Dane Sherrets, outreach manager for The Centrist Project,
offers his views on how the “unbreakable gridlock” in Congress has led to the
rise of Donald Trump:
“Run to the right during the primary and then
to the center in the general” was the advice that President Nixon gave fellow
Republicans and has long been held as the conventional wisdom among politicians
of both parties (Democrats running to left) as they strategically position
themselves during campaign season. The past two weeks have been evidence of
this as Jeb Bush walks back some of his more moderate statements and Hillary
sprints farther to the left.
However, amid all the pandering and capitulating by the 2016 presidential field
there is a candidate that seems to have very little regard for the wishes of the establishment….
to the center in the general” was the advice that President Nixon gave fellow
Republicans and has long been held as the conventional wisdom among politicians
of both parties (Democrats running to left) as they strategically position
themselves during campaign season. The past two weeks have been evidence of
this as Jeb Bush walks back some of his more moderate statements and Hillary
sprints farther to the left.
However, amid all the pandering and capitulating by the 2016 presidential field
there is a candidate that seems to have very little regard for the wishes of the establishment….
Enter: The Donald. Donald
Trump is far from moderate in his rhetoric, but he cannot be ignored or
discarded as just entertainment. If nothing else, his high poll rankings are
shining a bright spotlight on the American public’s discontent with the
political status quo. We see this as an appetite for an independent voice that
is unconstrained by the demands of party leadership’s orders and talking
points.
Michael Scherer does a great job of
summarizing this sentiment in his recently published Time cover story when he
writes: “To support Trump in August 2015 is to oppose the established order,
and not because of ideology but because you have just had enough — of the
squabbling politicians, the dynastic political clans, the system of
distinguished people who promise but can’t deliver. It is to say aloud to the
pollster on the phone that you are ready to trade in the phoniness of the
political process for an accomplished huckster who never backs down.”
summarizing this sentiment in his recently published Time cover story when he
writes: “To support Trump in August 2015 is to oppose the established order,
and not because of ideology but because you have just had enough — of the
squabbling politicians, the dynastic political clans, the system of
distinguished people who promise but can’t deliver. It is to say aloud to the
pollster on the phone that you are ready to trade in the phoniness of the
political process for an accomplished huckster who never backs down.”
Whether it is true or not, voters seem to
perceive an authenticity about Trump which just goes to show that this country
wants leaders that do not just pander to their respective party bosses.
perceive an authenticity about Trump which just goes to show that this country
wants leaders that do not just pander to their respective party bosses.
