Republican Party Doesn’t Want to Believe its Voters Agree with Trump.

VOX ^ | August 17, 2015 | Ezra Klein

[sevinufnine]

Republican voters don't want entitlement cuts. Republican elites do. The broader issue here is that both parties are, at best, imperfect reflections of their bases. The gap between the rigid agendas followed by the party establishments and the more diverse opinions of loyal partisans leaves both parties vulnerable to a candidate like Trump who has the money, and the star power, to campaign on a platform that party elites would normally suppress.

Take spending cuts. It's table stakes in a Republican primary to talk about how you'll cut spending on Social Security and Medicare. The GOP's policy apparatus loathes both programs and considers their long-term cost to be among the most pressing economic threats facing the nation. Any Republican candidate who wants to be taken seriously by Republican Party elites needs to show they understand the urgency of cutting Social Security and Medicare spending.

One problem? Republican voters don't understand the urgency of cutting entitlement spending. In fact, they oppose cutting entitlement spending. More Republicans want to increase spending on Social Security and Medicare than decrease it. They think keeping entitlement benefits at current levels is more important than reducing the deficit.

This puts Republican voters at odds with the Republican establishment and conservative interest groups. But since Republican candidates can't get very far without some level of support from the GOP establishment, conservative interest groups, or both, the Republican Party's elected officials are basically united on cutting Social Security and Medicare, even though Republican voters hold the opposite view.

Trump is the only Republican running who actually agrees with the GOP base on this one. "They're gonna cut Social Security. They're gonna cut Medicare. They're gonna cut Medicaid," he said on Fox & Friends. "I'm the one saying that's saying I'm not gonna do that!"

And that's what makes a candidate like Trump potentially dangerous. On immigration, Trump holds a hard-line position that the Republican Party establishment has tried to mute, and so far Republican voters are loving it. On Social Security and Medicare, Trump — who opposes cuts — is closer to Republican voters than the party establishment is. On free trade deals, Trump shares a skepticism held by about half of Republican voters, but that's usually suppressed by the party's powerful business wing.

Most candidates who tried to stack this many heterodoxies would be quickly squelched by the party establishment. But Trump isn't beholden to the GOP for money, staff, power, or press attention. That frees him to take positions that Republican voters like but Republican Party elites loathe.

It may be true that support for Trump, so far, is about personality rather than policy. But as the primary wears on, Republican voters might find that they actually agree with him. And that's going to put the rest of the Republican field — all those candidates who were playing by the establishment's rules — in a very tough position.

[sevinufnine]

[Blue Collar Christian]

When you see so much support for a guy like Trump who is a real fiscal conservative (though not socially conservative), and better support for true conservatives like Cruz than for the GOPe crowd while still scratching your head, you might just have a disconnect with your voters.

[sevinufnine]

Yup....

[skeeter]

Trump has become a blade in the hands of the often abused and ignored republican base.

Its as simple as that.

[WyCoKsRepublican]

The main “lame stream” GOP has called the bluff once too many times, that being the last election cycle. Those of us that have been loyal have had enough. The tables are turning. Until such a time that I’m convinced otherwise, Mr. Trump is carrying the torch of turning the tide and making America great again. I hope he gains enough steam to leave clowns like Jeb in the dust.

[Wilderness Conservative]

I temporarily lifted my Glenn Beck embargo this morning. Listened to the Scott Walker interview and lasted less than 5 minutes afterwards before turning him off. I’ll check back in about a month from now. See ya round Mr Gantry.

[grania]

THE TRUMP DOCTRINE

A nation without borders is not a nation

A nation without laws is not a nation

A nation that does not take care of its own citizens is not a nation

1.2.3. How are the puppetmasters going to disagree with that? Absolutely brilliant!

[TexasFreeper2009]

Trump is growing on me.

Originally I opposed Trump completely.

Then I decided I could vote for him in the general if he were the nominee.

Now I have decided I would vote for him in the primary, IF I would be throwing my vote away to cast a vote for Cruz (we are not there yet, but I see that as possible) Bush must be stopped at any cost.

[Jack Hammer]

Neither the Republicrats nor the Democans want to deal with a challenge to the Washington status quo.

“We’ve got the power and we’ll do whatever the h*ll we want - and the electorate can go f*** themselves.”

[joshua c]

I call them the Wimpy Republicans(from the Popeye character).

They promise to fulfill their campaign promises next Tuesday for your vote today.

Tuesday never comes.

[sevinufnine]

Agreed. We don’t need Bush #3. He’s disappointed me for sure with his views on immigration. He is too close to the issue personally....

[Starboard]

Good analogy. In fact, the Republican elites have been the ones with the blade and they used it frequently to stab the base in the back. Now the blade is in Trump’s hands and we are enjoying every moment of it.

[sevinufnine]

“Tuesday never comes.”

That’s true. Very, displeased with what the last bunch we voted in to hold back Obama’s agenda have done, which is basically nothing.

[Starboard]

I have questioned Trump’s longevity and staying power but now I hope he proves me wrong.

[ncpatriot]

Trump keeps saying that he is entering the race to save our country.
In order to do this, he may support things (like PP, Obamacare) that we are against. Once he is elected, we must support and have faith in what he wants to do even though we do not agree. It’s almost like having faith in your religion. It’s like he knows what is best to save our country. Am I wrong?

[sevinufnine]

“I have questioned Trump’s longevity and staying power but now I hope he proves me wrong.”

I hope so too. Last president in my lifetime that I believe has the boldness I see in Trump was Reagan. Another born leader.

[Sasparilla]

...Trump is growing on me.Originally I opposed Trump completely.Then I decided I could vote for him in the general if he were the nominee....

This is the general problem the say anything to get elected and do nothing GOPe/T has with Trump.

[Starboard]

There is no leadership is Washington. Nothing but lots of hollow political opportunists. Trump stands above them all with his vision for America, his common sense, and his purpose for wanting to run.

[amnestynone]

The GOPE says they are, “working with the Democrats to get things done.” So what are they doing. I do not think they want to say. What we are is we are at another period of “era of good feeling”. This is aplace where party elites can get together and scratch each others back and it began during the Clinton bush era when there was not that much difference in who governed. The problem is that as the elites do with each other what they want and the rest of us feel ignored. The Jascksonian revolt was the result of the first era of good feeling. The next era the Missouri compromise era when the elites got together to ignore every body ended in the civil war and the death of the whig party and the proslavery elite that the Jeffersonians morphed into in the Democrat. The next time was in the 1890’s. Wall street had the Dems and industry had the GOP and they both thought they could do what they want and ignore the people, wrong wrong wrong. The populist revolt took over the Dems and threw the Wall street guys out and Teddy Roosevelt and the progressives threw out the Country clubbers. The elites then gradually took over both parties so by the time of Coolidge and Davis there was no real difference. The stock market crashed and they were suddenly out. The Catholic bosses suddenly ran the Dems and the GOP was run by the Dewey, Warren Brownell wing. By the 1960’s there was little differenc between Kennedy and Nixon. so we had the Goldwater revolt, "A choice not an echo" and all of that. The Dems were later taken over by the lib gentrys in the McGovern revolt and the Catholic bosses were out. Now 36-40 years later after the insufferable Clinton Bush years we have the same thing. The Dems were taken over by he radical left and the GOP trusted its people to stand up to them. They didn't now we are in open revolt.

They never seem to learn. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.