We wish we had the same electorate that existed during Reagan let alone Ike.
Yeah, but we don’t and it’s a little distressing that conservatives USED to always say that it was wrong to blame the voters.
The fact is, American voters almost always get exactly what they want. I maintain that what the public wanted in 2008 was not just an end to Bush (for a lot of reasons), but they wanted to send a signal that they weren’t racist. Zero’s policies DIDN’T MATTER. The message average, guilt-ridden Americans wanted to send was that the age of racism was past us. (I know, it didn’t work, but bear with me). They reelected ZEro for the same reason: they did NOT want to “be responsible” for him failing.
I had always wrongly predicted that the first black president would have to be a conservative-—that liberals out of their own warped ideology would have to vote for him or her. Well, it proved just the opposite.
Now, American voters are, I think, sending a clear signal. They don’t care about ideology. We’ve had two midterm elections full of ideology without one single accomplishment. Rightly or wrongly, Ted Cruz is right in the middle of doing nothing. “Trying” isn’t enough. I have maintained that the worst thing a candidate can say is “I sponsored a bill.” The public wants accountability, winning or losing. I think that is Trump’s main appeal. He states a problem (illegals), poses a pretty simple solution (build a wall, stop Islamic immigration), then offers himself to be judged on whether or not he wins or loses. It’s really that simple.