Donald Trump hits one out of the park

Conservatives have been complaining for decades – and rightfully so – that Republican presidential candidates don’t take the fight to the opposition, they don’t fight on offense, they contend only for the votes of those who support Republicans without thinking about the alternative.

The last presidential candidate who really contended for all voters won in a landslide – twice.

His name was Ronald Reagan.

Of course, he was a polished communicator. His political instincts were avowedly conservative. And he had a disarming smile.

Donald Trump doesn’t have all those characteristics.

But this week he delivered one of the most avowedly conservative speeches America has heard in 50 years, contending for the Democratic votes, minority votes and inner city votes.

It was a masterpiece.

What do YOU think? Sound off on Trump’s big ‘law-and-order’ speech in Milwaukee

If this is any indication of where Trump is taking his campaign, it may be headed to a much higher and more effective plateau than we have seen through the primaries and conventions.

He’s taking the fight right to the Democratic Party and its friends in the media and political establishment.

In Milwaukee Tuesday night, Trump made a direct, undisguised and coherent bid to peel off a percentage of black votes that have gone uncontested for too long in presidential contests – notably those of Mitt Romney, John McCain, George W. Bush, Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush.

He did it without apology, without sounding patronizing, without compromising conservative principle and without fear of attacking Democrats where they are most vulnerable – in the results department.

Stepping into a city ravaged by riots and mayhem for days, he pledged to make American cities not only more safe, but more prosperous, more productive and more free.

He attacked Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party for taking minorities for granted, exploiting them for political gain without improving their lives over the last 50 years.

“Law and order must be restored. It must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially the sake of those living in the affected communities,” he said. “The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods. It is their jobs, their homes, their schools and communities which will suffer as a result. There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor, and will never be accepted in a Trump administration.”

He called for more police in America’s poorest communities and more effective policing.

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“Just like Hillary Clinton is against the miners, she is against the police,” he said. “You know it, and I know it. Those peddling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society – a narrative supported with a nod by my opponent – share directly in the responsibility for the unrest in Milwaukee and many other places within our country. They have fostered the dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America.”