No offense, but to expect that is to ignore what happened to the Republican party during the Obama Presidency. It imploded in a way that greatly enabled the far right, from tea parties to "gun nuts" to allowing yourself to be defined as the side on the "wrong" side of gay rights. Ted Cruz in particular is a PERFECT amalgamation of the extreme ideas that thrived during the last seven years, and how the party "establishment" has fallen to the point where they can't steer the wheel.

Quite frankly, you have your "mainstream" candidate in Rubio. He is a perfect example of the neocon fabrication that has been put forth as "mainstream" Republicanism since the 1980s. He is just another Bush, or more likely just another Cheney (and I say that as someone who politically is very neocon personally and likes the idea of a New American Century enforced at the end of a rifle). Rubio is the droid you are looking for, the problem is the Republican base have digested toxic messages for too long (from a Fox News and a Rush happy to serve it up for a living) and can't stand someone the "average American" finds palatable. To real conservatives that is a good thing, as Cruz is more dedicated to the cause than any real conservative candiate in decades. He is authentic.

The only reason Crus isn't running away from everyone is Trump is tapping into something even bigger than modern conservative politics. Trump is speaking to an older generation or two that has seen incredible change in their life and now hate to be told the way they were raised to think is wrong. It is a more emotional call to arms than Cruz or Rush or O'Reilly make, or even know how to make. It is a backlash to everything that has been pushed by PC culture since the 90's, a rejection of guilt associated with the fear of a funny speaking global or next door neighbor in a now smaller world.

Honestly I have waited for this backlash for years. I thought it would center around language (some sort of movement to make English the official language to block out Spanish) but it seemed obvious that all the liberal victories in the cultural wars the last 20 years would have a cost. That cost is Donald Trump.

The good news is it all might be a calculated plan on his part and he might be Reagan 2.0. Probably not but maybe.

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Posted by agalloch

Portland, OR

Member since Jun 2015

1647 posts

Posted on 2/22/16 at 8:07 pm to cardboardboxer

quote:
No offense, but to expect that is to ignore what happened to the Republican party during the Obama Presidency. It imploded in a way that greatly enabled the far right, from tea parties to "gun nuts" to allowing yourself to be defined as the side on the "wrong" side of gay rights. Ted Cruz in particular is a PERFECT amalgamation of the extreme ideas that thrived during the last seven years, and how the party "establishment" has fallen to the point where they can't steer the wheel.

I absolutely agree. They've hitched themselves to the wrong wagons. I feel like Republicans could have gone much farther by banging on their own solutions to problems people give a shite about, like a rapidly-shrinking middle-class and aging infrastructure that Obama hasn't done a good job of fixing. Instead, they've allowed themselves to be a party largely revolving around xenophobia, Fox News soundbites, and shite-slinging. It's all based in fear. I'm willing to forgive some idiotic social policies as long as you give me solutions to problems that face me right this very moment, but ISIS, religion, and Mexicans aren't impeding me; my lack of buying-power, student loans, and rising rents are, and I'd like to think there are more than a few people in my situation.

Hell, they still may win, but only if Trump calms down. Even as a liberal who would never in a million years vote for any of the current GOP candidates, I can at least respect that he's not beholden to large donors like Hillary; he should be using that against absolutely everyone, and just knock it off with the racism. I don't have many other reasons to like him at all, though, and neither Cruz nor Rubio have a prayer against him. Rubio is too flaccid and Cruz is too fricking terrifying. This election was almost free to Repubs if they could get their shite together and not look like a clown show, but clearly that was too much to ask.

This post was edited on 2/22/16 at 8:49 pm

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