NeverTrump Bait and Switch: They Hate the Ideas, Not the Man

[endicom]

American Greatness
Henry Olsen
July 11, 2018

Michael Gerson, President George W. Bush’s head speechwriter, paid me the ultimate writer’s compliment last week: he attacked me in print. I count Michael as a friend, as I hope he does me, but in this matter I must follow Aristotle who said of his teacher, Plato, that Plato was dear to him but truth was dearer. There are three truths that Michael and others remain in denial about: Bush-style Republicanism is a minority view within the GOP; it is not the best way to create a durable center-right majority; and Trumpism is not based on “protectionism, nativism and bitter resentment of elites.”

Let’s address the last point first. This is a common view, especially on the Left. But I have been writing about these issues for nine years, and the data I have compiled and discuss in my recent book The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism shows blue-collar white discontent far predates Trump. Emily Ekins of the Cato Institute also clearly demonstrated that Gerson’s assertion is not true.

Her paper, “The Five Types of Trump Voters,” shows that very few of Trump’s voters were motivated by racist concerns or nativism. Many were concerned about immigration, and the president’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration—which Michael has consistently decried as either unconstitutional, racist, or both—was the only single issue that united all four major groups of Trump backers. If Trumpism is beyond the pale, it because his voters’ concerns are beyond the pale—and those people comprise the vast supermajority of all Republican-leaning voters.

More... https://amgreatness.com/2018/07/11/nevertrump-bait-and-switch-they-hate-the-ideas-not-the-man/

[WarmPotato]

We don't have time for this! The midterms are in a few months!

[endicom]

We don't have time for this! The midterms are in a few months!

That's where the focus should be. If the Pubs should gain in November then something good might actually come out of congress.

[EasyAce]

If the Pubs should gain in November then something good might actually come out of congress.

Now, where have I heard that before?

Oh, yes.

It's the abusing husband promising the wife for the umpteenth time that if she takes him back this time, something good might actually come because he'll never, ever, ever make those "mistakes" again . . .

[Right_in_Virginia]

Now, where have I heard that before?

Oh, yes.

It's the abusing husband promising the wife for the umpteenth time that if she takes him back this time, something good might actually come because he'll never, ever, ever make those "mistakes" again . . .