TIME has published an article about a group interview of a collection of Trump supporters. If you’ve found that phenomenon mystifying then this is fascinating:
A flock of two dozen mad-as-hell supporters of Donald Trump agreed to assemble on Monday night in a political consultant’s office to explain their passion for the Republican frontrunner. Gathered in a corporate-looking room with the shades drawn, they railed against Washington politicians who hire consultants, and sang their admiration for the one presidential candidate who promises to go his own way. …
The Donald devotees sang a contrapuntal tune, simultaneously a dirge to national decline and an ode to Trump. They believed Washington politicians and the Republican party had repeatedly misled them, and that the country is going down the tubes. They looked for relief in Trump. …
“We know his goal is to make America great again,” a woman said. “It’s on his hat. And we see it every time it’s on TV. Everything that he’s doing, there’s no doubt why he’s doing it: it’s to make America great again.”
The focus group watched taped instances on a television of Trump’s apparent misogyny, political flip flops and awe-inspiring braggadocio. They watched the Donald say Rosie O’Donnell has a “fat, ugly face.” They saw that Trump once supported a single-payer health system, and they heard him say, “I will be the greatest jobs president God ever created.” But the group—which included 23 white people, 3 African-Americans and three Hispanics and consisted of a plurality of college-educated, financially comfortably Donald devotees—was undeterred.
Their belief that government has failed them is, perhaps, unsurprising. I think this may be an unexpected downside of the subtlety of Obama. He doesn’t always sing his own praises from the rooftops, and sometimes it’s even counterproductive to do so. But still, being citizens they have to operate on their knowledge base, so if they don’t know something (and it’s a huge country, I don’t necessarily blame them for not knowing), it’s a problem. As Steve Benen points out,
In reality, border security has reached unprecedented levels, but Trump backers believe the opposite. In reality, there’s ample evidence that America’s global standing is strong and getting stronger, but Trump backers believe the opposite. In reality, President Obama has run circles around Putin’s Russia, but Trump backers believe the opposite.
So, for example, you have to know that oil is Russia’s most precious commodity – and the steep drop in oil prices is hurting them badly. The realization that Obama’s policies and, possibly, politics in the MidEast, is giving Russia big squeeze for their adventures in the Ukraine requires a knowledge base that isn’t always advertised.
But that’s sort of dull. Here’s the passage from the TIME article that really caught my eye:
“I want to put the Republican leadership behind this mirror and let them see. They need to wake up. They don’t realize how the grassroots have abandoned them,” Luntz continued. “Donald Trump is punishment to a Republican elite that wasn’t listening to their grassroots.”The group said Trump has their best interests in mind, while other Republicans are looking out for themselves. “We’ve got to show the Republicans that we’ve had it with them, that we will not be there every single time. They treat us like crap and they lie to us and promise us things and then they expect us to vote again,” said a Republican woman. “That’s why we want Trump.”
Luntz is Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant. The point that catches my attention is that this is the grassroots. I’ve noted in other posts the team politics requirement of the Republicans; this results in a hierarchical structure which imposes ideological demands on its members.
But the grassroots is not part of that hierarchical structure. They’re disconnected from the top of the structure, whether that’s the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, others, or a collective of same. They’ve been fed a lot of false information by the Republican leadership, and, as many liars have noted over the years, keeping lies straight is a lot harder than keeping the truth straight (although scientists might wish to dispute this remark).
And now the Republican grassroots suspect something. This may be an interesting whirlwind for the Republicans. Could a third party arise to try to take even more advantage of the grassroots? The Donald refused to support the eventual Republican nominee, alone amongst all on the stage at the debate. Bruce Bartlett may get his wish – a kick in the Republican pants of significant proportion. I’m willing to crawl out on a limb here – Democratic control of both the Senate and the House in 2016 becomes a stronger and stronger possibility as Trump continues to lead the primaries. And if he falls out of favor, a good possibility his supporters will sit out the next election in their disgust at the Republicans.
(h/t Steve Benen @ MaddowBlog)
