isn't one, there isn't going to be one.
This will go on until enough people have lost enough to lose their hope and are ready to lose everything because they have nothing more to lose anyway.
History is cyclical. Empires are born, they grow, they go through a golden age, then they lose site of everything they once stood for. Greed and power corrupt, and finally the empire falls by destroying itself from the inside out. The prols revolt because death suddenly looks better than life, and this is when rulers start losing their heads. We aren't there, yet. I give it another 30-50 years, maybe, if things continue the way they are.