JanineLargeEvery time I’ve gotten wind of Janine Turner’s latest political pontifications, I can’t help but wonder, because I’m such a “Northern Exposure” fan, “What would Maggie O’Connell think?”

Maggie was a fiercely independent woman, but I don’t exactly picture her as someone who would be impressed by the charms of Donald Trump.

(Yeah, I know it’s not a news flash that actors are not the same as the characters they play, but forgive me for finding it all still a bit jarring.)

Turner, a fervent Republican evangelist to an extent that might even intimidate Maggie’s conservative “Northern Exposure” friend Maurice Minnifield, has both online and radio series dedicated to the cause. Her latest argument, as discussed in a Washington Examiner op-ed today, is that Republican candidates (with the exception of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum) are making a critical mistake in not participating in the upcoming Trump-moderated GOP debate. 

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Her argument: Trump’s appeal to the common man.

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… Yet, the Republicans have balked. They have reneged on a cheeky chance to garner a wide berth of potentially new recruits – the autopilot liberals.

Many align with the Democratic Party because it is “hip.” The liberal elite presents the Republicans as stuffy and boring. Younger generations are vulnerable to the subliminal, perverted message that only the Democrats care for the poor, the environment, the teachers and the firefighters.

To them, the Republicans are rich, wealthy, selfish characters who simply want to trample on the less fortunate and ruin the environment.

Ironically, what better way to contradict this myth than with an iconic entrepreneur who has the ear and eyes of the mainstream populace.

Trump, with his star quality and mesmerizing arrogance, is willing to offer the Republican candidates a paparazzi paradise showcasing their reasonable, hard working characteristics and that they, too, care about the poor, the environment, the teachers and the firefighters, not mention the economy and national security. …

“A paparazzi paradise showcasing their reasonable, hard-working characteristics.” No, I have to believe Maggie would not see Trump as the key to having Republicans taken more seriously than they already are. But that’s my problem, I guess …

Update: Trump announced this morning he has pulled out of moderating the debate.

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