http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/the-real-shape-of-the-race/article/2000939THE MAGAZINE: From the February 15 Issue
The Real Shape of the Race
A populist and dueling conservatives.
Feb 15, 2016 | By Stephen F. Hayes
Des Moines, Iowa
The shorthand understanding of the likely three-man race for the Republican nomination goes something like this.
Donald Trump is the populist outside agitator, running on economic nationalism and against the entire political system. Ted Cruz is the antiestablishment crusader, running on sharp intellect, eager confrontation, and ideological purity. And Marco Rubio is the conventional candidate, running on optimism, easing our anxieties, and repairing old divisions.
Cruz and Trump are often lumped together as “outsiders" or "antiestablishment," manifestations of the anger and frustration of the Republican base. Rubio, by contrast, is usually included in discussions of the "establishment lane" and grouped with John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush.
As with much conventional wisdom, there is some truth in these generalizations. And it's clear that in some ways the campaigns themselves accept this framing. For six months, Cruz and Trump avoided criticizing each other on the assumption that their campaigns occupied overlapping chunks of the "antiestablishment" political space. When their de facto nonaggression pact ended, they quickly turned to attacking one another with the kind of vigor that candidates reserve for opponents who represent the largest obstacles to their victories. At the same time, most of the incoming fire Rubio has taken has come from the campaigns and super-PACs of the candidates hoping to end up king of the "establishment" mountain.
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