The Million Dollar Question

Longman observes how the Trump phenomenon grew from the appeal to white ethno-nationalism that preceded his ascendancy in the GOP.  Left unstated is the question about what exactly IS the electoral coalition of the Republican Party.

If the old GOP consisted of the lunatic John Birch fringe, the God bothering Bible Humpers, the white ethno-nationalists (racists), the neo-conservative American Triumphalists and Wall Street, then who really benefited from that coalition over the past 45 years?

The John Birch fringe can never be appeased, so whatever.

The God Bothering Bible Humpers got rhetorical red meat, but in the end, you've got all that glittery, icky gay stuff happening.  You've still got Planned Parenthood making baby sacrifices to Ba'al.  And the god damned barista at Starbucks just said, "Happy Holidays."  They enjoyed a brief moment of ascendancy during the Bush years, but what have Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan done for them?

The Neo-Cons have abandoned Trump in droves.  Even Lindsay Graham has drawn the line.  The Neo-Cons got to run things during the Bush Regency and they screwed everything up in Iraq.  They are Case A1 in the argument that elites shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects or open flames.  But they are the intellectual ballast of the GOP.  Where, exactly, is their home?

Wall Street could jump to the Libertarians.  Especially those narcissistic Silicon Valley asshats, who see themselves as Randian Ubermensch.

Trump has exposed how potent the white ethno-nationalist (racist) faction is within the GOP.  He rode them to victory in a fractured field.  But demographically, there weren't enough votes in that cohort to elect McCain or Romney.  Why should there be enough votes now, with Trump bleeding support among white Republican women in the suburbs?

Ever since the race moved to a virtual tie, Clinton has slowly been rebounding.  Recent credible polls have her up 6-7 points.  The fact is she could be winning by 10 points, and that would STILL be too close for us to feel good about the American polity.  If Trump wins more than 35% of the popular vote, that says something terrible about us as a country.