Columnist Jack Davies discusses GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
He’s a boorish, tasteless, nasty, misogynistic, apolitical wingnut, and an extraordinarily resilient one at that. Donald Trump, resembling a cockroach, has weathered storms that would have scuttled the campaign of any other candidate. Whether that be by taking inspiration from every cranky neighbor ever and deciding to solve America’s immigration issues by building a gigantic wall, or saying that a crowd of New Jersey Muslims cheered as the World Trade Center fell, it seems no claim is too outlandish for him to get away with. This is what most sensible conservatives would refer to as a ‘bad thing,’ given that most of us have a reading comprehension level greater than the fifth grade and tend to believe in such odd things as privacy and freedom of religion.
The GOP is fractured by its very nature, containing the free market and small government Tea Party, philosophical libertarians, religious fundamentalists and the remnants of the moral majority, the pro-business corporatists, a small corps of traditionalists and the Old Right. It also contains a significant number of a-ideological conservatives mostly influenced by pundits such as Rush Limbaugh.
In short, it is incredibly difficult to be all things to all people, something that Republican candidates have tried to avoid. For example, Rand Paul is courting the libertarians and independents outside of the party. Ben Carson, on the other hand, is attempting to court the ex-moral majority crowd, and evangelicals in particular. This makeup basically guarantees that a chosen candidate would only be ideologically consistent with a small majority of the party, the rest tend to follow the chosen candidate in hope of compromise and influence. Usually, this system has worked, but Trump is in a prominent position to throw a wrench in the works of the GOP’s electoral makeup.
Although promising not to run as an independent back in September, Trump, in a recent interview with the Associated Press, stated that the option was still on the table. This could have potentially catastrophic results for the GOP’s electoral prospects as Trump supporters are of a very different type to those of the mainstream party. Trump is waging his campaign against the Washington establishment, whose candidates and watchdogs (journals such as the National Review) reject him. Trump’s supporters are older, less educated and not particularly ideological.
For example, 20 percent identify as liberal, according to Real Clear Politics. His supporters are, as I’ve written before, motivated mostly by an emotional fear of left wing radicalism. A small but significant degree of support comes from right-wing populists, or those who are socially conservative but economically liberal. This gives Trump a base to launch a Ross Perot style third party campaign, if the National Convention rejects him — as they most likely will.
This would take away all of the support the Trump demographic typically gives an establishment candidate, and would as in 1992 ensure an easy Democratic victory. Perhaps it's not optimal, but it’s better than letting Trump take the helm of the ship-of-state so he can run it aground.
Jack Davies is a sophomore studying philosophy and the Honors Tutorial College Senator for Student Senate. How do you feel about Donald Trump? Email him at jd814213@ohio.edu.
