He's distilled the essence of what others have written about the Trump phenomenon; about how Trump gives voice to the voiceless who refused to vote for Romney last cycle, the GOP's phantom electorate. These are just highlights:
Donald Trump is the fault of the GOP elite, including movement conservatives, who failed to listen, who failed to follow through, who thought we were meant to lead the benighted past their narrow self-interests and unseemly prejudices to a wonderful new world reflecting our benevolent self-interests and elite prejudices. Funny how the conservative, globalized utopia we sought to impose always worked out really well for us. Except those left behind aren’t laughing.I also love his line, not quoted above, about all the lives and treasure lost in "wars we’re too damn gutless to win."
Think of this as, in large part, the struggle between the haves and have nots of globalization. Amnesty was a great idea for bubble people who think illegal immigration satisfies some sort of libertarian ideal, or who only experience its impact by being able to hire a cheaper nanny. It’s a pretty great idea for the illegals too. (snip) If we had built the damn wall we promised our base back then, we probably wouldn’t have that damn Trump now.
It’s not the illegals who are living in the shadows; it’s our own base, the guys and gals who got the short end of the globalization stick. The vast majority of Trump’s supporters are good people who we have let down, and as free agents in the political free market they have found someone who saw a need and is filling it.
