Is Trump expanding the GOP?
The answer, according to this piece at Politico, is only a little bit, and nowhere near the amount Trump brags about or the numbers that would matter.
I’ve been pointing out something similar for months. However, much as I find Donald Trump deplorable, I am not going to say he can’t at some point draw more voters to his side, including voters who might ordinarily vote Democratic. The fact that we haven’t really seen that happen yet doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, and the more Trump tacks to the left the more of them he may draw.
Which is in some ways a Pyrrhic victory for the right, isn’t it? If Trump wins Democratic votes by out-RINOing any RINO we’ve ever known, what does that make him? Doesn’t it make him—a Republican-in-name-only liberal Democrat with some odd populist/nationalist quirks?
I also don’t see Trump-crossover formerly Democratic voters as voters who will “expand the GOP,” anyway. To the extent that they do exist or could exist or will exist, they would be Trump voters through and through, attracted by his very unique persona. They would be drawn to either his brashness or his insults or his immigration policy or the blows he’s dealt to the GOP, rather than being drawn to the GOP itself—unless the GOP is going to be made over in his image.
That latter, of course, is what the alt-right would like to happen—or rather, they’d like the GOP to be made over in their image, with Trump as mere temporary figurehead.
Back in 2008, there were some suggestions that McCain would pick Lieberman (who was famously on the outs with the Democrats at that time) as his running mate. My response was to point out that despite the fact that Lieberman was loudly aligned with the Republicans on a couple of issues, he was still by and large a Democrat on most of the issues that mattered.
Same thing, I suspect, with many of the voters who might hypothetically be brought in by Trump. They might like Trump, and they might vote for him. But my fear is that such voters wouldn’t have anything in common with any of the basic Republican beliefs. The result would likely be a transformation of the Republican party into something that was no longer even remotely linked to American Conservatism.
Oh, Neo. We have yet so see the authentic Trump, so his advocates say. So, how could one possibly predict his actions, much less his effect?
All will be revealed in the fullness of time; as it was with Obamacare, with the Iran deal, and with Obama himself.
Nick:
Well, I must be weird that way (I’m weird in a number of ways 🙂 ), because I don’t think I cut anyone any slack. I try not to cut myself any, either, although I assume I don’t always succeed.
I read everyone with a very critical eye. It’s one of the things that enabled me to change, when I started reading more widely and in more depth. I saw the people I had heretofore agreed with made less sense than the ones I’d heretofore disagreed with.
Horowitz isn’t just doing what you describe here, though, IMHO. He is leaving out very very important facts about Trump. And he is generalizing falsely about his critics in order to invalidate them.
I can’t help but wonder how any sane person would be angry about McCain and Romney, and conclude that Trump would be the solution to their concerns. Trump is the ultimate RINO. He’s worse than even Jeb Bush in terms of RINOism, so I don’t get it. I’m am still firmly of the belief that he benefited from a fractured field, and his celebrity. I also wonder if in states where the primaries were closed, a number of Democrats changed registration and voted for him in the belief that Hillary was a shoe-in in their respective primaries. Of course that wouldn’t even be necessary in states where the primaries were open. It’s a can of worms we opened in 2008 when Rush encouraged Republicans to vote for Obama in open primaries. I know that’s a little conspiracy theorist, and I normally reject that out of hand, but it’s a thought that’s occurred to me because, I have not forgotten how Claire McCaskill helped Todd Akin win, so she could beat him.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/todd-akin-missouri-claire-mccaskill-2012-121262
I’m sorry, my point in my previous comment is that no, I don’t think he’s expanding the GOP at all. If anything, he’s remaking it in his image which is not a party I personally want anything to do with. I guess if the point of the Pro-Trumpers was to destroy the GOP, mission accomplished, job well done. Enjoy the ruins.
Trump is a Democrat — and a Liberal Democrat at that.
He’s more in the way of JFK and Scoop Jackson.
With a notable shift: the end of WWIII ( the Cold War ) means that Donald would have pragmatic relations with Moscow// Putin.
The GOP allowed a Democrat to run in its primaries — allowed Democrat voters to vote in its primaries.
With Donald as the result.
Is that the Stupid Party or what ?
Please don’t compare Trump to JFK, I actually have a great deal of admiration for JFK.
blert:
Donald Trump is almost nothing like either JFK or Scoop Jackson.
Well, maybe like JFK in that he was born into wealth, and that when he was young he was good-looking and liked to sleep around.
That’s it.
Not me.
He have the world:
The Bay of Pigs fiasco — it’s all on his head… Ike put the whole scheme on the back burner — blocked it, in fact. The CIA had been wanting to move much, much earlier. The invasion ‘army’ was trained and launched on JFK’s watch.
The Berlin Wall — it’s all on his head. This is established fact — see Nikita’s diaries. ANY push back and the wall would’ve never been built.
The Vietnam War — LBJ was too dense to back out… which he needed to do IMMEDIATELY — heading into the election year, 1964.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s really JFK’s baby — not Nakita’s.
