Does Trump play beyond the normal boundaries?
by digby
An interesting observation by Brian Beutler:
As much as Trump himself is an outgrowth of the reckless way conservatives have stoked the resentment of the Republican Party base, his durability is also an outgrowth of an electoral process conservatives have shaped aggressively. Even if Trump’s ceiling of support is around 30 percent, it’s enough to ride out the primary process—and retain the lead—in a fractured field where almost every candidate has a wealthy patron or two.
In a better-controlled environment, Trump would be a less potent force. As the frontrunner, though, he’s steering the policy debate in ways that have Republican donors and strategists deeply spooked. As Greg Sargent writes at the Washington Post, “his willingness to say what other Republicans won’t has forced out into the open genuine policy debates among Republicans that had previously been shrouded in vagueness or imprisoned within party orthodoxy.”
Right now, Trump has his hand on the third rail of Republican politics. He’s arguing that wealthy people shouldn’t get a pass on paying regular federal income taxes. “The middle class is getting clobbered in this country. You know the middle class built this country, not the hedge fund guys, but I know people in hedge funds that pay almost nothing, and it’s ridiculous, okay?”
For almost any candidate, promising to reduce taxes on rich people is the price of admission into the Republican primary. Trump, by contrast, is poised not only to survive this apostasy, but to singe any of the more orthodox rivals who challenge him.
I’m sure that does spook the elites. And at this point, I’d guess it confuses a lot of others. Last night Sarah Palin looked as though she was talking to a space alien when Trump started going on about hedge funds.
Here’s something to ponder, however. If Trump keeps on this path of taxing the rich and defending social security, what are the chances that some white Democrats who are deeply distrustful of a woman in leadership and don’t care much for immigrants themselves start to look at Trump and think he’s talking some truths for them too. I don’t know how many of those there are, but I have to assume there are a few…
This combination of bashing elites and minorities alike is a very potent argument for some people. Very potent. And I don’t think they’re all tea partyers.
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