Posted on 02/22/2016 11:41:35 PM PST by goldstategop
White Middle Americans express heavy mistrust of every institution in American society: not only government, but corporations, unions, even the political party they typically vote for—the Republican Party of Romney, Ryan, and McConnell, which they despise as a sad crew of weaklings and sellouts... And when Donald Trump came along, they were the people who told the pollsters, “That’s my guy.â€
They aren’t necessarily superconservative. They often don’t think in ideological terms at all. But they do strongly feel that life in this country used to be better for people like them—and they want that older country back.
...People like them in many other democratic countries too. Across Europe, populist parties are delivering a message that combines defense of the welfare state with skepticism about immigration; that denounces the corruption of parliamentary democracy and also the risks of global capitalism. Some of these parties have a leftish flavor, like Italy’s Five Star Movement. Some are rooted to the right of center, like the U.K. Independence Party. Some descend from neofascists, like France’s National Front. Others trace their DNA to Communist parties, like Slovakia’s governing Direction–Social Democracy.
These populists seek to defend what the French call “acquired rightsâ€â€”health care, pensions, and other programs that benefit older people—against bankers and technocrats who endlessly demand austerity; against migrants who make new claims and challenge accustomed ways; against a globalized market that depresses wages and benefits. In the United States, they lean Republican because they fear the Democrats want to take from them and redistribute to Americans who are newer, poorer, and in their view less deserving—to “spread the wealth around,†in candidate Barack Obama’s words to “Joe the Plumber†back in 2008. Yet they have come to fear more and more strongly that their party does not have their best interests at heart.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
So you are saying Trump is anti-austerity, i.e, for big government, high taxes etc...?
Drivel.
Is Frum the self-described sodomite?
I don’t want Social Security and Medicare benefits cut, I want health care security for middle and poor Americans, I want promises kept to our veterans, I want jobs brought back to America and an end to foreign dumping of imports here, I want wages and benefits to be increased and I want our borders secured and all illegal aliens to be deported.
This is the essence of Trump’s platform. He’s my kinda guy; he speaks for me and not for the fat cat oligarchs GOP politicians cater to. The Republican Party doesn’t care about me and my needs. It cares more about the wealthy few than about us. And we need to take our country back from them.
A lot of Americans feel this way and they’re not alone. Our uniparty elites want to turn America into a bigger version of multi-cultural Europe. We’re telling them NO: we don’t want to live in that kind of country or bequeath it to our children. You ignore our seething anger and discontent to your peril.
Most Americans are not that conservative.
Ted Cruz being a case in point.
Even in SC, austerity politics don’t go over very well.
The media is truly evil.
Yes indeed, people "old" enough to recognize a deadly threat do indeed see such danger in Muslims who openly proclaim intent to destroy the Constitution, install sharia law, and murder anyone who doesn't convert to Islam. Especially since that's exactly what these barbarians are doing all around the world. And yes, living as a slave under murderous animals are indeed "new claims that challenge our accustomed ways."
The media is truly evil. David Frum is truly evil. Whispering death to his own society, coaxing them to accept comfy names for their own murders and the murders of their families, in exchange for his whore pay.
Black, black evil. Satanic evil. You are damned, David Frum. Your soul is already dead.
David Frum is no conservative and you know it
He’s like a New Republic neoConservative who savaged Sarah Palin
He sux
He does not know best
I’m old - and I loathe Democrats and Republicans who want to take from me and my children and give it to those who weren’t even in this country a few years ago.
They’re flushing America down the toilet and I’m sick of them.
Its not us who are evil, its the people who are betraying everything America is all about.
Frum probably believes in all this, despite the dirty money he receives from the Uniparty.
You’ve (goldstategop) always been very liberal.
I’m not sure why you guys are fighting. You all love Trump.
Revolting against all those things mentioned...in a nutshell.......
an amazing number of Americans have joined with the most outspoken, a man devoid of all Political Correctness, extremely successful all American who loves his country.... we have joined him in a giant middle finger from average Americans to the political and media establishment.
The Democrats want to take the wealth of Middle America and distribute it to those who will vote for them. Republicans want to take the wealth of Middle America and give it to the wealthy or ship it abroad.
Neither party represents Middle America. They both pillage it for their own selfish interests. Who could most Middle Americans count on to protect them?
They’re political orphans even in the Republican Party whom they elected to look out for them.
Both major American parties have betrayed their core constituencies, and are both responsible for the emergence of Trump on the right, and Bernie on the left.
They’ve created the condition of near rebellion we now find ourselves in. No matter how this race shakes out, the political establishment is about to reap the whirlwind.
Our Social Security and Medicare benefits were earned. They’re not handouts!
And we deserve to get what we worked for and we don’t want to live like in a Third World country.
We’re sending a message to the GOP to lead, to follow or to get the hell out of our way.
America is the best damn country on earth.
Yup. The uniparty cartel is like a fish whose head rots first.
People are sick of its dynasties and their policies.
They will reap the whirlwind, indeed.
“No matter how this race shakes out, the political establishment is about to reap the whirlwind.”
Amen.
I didn't say you. I specifically addressed myself to the writer, David Frum.
My comments were directed at the author and not you of course, but while we are on the subject, who is threatening to take social security and medicare away this election? They will eventually become insolvent if we don’t get a hold of spending obviously. Jobs and a healthy tax base and reducing government in all it’s economy killing forms will go a long way to pay for these programs. This election doesn’t seem to be about social security and medicare though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.