A couple of days ago, I told you why people were mad at "The Establishment" and now you need to know who. Let's just say that there are certain group of people who have been ignored in the political process since the days of Ronald Reagan.
According to Real Clear Politics, the Trump supporters are the forgotten demographic. They are people who have families or are middle aged. It is what used to be called Middle America. Except that happy little moniker has gone the way of McGuyver. They are likely to have a high school education, but not a college education. They are both men and women. And it is not necessarily white. This demographic includes people of all races. They listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. It is the people who were once referred to as the silent majority, but they found their voice in Trump. These are the people who still go to church every Sunday, even if they are not necessarily Christian by their actions the rest of the week. They make just enough not to qualify for welfare, but not enough to be considered wealthy. Many lost jobs and/or homes due to the housing crisis of 2008. Many have been forced to retire early because no one will hire them. Others feel like retirement is something that will never happen for them. They will die with their boots on. That is your Trump supporter.
These people feel that they have been left behind, forgotten, or taken for granted, in every single election since Reagan rode into the sunset. They were blown over when Bush went back on his no new taxes pledge. Many voted for H. Ross Perot in 1992. That should have been a sign to take things more seriously. They saw Slick Willie escape scandal after scandal, but cheered the Contract with America. They thought things would change with Bush Jr., but were let down by new program after new program and were dismayed when the deficit grew and grew, and that the hated Clinton was the last president with a balanced budget. TARP was the final straw.
They are angry. They are not going to go home and study and find the best candidate. This time, they will vote with their emotions. And their emotions tell them that the college boys have been in power long enough. In their mind, it's time to let Mr. Loud Mouth speak his mind. To them, it's refreshing to hear a politician who doesn't hold any punches, who doesn't worry that what he says will rock the boat.
The problem the year is that almost no one the Republican party has is going to win this group over, not any longer. The party has lost its trustworthiness. In their mind, you will get the same result no matter who you vote for. So, you may as well vote for someone who is transparent. With this group, you can't sway them with disgusting facts about Trump, even if they are true, because they believe that everyone is covering up something just as bad. Hence, no matter what is revealed about Trump, others are doing the same or worse when the camera's aren't running. After all, that is what they see on TV every night. They know it's fiction, but believe that fiction has a factual basis at one point.
The only way to stop Trump is to find some deep dark secret in his past. Something that for him is dark and out of character. And it would really have to be sinister and dark. It would have to make everything that is currently public look like something a choir boy would do. Perhaps the Democratic Party already knows the secret, and they are waiting until October to release it. Anytime before the convention, and the GOP can simply choose someone else and they would have to run a real campaign. But this has not been the year for the GOP. Something will be found, but definitely after the convention and before the election.
If there is something found out before the convention, and Trump has to drop out. I would suggest getting away from any old country-club slick, chiseled-looking chump like Mitt Romney. Perhaps a former athlete like JC Watts. Someone that you could have a beer with. Someone who lives in the suburbs, not on the slopes of Park City. Finding something on Trump may put the election into more chaos than it already is because people like that don't usually run for office. It may also be that Trump is the Republican Slick Willie and nothing that can be found out will stick.
The danger for the Republicans is that the Democrats will want you to believe that all Republicans are like Trump. It makes anyone that they would run look good by comparison. That is sort of like saying that all public restrooms are like rest stop near mile 99.
It may not have come to this if Jeb Bush had listened to Mom and stayed home. But his ego got the best of him. To the Trump voter, seeing another Bush become the nominee was like having an extra serving of week-old buckwheet pancakes. And the fact that Trump stole voters from just about everyone else running proves that people were looking desperately for someone whose last name was not Bush. Jeb is indeed to blame for much of this.
It may have also helped if the Republican Party had been a little more transparent in the Bush years. If those in Congress in the early 1990s had used a little foresight. They knew they housing bubble would pop. They could have at least introduced legislation to stem it. But that never happened.
Like it or not, Trump is going to be the GOP nominee. The real question, is what to do about it.
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