The Age Of Populism
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Politics and Activism

The Age Of Populism

How the Donald Stole The Republican Party

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The Age Of Populism
musictimes.com

I remember when the Donald began his long ascent to the top of the Republican primary when he announced his candidacy in June at Trump Tower. Trump right off the bat, started with the all so famous statement declaring, "We are going to make America great again!" He announced that he would not accept money from any donors or lobbyists and that he would self-fund himself. The thing that really got the press going is his comment now on how Mexico is sending all of its' rapists, bringing their problems, and bringing their drugs. This, of course, played right into the mogul's hands. He literally dominated the media for weeks.

The speech, declared POLITCO, was "discursive, pugnacious... bizarre... most entertaining." This of course would come to characterize his speeches come the following debates and rallies. Trump's sears with rhetoric oozing with populist and nativist overtones. The networks at the debates have known this and love it! At first, if you can call it this, I thought it was entertaining. Because let's give the Donald this, he is entertaining. Yet, my amusement has quickly turned to horror. Before we go any further as a full disclosure I just want to point out that I do not like what the Donald's campaign tone nor his over the top rhetoric. None of my criticism of the Donald is because I am a Democrat. On the contrary, I am dismayed with the direction that the party of Lincoln (one of my favorite presidents) is currently heading towards and I am sure many Republicans would agree with me. This transcends mere partisan issues for many, including myself. If you are a Trump supporter, I urge you to give this read a try and see if analyzing trump's rise to the top prompts you to rethink your support. Anyways, lets look into just how the Donald became popular, who supports him and why, and his current chances of getting the Republican nomination...

Trump is "by far the most newsworthy story line of Campaign 2016, accounting alone for more than a quarter of all coverage" on NBC, CBS and ABC's evening newscasts, Andrew Tyndall said. Indeed, the media loves the Donald. From his bombast proposals to make Mexico pay for a wall to proposing that the U.S. places a ban on Muslims, the media knows that people will eat this up. Perhaps this speaks to a bigger problem that America has. Maybe it's all the reality TV? Yet, I digress.

Since July, numerous polls have sat him ahead of all of his Republican peers. (Click here to view the current delegate count of each candidate.) And when anyone got close, he would carpet bomb the candidate with rhetoric and insults reminiscent of a kindergartner. With all of the hype around Trump, rather it be disdain or support, many political pundits did not predict that this would translate into votes. They were wrong. Sure, at first the Donald got second place in the Iowa Caucus on February 1st. Yet, what soon came was a tsunami of Trump victories that took everyone by surprise. Many pundits and quite frankly Republicans wondered how someone with little to none substantial policy proposals (to be fair that has slowly changed as his website has added proposals, but his rhetoric still remains the same) and someone who made broad sweeping generalization of groups of people could be doing so well with no political backlash. Rather it was not willing to distance himself from the KKK or his often violent rallies filled with protesters (which apparently Trump says is Bernie Sanders fault if anyone was wondering), his support has just grown stronger. When he talked about pulling back libel laws so he could sue news outlets easier, many even cheered at a rally! Imagine, Conservatives cheering that the freedom of speech and press was about to be restricted? To add on to that, with the recent wave of establishment Republicans such as Romney and Lindsey Graham speaking out against Trump, Trump has only grown stronger. It just made voters more mad at the establishment.

Former Republican candidate Ben Carson, to many's surprise, endorses Trump citing that there are "two Trumps."

Many Republicans have become dismayed. What happened to their party? Their plan set out in 2012 to appeal to more minority voters and the ever changing demographics? Their anointed establishment figure Marco Rubio who not only represented the epitome of the American Dream and who was Conservative, but had the same flare of hopeful rhetoric and charm that Obama offered in 2008?

The final four Republican candidates left.

The answer, though multifaceted, lies with the fact that this is the age of populism. Populism, having a long but spotty relationship in the history of American Politics, has not really seen the light of day in Presidential candidates since Ross Perot's candidacy for the Republican ticket in the nineties. Ominously, once losing at the Republican convention, he ran as a third party candidate and was credited as splitting the vote that led Bill Clinton to win.

In 2009, the Tea Party movement sprung up, bringing with it protests across the country to elect people like Ted Cruz. Americans were angry. In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement sprung up, which was essentially the left's version of the Tea Party. Both were unsatisfied with both of their respective parties. Both were mad because they saw the decline of the working class and felt like they were not being heard. They simply had different solutions to the problems. Then came 2015 with Trump's populism and glaring rhetoric. Many disgruntled blue-collar working class Americans went over to Trump. Some of these same people are remnants of the Tea Party Movement. A Public Religion Research Institute survey in November 2015 found that many of his supporters are working class voters with negative feelings towards migrants, as well as strong financial concerns. On the left, Bernie Sanders has surprised many Democrats with his strong populism appeal and his loud and proud Democratic Socialism. Again, to put things simple, many working class Americans are mad.

References the recent clash that the Pope and Trump had.

His support is not just as simple as working class Americans though. As previously stated, many are directing their anger towards immigrants who they view are taking their jobs. Interestingly enough, many registered Democrats in Massachusetts were reported as to have left the party to register as Republicans to vote for Trump. This ratio of people leaving their party in primaries is much higher than any previous primary cycle. Indeed, although his popularity among minorities is not good, the Donald is attracting independents and Democrats. Strangely, this sounds quite similar to a certain Democratic Socialist we know...Both candidates, although on the opposite ends of the political spectrum, do insanely well in States with open primaries where voters can vote for anyone regardless of party registration...Anyways, enough about Bernie! Let's get back to Trump.

