Quote:
Originally Posted by
ToasterOven
Don't be surprised if Trump influences future candidates. With so many blue collar white supporters, a candidate without Trump's baggage could run on no entitlement reform, nationalism, big spending on infrastructure etc, and ditch the donor's pet issues.
Things we now know.... "christian conservatives" don't seem to care about religion much, rank and file Republicans don't give a shit about tax cuts for the wealthy, and no party wants to cut social security.
An under reported story this year was the Republicans had 6 contenders (10 non contenders) with essentially the exact same policy plans, and Trump.
They need to stop worrying about their own base and figure out how to attract the unaffiliated or moderate Democrats.
Trump actually managed to do that, to some degree. That's how guys like Marty got so excited about him. When was the last time you saw Marty crowing about a Republican candidate?
Unfortuantely, what was good about Trump was also what was bad about Trump, and he turned off more people than he turned on. And so here we are.
But yes, if you're trying to say that a Republican candidate with a more populist appeal might do well next time, you might be right. Trump won the primary because the party was out of touch with the desires of its base. But they'll have to get beyond their own base to ever win again.