His acts emboldened Moscow. He made the fundamentally WRONG decision to over rule his senior advisors.
If America had moved — when they advised — Castro would’ve been running back into the hills — pronto.
Moscow couldn’t do a thing — and Nikita spells it out in his diary.
The Monroe Doctrine would’ve been maintained.
Instead we’ve got the Venezuelan fiasco, the Cuban nightmare, FARC, and much more.
We have the world track record:
oops.
neo,…
Trump’s politics — not his personality — are mighty close to Scoop Jackson.
His personality is as of the nasty boys detailed above.
Both want a strong military — but do not want to be drawn off into 3rd world dust-ups.
On the domestic front — Liberal Democrats — like Joe Lieberman.
Given that this thread is abut Donald Trump, I’ll hold off on any debates about JFK. Maybe our fearless blogger could someday provide us with such a forum.
Sorry, nasty boys were detailed on the other thread.
As to the OP query, Trump has to be shrinking the GOP.
Defections have to outnumber crossover voters.
I seen that Donald hasn’t done a campaign event in two weeks. That shows in the press coverage in a more favorable light. Once he hits the trail again the presumptive genius will show all the talent he brings. He will be well rested since the time will not have been spent with advisors and background papers. The left wing press is throwing some light ranging shots at him but they are focusing on his anger button. It’s a big target and will give a satisfying explosion when hit
Neo – Heh. I’ve never seen a site’s owner post on the wrong thread before.
I know what you mean. The goal, definitely, is to use the same sharp eye on your friends, opponents, strangers, whomever. I try. It’s just very easy to cut slack.
Ace of Spades reports: “Hillary Clinton’s Big Plan: Give North Korea the Same Deal As Obama Gave Iran”. That’s not what the article says.
Daily Wire reports: “Pope Francis: Christianity And Islam The Same”. That’s not what that article says either.
I just clicked over on The Federalist: “Obama Speechwriter to Iraq Combat Vet: Working in Politics is Dangerous, Too”. Gross misrepresentation of a tweet, masquerading as an article.
Nick:
Ooops!
I’ve done it before, actually. Haste makes waste. I’m often in a hurry.
Also, the way the comments come up on the page I see is not the same as the page you see. For me, the comments come up for ALL the posts in order of posting, so it’s easy for me to click on the wrong post when I’m responding to a comment.
A little inside baseball.
Which is in some ways a Pyrrhic victory for the right, isn’t it? If Trump wins Democratic votes by out-RINOing any RINO we’ve ever known, what does that make him? Doesn’t it make him–a Republican-in-name-only liberal Democrat with some odd populist/nationalist quirks?
***********
This paragraph is killer.
Well, maybe like JFK in that he was born into wealth, and that when he was young he was good-looking and liked to sleep around.
That’s it.
**********
Trump never served his country in the military, and he would be incapable of writing –“Why England Slept”.
In fact he is more aligned with Charles Lindbergh which carried the banner of isolationism under the motto–“America First”.
The Berlin Wall – it’s all on his head. This is established fact – see Nikita’s diaries. ANY push back and the wall would’ve never been built.
**********
This is liberal thinking, East Germany built the wall–they made their own choices.
This is similar to saying that criminals commit crime because they were forced to do it.
East Germans wanted to flee East Germany–could that have something to do with the communist regime and their crappy economy and other bad policies?
Strand Says:
May 17th, 2016 at 6:47 pm
You ought to know that FDR ‘ran’ Charles Lindbergh as a NOC spy against the Luftwaffe.
Where most spies would need a camera and a note pad — Lucky Lindy could just look at German aircraft and spill the beans… which he did.
FDR also used Lindy as an agent provocatuer – from the lectern – where from Lindy would wind off about the pathetic state of America’s air arm: the USAAF.
By the time Lindy was through both the American Bund and the anti-Nazi factions demanded that FDR build up the USAAF.
FDR LOVED running such ‘games’ and Lindbergh was far from the only ‘agent’ that FDR ‘ran.’
Later, Lindbergh performed similar quasi-private // public gambits for Eisenhower.
Forgotten today, Lindbergh’s positions aligned with FDR’s 100% down the line. At the same time Lindbergh was at the microphone demanding isolation — FDR was pledging to all that HE’D make sure that no American boy died in a European’s only conflict.
By December 8, 1941 both flipped on a dime.
Lindbergh was THE critical fellow that doubled the effective range of American fighters:
P-38
P-51
P-47
Corsair
All modified their engine settings per Chuck’s spec’s, with his efforts in the P-38 to prove critical in the Pacific War.
It was Lindbergh that lobbied for Pan Am — making it the power house in American international aviation. Chuck and Juan were tight as can be.
Like Neil Armstrong, no door was closed to Charles Lindbergh… in any country.
In all of this, Lindy kept his mouth shut. He kept many women — and many secrets.
Strand Says:
May 17th, 2016 at 6:57 pm
The Berlin Wall – it’s all on his head. This is established fact – see Nikita’s diaries. ANY push back and the wall would’ve never been built.
