http://www.weeklystandard.com/trumps-curious-habit-of-denigrating-fellow-republicans/article/2003520Trump's Curious Habit of Denigrating Fellow RepublicansHe'd fit right in at the Democratic convention.
8:39 AM, JUL 27, 2016 |
By STEPHEN F. HAYES
Donald Trump, who last week accepted the presidential nomination of the Republican party, suggested in an interview Tuesday with Bill O'Reilly that Republicans don't like to help people. Trump made the claim during a discussion of the minimum wage, in which he said he'd both maintain the minimum wage and would raise it to $10 per hour.
Trump, on the federal minimum wage:
"I would leave it and raise it somewhat. You need to help people. And I know it's not very Republican to say, but you need to help people," he said. "I would say $10—but with the understanding that somebody like me is going to bring back jobs. I don't want people in that $10 category for very long. But the thing is, Bill—let the states make the deal, and they're not doing that for the most part."
In his assessment of Republicans, Trump's comments would fit in here at the Democratic National Convention, where dishonest stereotypes of Republicans are common. In a normal election year, it would be odd to hear the party nominee disparage those who voted for him. But it's 2016, and the Republican nominee is Donald Trump.
Trump's claim—like so many of his claims—isn't true. A poll released earlier this year by the Associated Press found that 62 percent of Republicans said that "reducing poverty" was "very" or "extremely" important.
It ought to go without saying that Republicans are not opposed to helping people. Conservative intellectuals like Arthur Brooks and Michael Novak have devoted much of their public lives to understanding how market forces can improve the lives of the poor. Republican politicians like Paul Ryan and Tim Scott, following in the footsteps of Jack Kemp, have championed innovative policies to alleviate the suffering of those who need "help" without creating additional dependency on government.
Americans of all kinds devote countless hours and significant resources to helping the poor. This includes Republicans in church groups that travel to Appalachia to build houses or serve in inner city soup kitchens. It includes Republicans in civic groups—Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Clubs—who host fundraisers to collect money to help those less fortunate. It includes Republican individuals who quickly set up a GoFundMe page for a friend or acquaintance who can't pay his or her medical bills or contribute to help a stranger who has suffered a family tragedy or lost a job.
In 2012, the Chronicle of Philanthropy analyzed tax data and found that red states were considerably more generous with their charitable giving than blue states. In her analysis, Chronicle editor Stacy Palmer cited political ideology and religion and two key factors. "Not to be too simplistic about it, but if you believe that government should take care of basic social services, then you're going to go that way," Palmer told the International Business Times. "If you think charities should take care of things, and not government, then you're probably going to give more generously to charity." In addition, the most generous states are states with high concentrations of religious citizens (Utah, Mississippi) and the least generous are those with lower concentrations (Vermont).
Trump likes to contrast himself from other Republicans—or caricatures of other Republicans. He has repeatedly promised that he will not let Americans "die in the streets" because they don't have health care coverage. He's suggested that his new party is filled with warmongers, while he's a sober analyst of global affairs. Last week in his RNC convention speech, he declared that he'd seek to protect gay and lesbian Americans from jihadist terror as president. When his audience applauded, he said: "And I have to say as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said."
Was Trump under the impression that most Republicans would not want to protect gays and lesbians from ISIS?
Republicans on Capitol Hill and elsewhere are still holding out hope that Trump will change and become more conservative and maybe more presidential. It's not happening: He is who he is—and that includes an unfair critic of his fellow Republicans.
