Salena Zito reminds us - and it needs to be said repeatedly - that Donald Trump was not the cause of the populist surge, which had already begun in 2014. Nor did he ever fit it perfectly, he was just the only national player willing to be noisy about this particular disenfranchised group. In fact some would say he never fit them all that well at first, they molded him into something more to their liking. Others would go further and say he still didn't fit that group even at the end but held the field by default, and because the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Their coalition formed long before Trump descended that escalator in 2015. He was never the cause — they were already there, just waiting for the right person to speak up for them. He was the result.
They showed up and voted in the midterm elections in 2006 against the Republican establishment. Some of them voted for Barack Obama in 2008 because of his aspirational message, then voted Republican two years later because he did not live up to the ideals he had run on.
No party represents the interests of the American working and middle classes. None. The Democrats are the party of the 1% and freaks. The Republicans are the party of business.
ReplyDeleteWhat so frightened the Establishment was the enthusiasm of the workers and middle class for Trump and his message. The Establishment is still terrified of him, and seeks to destroy him, for now by various kangaroo courts, but if he runs in 2024, they will kill him.
Frankly, considering the level of left-wing political violence in this country, I am surprised Trump has not been killed already. He really should flee the country.
If the Establishment does kill Trump, there will be reprisals. Everything will unravel.
PS. I voted for him twice, because the opposition was and is Satanic. I will not vote for him again, because he a weak President who could not control his own staff.
I don't think the Republican party is still the party of business, except perhaps small business. That has slowly eroded. Both parties are defined more by who they dislike than by who they themselves are at this point, plus some vaporing about which of the "ignored" groups they supposedly care about.
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