Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The Maddening Vagueness of the Republican Establishment

Conservative commentators all seem to agree that Donald Trump shows that the Republican rank-and-file are fed up with the establishment and its failures.  They want something different.  But invariably such columns fail to say what it was the Republican Establishment did that the rank-and-file are so upset about and what they should do differently.

So tell, us, conservative columnists, what is it about the Republican Establishment that has the rank-and-file so upset?

  • Its failure to impeach Obama?
  • Its failure to pass its program over Obama's veto?
  • And, if so, what is that program it should have passed?
    • Repeal of Obamacare?
    • Massive spending cuts?
    • The end of the New Deal?
    • A birther investigation?
  • Or is the rank-and-file angry over the establishment's friendliness to foreign trade and immigration?
  • Its obsessive focus on cutting taxes at the top and gutting regulations?
  • Its eagerness to start wars?
  • Its acquiescence to same sex marriage and trans-gender bathrooms?
  • Its failure to confront "political correctness?"  And, if so, what exactly is this political correctness and how should Republican leaders be confronting it?
  • Or is it just angry that Republican leadership is too polite and not really angry and vulgar, like Trump?
Somehow the answers to these questions are never more than faintly hinted at.  If I were part of the Republican Establishment, I would be taking surveys, figuring out answers, and looking for some concrete suggestions on what to change.

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