Hinderaker on Trump

John Hinderaker is first among the equals who blog at Power Line. Today he writes about the fracturing of the Reagan coalition which has powered the GOP for the past decades but appears to be dying. Some of his choice thoughts:

I don’t want to join those who hail Donald Trump, after the fact, as a genius, but it must be acknowledged that more than anyone else, he tailored his candidacy to the new issues landscape. The subjects he emphasizes the most, immigration and trade, are the wedge issues of the day.

Trump is no conservative. He is, however, pro-America. His slogan, make America great again, resonates with conservatives of all stripes. On the other hand, it is anathema to liberals, who believe that America never was great, and certainly don’t want her to start being great now. And Trump, like no one else, pushes back against the Left’s efforts to suppress free speech, which usually go under the too-generous rubric of political correctness.

Hinderaker also notes that social conservatives and economic conservatives in the post-Cold War era, no longer have opposing Communism as a unifying theme. Getting unified around fighting jihadi violence hasn't held the same "magic."

I particularly enjoy his "liberals, who believe that America never was great" wisecrack. I wish for them the joy of some Third World hellhole with undrinkable water, casual violence, and no toilet paper.