[unlearner]

I agree on the nationalism issue. A big part of Trump’s appeal is his America-first nationalism. And he is not an isolationist.

My reason for calling Trump a populist though is because his underlying philosophy in not conservative. He identifies conservatism as a successful platform. And so he is committing to govern conservatively.

Populism is not a bad thing. My concern is that Trump’s conservatism could easily go by the wayside as he seeks to broker deals and build a consensus. He is not guided by a deeply-held, philosophically-conservative viewpoint. He is more pragmatic.

I strongly prefer someone like Cruz who is conservative as a matter of principle. I may disagree with him on certain issues, but we share the same underlying ideology. For example, he opposed ethanol subsidies in Iowa even though many Iowans want the subsidies. This is comes out of a conservative viewpoint. (I happen to agree on this issue.) An example where I disagree is GMO labelling. Cruz opposes it because he believes science supports the safety and he does not want agribusiness over-regulated. I disagree because I think the science is flawed and people have a right to know what they are buying. But in the end, he will generally arrive at the right position most of the time because of a philosophically conservative view.

Trump might arrive at the same position, but it will be driven from a more pragmatic and populist point of view. An example of how this might manifest itself in a specific issue is Obamacare. A philosophically conservative candidate is one who would replace Obamacare with a free market solution. A pragmatist, like Trump, might simply replace Obamacare with a more efficient, less wasteful, form of socialized medicine. I am not saying this will happen, just that it is more likely.

[drpix]

Trump, as an outsider, must conduct a populist style campaign, but his issues and goals are more those of nationalism than populism. He has mobilized the common people against the elites and yet he flaunts his own elite status and does not voice opposition to all elites nor speak of disempowering all elites.

What Trump has made unambivalenty clear is that he is against the Washington elites and their globalist corporate & media allies (including those who call themselves conservatives) who have sacrificed the national interest of America and its people on the alter of globalism.

And how can the GOPe's problem with Trump really be that he's not "conservative" enough when the same GOPe unhesitatingly backs a liberal like Kasich? The GOPe's real problem with Trump is his top two nationalist issues of immigration and trade.

But they can't attack Trump for his nationalism without calling attention to their own globalist anti-nationalism. So they attack him for his populism and lack of conservatism.

And as you may have figured by now, I am a nationalist conservative who despises globalist conservatism as much as globalist liberalism.