Donald Trump on Federal Lands

In an interview with Field and Stream Magazine, Donald Trump accidentally revealed his understanding of Federalism, by declaring that states would not know how to best manage land which ought to be under their own sovereignty.

As the graphic displays, the federal usurpation of state sovereignty via federal property management is not a big issue on the East side of Manhattan, or frankly East of the Mississippi. But in Nevada, 83% of the state is federally controlled.  Based upon Trump's assertion, the Federal government should be in charge.  

In contrast, Senator Ted Cruz advocates devolving federal control of public land in the West to states. Guess that Cruz trust the people to wisely exercise their sovereignty rather than spotty federal oversight. 

Hope that no one thinks that Trump respects Federalism or will shake things in Washington up to have smaller government 

Trump Trashes Caucus System

On the eve of the Nevada Caucuses, in which Republican hopeful Donald Trump is polling with a substantial lead, the Manhattan Mogul cast some doubtful aspersions on the Caucus system. 

Trump told Hugh Hewitt that he does not think that the Caucus system is a good one. It seems Trump is afraid that a low information voter's mind might be changed by debate and persuasion.  

It goes unsaid, but the Caucus process might require some extra time for participants to perform their civic duty, which might dissuade some new caucus participants.  

In the back of Trump's mind might be the inconvenient truth that he underperformed in the Iowa Caucuses, where he came in second despite leading in pre-Caucus polling. 

The polls for Nevada are sketchy, often consisting of 240 or so likely participants so a twenty point margin might evaporate when people go to Caucus.

Of course, downplaying expectations is a customary procedure for a political professional, so it is no surprise that Trump does so too.  But Trump positioned himself to ignore the results if he does not come out on top but claim success if he does.