Here is what I don't understand.....
Carson has reinvented his positions on Health Care, Immigration, Gun Rights, Affirmative Action. Rubio has swapped his on Immigration and Common Core among other things.
Why is it that people "forgive" or "allow" Carson and Rubio to change their positions and yet, that is not allowed for Trump?
Inquiring minds.....................
Are you suggesting that bias gets in the way of perception?
Don't forget Hillary, very recently supporting only "traditional marriage", supported NAFTA and TPP, brags about balancing the budget (as First Lady?) with an economic surge that was caused by cutting capital gains tax rates and tightening the freebies of welfare. Proof of Hillary being only about Hillary was that getting a like minded liberal elected to two terms who implemented all of her agenda and more was a truly personal loss and setback to her.
The difference in perception is this: Ben Carson is a very principled guy trying to apply his deeply held principles into real world, 2015-2016 policy positions. He is a very authentic and principled person, at least that is the perception that has gotten him this far. Leaving Trump out of it for a second, Hillary is a what? A left leaning, power hungry, self interested person to put it nicely. So when she says, I oppose the pipeline, she is saying that is the position most advantageous to me at this moment.
When Ben Carson says he wants to see a healthcare system based predominantly on health savings accounts, I think he is saying that is what he tinks is best for America at this point in time. When he comes out with policy positions on the whole gamut of issues, I think he is trying to do what is best, and comes at it from an intuitively conservative point of view.
Trump is more complex. Obviously he is a self promoter, wants to win more than any of them but defines winning differently than Hillary. If or when he steps out he has already won. What his prior versus current positions mean exactly, no one knows. He doesn't have deeply held conservative and constitutional principles in my view. Skipping the private taking issues, then use his support for the Pelosi-Reid congress. That was too recent and too clear of a choice to get wrong no matter what your conservative frustrations were with people like McConnell, Boehner or Bush.
Rubio rubs the two of us differently. You see an establishment puppet, a political opportunist.(?) Leaving immigration aside for a different discussion, I see Rubio as pro-growth, limited government, freedom loving, tyranny hating, principled conservative. So when he comes out with a tax plan that starts with a top rate that is still too high, I believe that he knows those rates need to come down further, not that he is a closet, big government liberal or status quo centrist.
What underlying, governing philosophy do people associate with Trump (again, leaving immigration aside for a separate discussion)? His campaign is more to elect the person than to move the country in a certain direction, IMHO. All his position changes happen to be in the direction of winning the current contest, the R nomination. What would his position changes be in a general election?
