All presidential campaigns have some things in common - the glitz and hoopla of the produced-for-television party conventions, speeches by existing and potential party stars, post-convention negative campaign ads, the inane questions posed by broadcast media celebrities, and the strained efforts by the profit-oriented broadcast media to maximize the drama, hence ratings, hence profits.
This season has all of the above. Yet it's different in one sense: the arrival of Trump. But with the typical shallowness we have come to expect, the mainstream media ignores, or sweeps under the rug, the reasons behind the arrival and success of this atypical candidate.
In other words, Trump is as much symptom as cause of this atypical, contentious 2016 campaign phenomenon.
Admitting to an economist's bias, it comes down to hard-core economics: a very large portion of our citizenry has been left behind. Since 1980 many have experienced declines in incomes and wealth. A large portion of the middle class has seen no significant increase in wages, income and wealth. Those in poverty have seen the ladder to middle-class status to be an ever more difficult climb. All this, while those already at the top fraction of one percent have enjoyed rapidly rising prosperity.
If the population at large had shared in the nation's increased productivity would issues such as immigration, firearms, abortion, LGBT, and others still be there? Yes, but they would be peripheral to the extent that Donald Trump would be a sideshow even if he chose to run. Anger and discontent with the economy paves the way for a "strong man" to relate economic discontent to cultural issues such as immigration, race and the changing face of America.
The tough-talking "strong man" poses simple "solutions" that are no solutions at all. For example, if Mr. Trump was really concerned about displaced manufacturing workers, (beyond simply getting their votes) he would include both union and non-union labor in those "great deals" he promises to make. Instead, he promises to have "smart businessmen" make the deals. Meanwhile, many Trump supporters admit that while he is short on solution, at long last, someone acknowledges their plight and is telling them what they want to hear.
How did the nation come to the point where so many have been neglected and are so angry and discontent with their economic status that the billionaire business tycoon has become their unlikely hero? There is plenty of blame to go around, including Democrats, Republicans themselves, the Supreme Court and the out-of-touch profit-motivated mainstream media. Let's take each in turn.
The Democrats: There have always been fissures within the Democratic Party, notably the historic divide between northern moderates and liberals, and conservative white southerners, this dating back to post Civil War days. Although it was the right thing to do, Lyndon Johnson correctly predicted losing the Democratic white south with signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The more recent fissure within the Democratic Party started in the 1960s with liberal protests over the war in Vietnam. Many blue-collar workers lost identity with the Democratic Party. Richard Nixon began to capitalize on this, and Ronald Reagan successfully wooed these "Reagan Democrats" to the GOP. Reagan claimed identity with the unions as he once was prominent in the Screen Actors Guild. Of course, he was a Democrat back then.
Some Democrats continued their affinity with the labor unions. Most union leadership continued to support Democrats. But much of the rank and file deserted the party. In any case, the Democrats failed to make their case, especially with blue collar workers, and lost them.
The Republicans: While there is plenty of blame to go around, the Republicans themselves deserve the bulk of the responsibility for the Trump phenomenon. As Republicans won over some voters with dog whistle racism, they alienated people of color. With conservative stances on guns, abortion, LGBT, and related issues, Republicans attracted conservative voters who had little or nothing in common with Wall Street, big corporations or the so-called Republican establishment.
The Republican establishment welcomed these socially conservative voters with open arms. But they did nothing for them economically. Tax cuts for the wealthy and standard supply-side trickle-down economic snake oil did absolutely nothing for low to moderate income socially conservative voters. This, not failure to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, paved the way for Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court: Money has long been the "mother's milk of politics," and will always play a significant role. But the Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision completely opened the flood gates to Super Pacs and unlimited flows of money by our nation's wealthiest citizens. Conservative Sen. McCain and liberal former Sen. Russ Feingold agree that this was among the court's worst decisions ever. Increased money in politics further diminished political access of those left behind, incentivizing supporters of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
The mainstream media: The profit-motivated mainstream media welcomed the increased viewership, ratings and profits, brought about by the Trump candidacy. Like most observers, the media celebrities never thought he would get far. But like too many Democrats, and especially, the Republicans, they were out of touch with broad segments of American society, and taken by surprise at the extent of economic discontent.
The media focus on the rich and the powerful. They see no incentive to cover issues of the working class, that is, unless they can connect it directly to elections and viewership.
Had the media done its job and given legitimate coverage of economic issues of the working poor and middle class, the media celebrities would not have been so shocked as they obviously are by the notorious and unconventional candidate they helped to create.
Paul Ryan, Reince Preibus and other top Republicans deny it. But the Republican Party has become the party of Trump. The chickens have come home to roost.
