If a third of Republican participants in
the nomination process have their way, Donald Trump will be the party’s
candidate for President of these United States (or maybe more accurately, semi-united
United States). And given the winner-take-all ingredient of much of the nomination
process, a third of Republicans might be all he needs.
How about the election itself? Well, The
Donald has tapped into a disgust with politicians and the political process
that stretches over the electorate in general, both Republicans and Democrats.
This disgust is due in large measure to the extreme political polarization that
has arisen over the last several decades and that has resulted in at least the
appearance of incompetent and ineffective government. The extreme polarization in
turn has a number of sources, but certainly one is the twenty-five or so years
of right-wing media and right-wing politicians telling the nation how awful
things are. Democrats and the left-wing are not without blame, but the voices
of doom have been predominantly from the right.
Might this disgust with the status quo
be pervasive enough to put The Donald in the White House? Increasing his odds is
that his opponent will likely be either Bernie the Socialist or Hillary the Nonchalant
Emailer.
But whether The Donald goes all the way or not,
maybe his legacy will include some beneficial impacts upon politics and the
political system. Maybe, just maybe, the rigid, uncompromising orthodoxy that
has come to characterize political policies, procedures, practices, and pronouncements, particularly on the Republican side, will be loosened. Maybe, just maybe, future Republican office-seekers will not have to kowtow to the likes of Grover Norquist, Wayne LaPierre, the Club for Growth, the Heritage Foundation, and similar myopic individuals and institutions.
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