**********
This is liberal thinking, East Germany built the wall—they made their own choices.
^^^^^^
Truly bizarre.
Nikita loved to win the story of history. So, he wrote and wrote — like Patton — events as they unfolded.
The Berlin Wall was ENTIRELY a Russian scheme. The Germans had absolutely NO SAY AT ALL.
One might note the Iron Curtain passed through Germany and then off to the south.
The idea that the Germans came up with it is absurd. The original curtain was the front line position of the RED ARMY.
Not the East German security organ, the SASI.
Good grief.
Strand,
JFK NEVER wrote a book.
ALL of his books were ghosted.
Which was flamingly obvious at the time.
A running joke it was.
Strand Says:
May 17th, 2016 at 6:40 pm
Agreed.
Dittos.
Strand…
For your information…
Nikita flatly told Castro he was on his own — and that America would have Cuba glowing from end to end.
Castro was STILL for provoking Kennedy.
Nikita deemed Castro to be — literally — insane. He put that in writing — in his diary — and he let the Politburo know of it.
You might note that Moscow was never so enthusiastic with Castro from that point on.
He was deemed too much of a loose cannon.
When Kennedy was assassinated — the bread crumbs led strait to Castro.
John Connelly went to his grave convinced that Castro was the Man Behind the Curtain.
blert:
Here is the story of who wrote Profiles in Courage. Two chapters were Kennedy’s, most of the rest was Sorenson’s under Kennedy’s supervision, and Kennedy acknowledged Sorenson in the Introduction to the book.
As for Why England Slept, Kennedy’s other book, it was his senior thesis at Harvard, and I’ve not seen any credible assertions that it was ghosted. I have seen assertions that it was polished up a bit by some writer or other (probably Krock) before final publication, but there is little question it was his senior thesis (and was given high marks by his professors) at Harvard and that he wrote the gist of it.
See also the box on this page about Kennedy’s writing.
Kennedy was dyslexic, by the way, in terms of spelling. Trump seems to have some spelling problems too. But if you watch Kennedy’s press conferences, you’ll see a highly intelligent, articulate, polished, thorough, and witty speaker of great charm and grace. Not so Trump.
By the way, all of Trump’s books are officially “co-written” with other authors.
Back to the donald… If he pulls many blue collar dems and a sizable share of the independents I will be surprised. However, I was surprised by the whole trumpian horde so what do I know?. People keep saying djt is a nationalist, but so am I and millions of Americans. Yes, America first…. duh. But in a sane, smart, responsible way in keeping with our role, prior to bho, as the leader of Western Civilization.
Everything djt spouts and then takes back is a ploy to deflect from his life long lack of consistent, well thought out principles. This is a man capable of annoucing he is thinking about nominating Jon Stewart to SCOTUS and within an hour saying it was only a suggestion, and he really wants to nominate Pelosi because she is the most tremendous, YUGE person and she will sign laws so great everyone will be amazed.
Never hillary trump.
People keep saying djt is a nationalist, but so am I and millions of Americans.
There’s a difference between a nationalist and a patriot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_von_Stauffenberg was a patriot. The Nazi party were nationalists.
The problem with America has always been those Democrat voters, the Demoncrats. They’re bringing the hell on earth that was expected of them.
Some of them are probably Southern Dems still talking about Lincoln being a Tyrant and how the North started the War of Northern Aggression, btw. That’s another “nationalist” faction there.
Y,
Point well taken.
“The book was originally intended to be no more than a college thesis — it was rated as a magna cum laude by Professor Henry A. Yeomans and as a cum laude plus by Professor Carl J. Friedrich. Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., always keen to elevate his son’s reputation, encouraged Kennedy to publish the book, enlisting Henry R. Luce to write the foreword,[2] and his friend Arthur Krock, former bureau chief of the New York Times, to assist in redrafting Kennedy’s college thesis into what became Why England Slept.[3] Author Garry Wills claims that this assistance amounted to rewriting and retitling the manuscript, as well as finding an agent for its publication.[4]”
Citation from neo’s link — just above.
If Arthur Krock could rise from the grave and ‘polish’ my work — I’d be something special, too.
blert:
And if you wrote a senior thesis at Harvard that received high honors—particularly back before grade inflation, which is the era in which JFK wrote it—you’d be something special as well.
Give credit where it’s due, please. It is clear that we don’t know how much Krock contributed to the polished published book, but it’s also clear from my link that JFK wrote an excellent thesis.
I love your blog, but you’re still missing the point, so to speak, like most folks. You’re contemplating the trees and ignoring the forest. There will be millions and millions (and more millions) who are going to steamroll the pundits. It’s going to be a landslide for Trump whether you are prepared for it or not. The ruling “elites” have no clue as to the depth of hatred the average citizen has for them and this election more than anything else is a yuuuuuuuuge F U to the current “ruling class.” That is all. There’s no logic or reason involved. Democrats have been using emotional appeals for years, now they and the GOP are getting it back in abundance.