Next week: Top Republicans thread the needle.
- John Waelti of Monroe, a retired professor of economics, can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in The Monroe Times.
This season has all of the above. Yet it's different in one sense: the arrival of Trump. But with the typical shallowness we have come to expect, the mainstream media ignores, or sweeps under the rug, the reasons behind the arrival and success of this atypical candidate.
In other words, Trump is as much symptom as cause of this atypical, contentious 2016 campaign phenomenon.
Admitting to an economist's bias, it comes down to hard-core economics: a very large portion of our citizenry has been left behind. Since 1980 many have experienced declines in incomes and wealth. A large portion of the middle class has seen no significant increase in wages, income and wealth. Those in poverty have seen the ladder to middle-class status to be an ever more difficult climb. All this, while those already at the top fraction of one percent have enjoyed rapidly rising prosperity.
If the population at large had shared in the nation's increased productivity would issues such as immigration, firearms, abortion, LGBT, and others still be there? Yes, but they would be peripheral to the extent that Donald Trump would be a sideshow even if he chose to run. Anger and discontent with the economy paves the way for a "strong man" to relate economic discontent to cultural issues such as immigration, race and the changing face of America.
The tough-talking "strong man" poses simple "solutions" that are no solutions at all. For example, if Mr. Trump was really concerned about displaced manufacturing workers, (beyond simply getting their votes) he would include both union and non-union labor in those "great deals" he promises to make. Instead, he promises to have "smart businessmen" make the deals. Meanwhile, many Trump supporters admit that while he is short on solution, at long last, someone acknowledges their plight and is telling them what they want to hear.
How did the nation come to the point where so many have been neglected and are so angry and discontent with their economic status that the billionaire business tycoon has become their unlikely hero? There is plenty of blame to go around, including Democrats, Republicans themselves, the Supreme Court and the out-of-touch profit-motivated mainstream media. Let's take each in turn.
The Democrats: There have always been fissures within the Democratic Party, notably the historic divide between northern moderates and liberals, and conservative white southerners, this dating back to post Civil War days. Although it was the right thing to do, Lyndon Johnson correctly predicted losing the Democratic white south with signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The more recent fissure within the Democratic Party started in the 1960s with liberal protests over the war in Vietnam. Many blue-collar workers lost identity with the Democratic Party. Richard Nixon began to capitalize on this, and Ronald Reagan successfully wooed these "Reagan Democrats" to the GOP. Reagan claimed identity with the unions as he once was prominent in the Screen Actors Guild. Of course, he was a Democrat back then.
Some Democrats continued their affinity with the labor unions. Most union leadership continued to support Democrats. But much of the rank and file deserted the party. In any case, the Democrats failed to make their case, especially with blue collar workers, and lost them.
The Republicans: While there is plenty of blame to go around, the Republicans themselves deserve the bulk of the responsibility for the Trump phenomenon. As Republicans won over some voters with dog whistle racism, they alienated people of color. With conservative stances on guns, abortion, LGBT, and related issues, Republicans attracted conservative voters who had little or nothing in common with Wall Street, big corporations or the so-called Republican establishment.
The Republican establishment welcomed these socially conservative voters with open arms. But they did nothing for them economically. Tax cuts for the wealthy and standard supply-side trickle-down economic snake oil did absolutely nothing for low to moderate income socially conservative voters. This, not failure to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, paved the way for Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court: Money has long been the "mother's milk of politics," and will always play a significant role. But the Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision completely opened the flood gates to Super Pacs and unlimited flows of money by our nation's wealthiest citizens. Conservative Sen. McCain and liberal former Sen. Russ Feingold agree that this was among the court's worst decisions ever. Increased money in politics further diminished political access of those left behind, incentivizing supporters of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
The mainstream media: The profit-motivated mainstream media welcomed the increased viewership, ratings and profits, brought about by the Trump candidacy. Like most observers, the media celebrities never thought he would get far. But like too many Democrats, and especially, the Republicans, they were out of touch with broad segments of American society, and taken by surprise at the extent of economic discontent.
The media focus on the rich and the powerful. They see no incentive to cover issues of the working class, that is, unless they can connect it directly to elections and viewership.
Had the media done its job and given legitimate coverage of economic issues of the working poor and middle class, the media celebrities would not have been so shocked as they obviously are by the notorious and unconventional candidate they helped to create.
Paul Ryan, Reince Preibus and other top Republicans deny it. But the Republican Party has become the party of Trump. The chickens have come home to roost.
Next week: Top Republicans thread the needle.
- John Waelti of Monroe, a retired professor of economics, can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in The Monroe Times.
