In my last post I looked at the most obvious question of is Trump a false flag operation to help Hillary.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-question-is-asked-is-trump-false.html
My conclusion is that while I do have a lot of sympathy for conservatives who suspect this and that there really is a lot of circumstantial evidence that suggests yes, but that probably not.
It's not just conservatives who think this. I mean many liberals have said that if there were no Trump we liberals would have to invent him.
"In other words: Trump has focused his campaign on an issue that exposes the Republican Party to attacks from both its base (who want the party to move to the right) and Democrats (who have an obvious interest in portraying opponents of immigration reform—that is, most Republicans—as racist lunatics). If you were Hillary Clinton, it would be hard not to appreciate the strategic advantage of Trump’s campaign, which is doing the work of discrediting the Republican Party among its own voters, and the general public, for free."
http://blackbag.gawker.com/is-donald-trump-running-a-false-flag-campaign-to-help-h-1723925057
If nothing else you have to love Trump going back on Fox after Fox's mea culpa to Trump and having Hannity sit there respectfully as Trump explained that Planned Parenthood helps millions of women.
That itself was worth the price of admission.
The great thing is that the base loves Trump though he's not even a real conservative.
As I argued in my last piece he's a kind of common mutation-a Right wing populist. As I further argued, I think that Trump is the outgrowth of the Tea Party movement in 2010 that was first and foremost a reaction to President Obama.
Even though Trump initially supported Obama. This was very common among white folks of a certain age who got a lot more conservative after Obama was elected. A good number of such folks like Trump even initially supported Obama.
Right wing populism is tricky as it's different from conservative Republican orthodoxy which is like a 'block of granite'-Trumps' words to describe Rand Paul. RWP tends to combine a few different strands.
"To generalize, Right wing populists normally combine a few strains."
"1. On economic matters, what the economists derisively call autarky. There is great skepticism of free trade and a vehement anti immigration stance. Immigrants are felt to be stealing the nation's jobs. "
"2. But on domestic policies, RWP is not usually like conservative Republicans. Trump actually calls for a wealth tax and sounds a lot more reasonable on abortion. In truth he may be prochoice-he certainly was in the past."
"My point is not that RWP is wrong on every issue-no, that's what CRs are for-being wrong on everything. The RWPs are right in Europe about the euro. That's what's tricky, RWPs combine some very nasty stuff-anti immigration rants and talk of every country in the world 'stealing from us' with some interesting and even correct points."
"Trump in some ways really is a breath of fresh air as far as he admits how the system works rather than taking on the usual politician's air of false sanctity."
- See more at: http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/#sthash.tYqlU7hL.dpuf
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-question-is-asked-is-trump-false.html
My conclusion is that while I do have a lot of sympathy for conservatives who suspect this and that there really is a lot of circumstantial evidence that suggests yes, but that probably not.
It's not just conservatives who think this. I mean many liberals have said that if there were no Trump we liberals would have to invent him.
"In other words: Trump has focused his campaign on an issue that exposes the Republican Party to attacks from both its base (who want the party to move to the right) and Democrats (who have an obvious interest in portraying opponents of immigration reform—that is, most Republicans—as racist lunatics). If you were Hillary Clinton, it would be hard not to appreciate the strategic advantage of Trump’s campaign, which is doing the work of discrediting the Republican Party among its own voters, and the general public, for free."
http://blackbag.gawker.com/is-donald-trump-running-a-false-flag-campaign-to-help-h-1723925057
If nothing else you have to love Trump going back on Fox after Fox's mea culpa to Trump and having Hannity sit there respectfully as Trump explained that Planned Parenthood helps millions of women.
That itself was worth the price of admission.
The great thing is that the base loves Trump though he's not even a real conservative.
As I argued in my last piece he's a kind of common mutation-a Right wing populist. As I further argued, I think that Trump is the outgrowth of the Tea Party movement in 2010 that was first and foremost a reaction to President Obama.
Even though Trump initially supported Obama. This was very common among white folks of a certain age who got a lot more conservative after Obama was elected. A good number of such folks like Trump even initially supported Obama.
Right wing populism is tricky as it's different from conservative Republican orthodoxy which is like a 'block of granite'-Trumps' words to describe Rand Paul. RWP tends to combine a few different strands.
"To generalize, Right wing populists normally combine a few strains."
"1. On economic matters, what the economists derisively call autarky. There is great skepticism of free trade and a vehement anti immigration stance. Immigrants are felt to be stealing the nation's jobs. "
"2. But on domestic policies, RWP is not usually like conservative Republicans. Trump actually calls for a wealth tax and sounds a lot more reasonable on abortion. In truth he may be prochoice-he certainly was in the past."
"My point is not that RWP is wrong on every issue-no, that's what CRs are for-being wrong on everything. The RWPs are right in Europe about the euro. That's what's tricky, RWPs combine some very nasty stuff-anti immigration rants and talk of every country in the world 'stealing from us' with some interesting and even correct points."
"Trump in some ways really is a breath of fresh air as far as he admits how the system works rather than taking on the usual politician's air of false sanctity."
- See more at: http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/#sthash.tYqlU7hL.dpuf
This enables them to do more than just appeal to the Right wing base-they also have some appeal for both the Center and the Left.
The GOP though has brought this on themselves. For years they've played this game. They refused any call to moderate any call to change not just their packaging but their ideology. Immigration was supposed to be the one thing they agreed needed to change after 2012.
Not just the way they demand a fence before anything else but to stop simply doing that. But then the Heritage Foundation convinced them that they didn't need Latino votes, just maximize the white vote even more.
So an opportunist like Trump saw an opening and has taken it and run with it. Being the party that never learns because this would be an admission it isn't always right is coming back to roost in a big way.
Grab a chair and pass the popcorn. Let's hope this is a long one. Trump's operations in Iowa suggest maybe it will be.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-iowa-surprise-donald-trump-is-actually-trying-to-win/2015/08/13/564a9f50-4142-11e5-8e7d-9c033e6745d8_story.html
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