In November 2016, to the surprise of many – including the
candidate himself – Donald J. trump was elected President of the United States.
His election and presidency have been called into question by many on numerous
fronts. There are issues of personal character that would doom most politicians;
issues of policy, to the extent that he has a consistent policy for more than a
day; issues of leadership as he relies on bullying, insult and disrespect towards
anyone who stands in his way. Nevertheless, his approval rating holds steady in
the mid-30s% – albeit a record low contrasted with other previous presidents. But
he holds a solid bedrock of support in spite of his moral / ethical / divisive
shortcomings.
“Trump Supporters” gave Trump his 2016 victory, and he
remains indebted to them. I said early in 2016 that to truly understand the
Trump phenomena, the real meaningful American story was not Trump himself but
his adherents. If one is opposed to Donald Trump, then one is obligated to find
a proper understanding of the base that supports him. Yet who are they? To lump
them together and call them simply “Republicans” is inaccurate. Rather, they
are a community of diverse interests committed to their own separate agendas,
loosely affiliated for expediency because there is no other place for them to
go. Given an alternative, or a failure of Trump to deliver on their
expectations, they would be gone. More precisely, Trump Supporters break down
into roughly three groups.
Group 1 Trump Supporters include the despicable neo-Nazis,
racists and fringe conspiracy believers who have been invited into
“respectability” by Trump’s racial, anti-immigrant, anti-government and anti-media
rhetoric. These neo-Nazis look to attack the judicial decisions of the past 70
years reaffirming America as a place where all citizens are treated equally and
respectfully. They see America as a haven only for those of white Western
European descent, that all others are the cause of America’s problems and their
own personal failures. They are also ready to believe any imagined plot that
comes along pitting the government against its citizens; outright destruction
of the government is a prime objective. It is hard to imagine any common ground
between this small but vocal and disruptive group and the rest of America.
Ostracism is still the best response, but Trump still needs, and has a fairly
safe lock on, their votes.
Group 2 Trump Supporters include those who see Trump as the
opening for their individual social / political / religious / economic agendas.
After years of government being the bulwark against these agendas, Trump
promises to pull out such roadblocks, open the floodgates, and go down the road
of unrestrained, selfishly myopic pursuits with minimal concern for “the
greater good.” Legislative Republicans close their eyes and make the choice to
“bargain with the devil,” despite risking long-term permanent damage to the
Republican Party brand as 2016 voters drift away. Even though few have
confidence, trust or respect in Trump, they suffer in silence for now and get
done what they can while they can on their long-delayed political agendas.
Further, many fear that crossing Trump will mean their defeat in the 2018
Republican primary elections by ultra-conservative Trump supporters who will
likely determine Republican Party nominees without regard for their chances in the
general election.
In addition, Wall Street sees opportunities to roll back the
restrictions placed on them after their 2008 financial implosion. Energy
companies and western ranchers see public lands becoming available for
exploitation. Real estate developers see a rollback of “impact statements” and
other regulations to let them build what and where they want. Businesspeople
seeking cost cutting, price-setting / market domination, trade protections, and
further monopolistic efforts see avoidance of previous levels of oversight. Religious
leaders ignore Trump’s irreligious and immoral words and actions to get
favorable legislation and judges – turning to Caesar to give them what God
apparently has not delivered. For these businesspeople, clergy, and
politicians, it is all about holding your nose and blinding your eyes to
achieve personal wins from a man you pray your son would never become. For this
group, the only interest is self-interest – and Santa Claus lives at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
Group 3 Trump supporters include those people who feel that
the last two decades have decimated the Promise of the American Dream for them.
They are not “despicable” or selfish people. They are angry people who feel
their needs and views have been ignored, even ridiculed, certainly unresponded
to during the past three presidencies. They feel that government has gotten too
intrusive into their lives, has built too many limitations on their business
and private affairs. They sense that providing opportunities to others, however
well-intentioned, has come at the expense of limiting opportunities to them. They
have seen the economy and GDP grow steadily for some while they sit stagnant at
the margins. They have seen America – the dominant post-WWII world leader –
seemingly slide from its preeminence. Their future, once assured, now seems a
future in doubt.
All of this happened while they have struggled to feed,
clothe, educate and raise their families, and hold on to a way of life that had
once worked for them, their parents, and their grandparents. It is one thing to
aspire for cleaner air from new kinds of energy sources; it is another to throw
thousands of life-long coal workers out of the only job they know with no
recourse – a job they took in good faith because America said it needed
electricity. Change is the enemy, not a friend, and government / big business /
society have been all about change. They cross demographic groups, though are
concentrated in older, white, males with less formal education. Having
previously felt powerless to stop these trends, they now see an opportunity to
reverse that course and make their agenda the country’s agenda.
Donald Trump spoke for their anger; still speaks for their
frustrations, however coarsely; and affirms the “global and national conspiracy”
that seems determined to work against their interests. Willing to ignore his
excesses, his disrespectful conduct and his untruths, in 2016 they saw an
opportunity to speak up and be noticed by voting for a man who would speak for
them. Given that he was expected to lose, such a protest vote seemed safe. Many
were as surprised to wake up and find out that he had become their president. They
are now slow to discard Trump, even as each day shows him to be the fraud that
Mitt Romney once accused him of being, because there is still no other
alternative voice.
Who is principally responsible for creating this block of
Trump supporters? The recent Congresses of the United States who have
accomplished little over these past years, and less as each year comes and
goes. Today, politics override governance; the quest for power rolls over the
need for governance and solutions. People of all stripes are hurting, even
though for different if not conflicting reasons. From DACA kids to soccer moms
to farm families, they see politicians strutting around just trying to save
their own jobs; living lives of special privilege and exemptions versus everyday
Americans; taking “back door” money representing special corporate and
institutional interests; working part-time days; avoiding tough decisions;
failing to fund and budget the country properly; listening only to voters on
one side or the other of the political spectrum; avoiding speaking the truth to
the citizenry; raising doomsday alarms while doing nothing to prevent it; supporting
partisan causes and prioritizing Party loyalty over national good. In the past,
some Trump Supporters voted Democratic, some Republican. Today they share an anger
at the institutions that are failing them. In fact, many non-Trump voters feel the
same frustration and anger at our non-performing government, but just do not
see Trump as the answer.
The Group 1 Trump Supporters need to be called out and
pointedly rejected by all Americans at every opportunity. They are the
antithesis of what America is and aspires to be. The Group 2 Trump Supporters
need to be fought at the ballot box, in the courts, in local government, and in
the marketplace competition for our dollars to move them back to “common good”
versus “personal good.” But the Group 3 Trump Supporters need attention,
dialog, and support from non-Trump Supporters. They are neighbors, just another
part of the American Story. People may not see eye to eye on everything; may
live different lifestyles and have different beliefs about some things; may get
in each other’s way at times. But we all want to be left alone to get on with
living our lives in peace; at our core we are not all that different. None of
us really wins if we cannot find ways to balance our beliefs, accommodate each
other, and work together. It all starts with being of good character, acting
from better intentions, while being considerate and helpful to others. It is
the spirit of middle-ground compromise that has made our democracy work from
its beginning. Is that really so impossible for us to do now?
© 2018
Randy Bell www.ThoughtsFromTheMountain.blogspot.com
1 comment:
Right on!
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