The Don-goose: Our Republican Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Pundits all across the political spectrum have been unable to explain the Trump phenomenon, with most falling back on the condescending conclusion that it's just another one of those occasional populist movements with a base appeal to the great unwashed, those tens of millions out there in flyover land that Obama described as clinging to their guns and religion. There''s a better explanation, and its appeal is psychologically deeper than where these lazy pundits are looking. Hillary Clinton, since her emergence from Arkansas as the carefully spoken, Eastern-educated Midwestern mate of the "aw shucks" good ol' boy governor who smooth-talked his way into the White House, has always evoked a visceral response from those of us on the conservative side of politics. That queasy sense that something about this woman just isn't right turned to outright revulsion when Slick Willie's gross disrespect for the high office he held opened a can of worms that was more like a cask of copperheads.

As revelations of their sleazy and criminal past and present emerged, Hillary came to be the focus of our disgust and anger – more so than her degenerate mate, who in spite of all his licentious behavior retained enough of his good ol' boy charm to maintain some likeability, much like an errant ne'er-do-well uncle. Hillary, standing by her no-good man and attacking the women he allegedly raped and sexually assaulted came to be seen as the scheming enabler in a marriage bereft of any purpose other than political progression, and particularly her own. Adding to Hillary's negative aura were the many insider reports coming out of the Clinton White House about her fuming fits and petty shows of disrespect for those there to serve her husband's official and personal needs, especially those in military uniform. Hillary Clinton left the White House with much of the country loathing her while also being fearful of her future political ambitions. It was well understood that her carpet-bagging senatorial campaign in New York was but a step on her path to become the first female president, and her success was followed with a sense of trepidation by those of us who followed the determined path of this venomous politician. It has been that way ever since, and now that she is closer than she has ever been, millions of Americans are hoping for something or someone to prevent this horrible woman from leading this country to further Democrat designed decline. Enter Donald Trump, the brash, outspoken, shoot-from-the-lip New York billionaire, who brooks no political drivel from any source and is fearless when face to face with his opponents. Trump used his twelve-gauge delivery to shotgun the stage in the Republican debates, clearing away those candidates unprepared to deal with this super-confident phenomenon that none of them had ever expected to be there, much less blowing them away with his stage-sweeping bluster. During that first debate, I turned to my wife and remarked that if Hillary happened to be viewing, she must be having some very uncomfortable thoughts about facing such an unconstrained political pit bull on a debate stage with the whole world watching. My wife's broad grin confirmed my thought that there must be millions of watching Americans who were seeing and feeling the same thing. And that, all you clueless pundits, is a major reason for the Trump phenomenon: conservative Americans see him favorably as a non-Romney-type Republican candidate who will get Hillary on the debate stage and give her the verbal whipping of her life, bluntly demanding from her answers to all those questions about her lurid and even criminal past that we have all longed to see someone ask, without permitting her to weasel out with her usual smokescreen responses. With Donald Trump, for the very first time, American conservatives will have a clever, determined, and fearless mongoose going after this Clinton cobra – this dark, menacing thing that has been slithering through the tall weeds of American politics for three decades now. The cobra can spit, and she will most certainly strike, but as Wikipedia will tell you, the mongoose has an immunity to snake venom while, the cobra has little protection against those fierce claws and sharp teeth. It's just the kind of fight American conservatives are yearning to see, with their money and their votes riding on the Dongoose. Rudyard Kipling would love it: American conservatives have their very own Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.