One of Donald's many interesting responses at debates.If you think this one is funny, check out where he references the size of his privates...

As more and more Republicans have left the race, the Donald has strangely gained an endorsement from Ben Carson, who Trump once compared to a pedophile, and Chris Christie, who once vehemently spoke out against Trump. One an establishment figure and the other an outsider. Donald has hit a nerve and his endorsers see that. He knows who many of his voters are. He knows how to work the media and his rallies.

Does Donald Trump actually believe what he is saying? Many think he is the most racist, bigoted, and dumb person to ever appear in politics as of recently. Yet, I want to offer a different hypothesis. Hate or love him, he is a smart guy. He knows what he is doing. Every ounce of bombastic, racist, xenophobic statement or hint is calculated. The guy is a reality TV star for God's sake! And Let's not forget that he once supported Democrats. No, this is no accident. He saw many were upset at their Republican party and pounced on it. He knows that some of his supporters are White nationalists, bigots, or xenophobics. They fear where America is headed. They are slowly losing their grip as the majority. That is why he so eloquently walked the tightrope on rather or not he would disavow the KKK.

When talking about Donald Trump supporters, it is harder then ever to pinpoint which demographic supports him the most. Because, he oddly has built quite the coalition between the working class, the uneducated (those that have not either attended high school or college), self-proclaimed hate groups, evangelicals, independents and the list goes on and on. (It is worth noting that males also significantly support Trump more than females.) But most of all the important take away is to realize that all of Trump's coalition is angry. Rather that be because the middle class is shrinking, that they've lost their jobs, or the influx of immigrants who they view are taking their jobs, they are all just angry at the status quo and where America is headed. Many of them feel like the America they once knew is slipping away. Rather that be for religious reasons, bigotry, or economic reasons, Trump's message of hope appeals many's worries and fears.

Former Presidential Candidate from New Jersey, Chris Christie, endorses Trump. This angered many Republicans. At least SNL got some material from it...

Scenario One

So, is the Donald inevitable? Well, we might get our answer after this Tuesday. This upcoming Tuesday Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, and the Northern Marina Islands are up for grabs. The big prizes that Donald will be going for is Florida and Ohio, which are both Winner-takes-all states with a hefty amount of delegates. If Trump takes both Ohio (John Kasich's State) and Florida (Rubio's home State), Kasich and Rubio will call it quits. After that, Trump will be ahead of Ted Cruz quite a bit. However, the delegates that were committed to Kasich and Rubio will then be uncommitted. Given the hostility the establishment has towards Trump, the logical conclusion, even though many Republicans still do not like Cruz, is that they would go to Cruz. If Cruz wins other states like Illinois or Missouri, many of Rubio's and Kasich's delegates could also wait till the Republican National Convention and go to the most popular candidate. Why is that you ask? Nothing would play into the mogul's hands more if all of these delegates decided to go to a candidate like Cruz who may not even get the popular vote in this situation. With Trump promising that if he is not treated well he will run as a third party candidate, it might turn into another Ross Perot situation. Basically, in this scenario, Trump's likelihood greatly increases to almost the point of no return.

Scenario Two

Now, if Trump wins Ohio, Florida, and another state like Missouri, Illinois, or North Carolina in the Tuesday primaries, not only will Kasich and Rubio drop out, but Cruz will lose momentum. If Donald wins HUGEE in any of the proportional states, Cruz's chances decrease. If this happens, expect to hear Trump saying that the Republican party should just begin to unite around him if they want to beat Hillary Clinton. I doubt that Cruz would immediately just drop out, but this situation, like the past one, would look good for Donald's momentum and would be worse than the last situation described.

One of the many protesters at the Friday Chicago rally that ended up getting canceled; hence, causing chaos.

Scenario Three

Even more interesting, and quite rare in American politics might I add, is the possibility of a brokered convention. If Rubio or Kasich wins their respective home states of Florida (which is not currently looking good for Rubio) and Ohio (which is currently close), then either both or one of them will have a good enough reason to convince donors they are still in this. Given that Rubio's campaign manager recently encouraged Ohio Rubio supporters to vote for Kasich just to beat Trump, expect to see Trump supporters even more mad if this scenario occurs. If both Kasich and Rubio win their home states, we might be in for a brokered convention. Some really do want this. Even Cruz, who scoffed at the idea, recently has warmed up to the idea. Yet, if Donald gets the popular vote, but they chose to pick someone else, many of his passionate dedicated supporters might backlash and not vote. In fact, Trump still throws in the air that he might run as a third party if he loses and feels mistreated. (Again, it gives Republicans nightmares of the Ross Perot situation in the nineties.)

Rather or not the Donald succeeds, many fear that the Republican party might fracture and hence, lose the White House. Whatever situation happens, the Republican establishment is walking on thin ice. One thing is for, populism is here to stay. I guess all we can do is to see what happens after Tuesday night. On a lighter note, College Humor really does know how to capture Trump's good side...

You're a Mean One, Mr.Trump (College Humor Parody)


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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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