WASHINGTON, D.C. July 25 (DPI) – Some Republicans have settled in behind their candidate, the bombastic and barely credible businessman Donald Trump. And given that many mainstream Republicans don’t support the candidate, and a few are actively campaigning against him, realistic prospects for a Trump presidency are close to nil, early surveys suggest.
Fellow Republican and Ohio Gov. John Kasich isn’t campaigning for Trump in his swing state, and Hillary Clinton this weekend tapped Virginia’s Tim Kaine, a popular and uncontroversial Senator from another battleground state. Mike Bloomberg, a moderate with a strong record as New York City’s mayor, is lining up behind Clinton. Even before those developments, The New York Times last week gave Clinton a 76% chance of winning the presidency.
Even conservative columnist George Will appears open to a Clinton presidency.
But the fact is that Trump, no matter how poorly he shows in the general election, has already transformed American politics: He has, with little sophistication and no apparent planning, pulled back the curtain on Washington’s political class – an elite that’s self-dealing, not terribly competent and always open to the highest bidder.
The Republican-Democrat duopoly is fueled by institutions forced to make political donations, and those donations have become the only thing that prompts action – or the appearance of action – in Washington today. The duopoly promotes and protects a vast range of complex laws, exceptions and regulations – all well intended, of course – that have long since impeded growth and eroded optimism. The inertia and cultural malaise underlying it are fostering a heightening sense of despair among many Americans. Hence the Trump juggernaut.
True, the leftist insurgency of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders helped expose the weaknesses of the American political class as well. But Trump’s reckless, scorched-earth approach – Elizabeth Warren is now “Pocahontas” – has entertained and appalled people of all political stripes. His success in the primaries underscores the tenuous command that the political class has on a restive nation.
What’s the fallout? First, the Trump phenomenon creates a new opening in American politics for all celebrities – regardless of background or political experience. It appears that celebrities can command, unlike other candidates, the “free media” that gave Trump so much momentum and credibility during the primary season. Think Oprah or Rob Lowe or Charles Barkley — all of whom have expressed an interest in politics.
What’s more, personal records and reputations seem to matter little in the current environment, with the cable and news media so preoccupied with their own economic survival. Ratings and advertising sales are critical to the media’s commitment to American campaign politics, even though the process of governing is boring and prosaic, as C-SPAN audiences can attest. As a result, political campaigns — now too long and too theatrical – are less and less meaningful in identifying successful potential leaders.
It’s not even clear – even now, after the GOP convention – that Trump wants to govern. He enjoys the limelight and the many microphones of the campaign, but many expect he will have little patience for the process of legislating. A widely read editorial by The Washington Post last week, which generated a record 11,200 reader comments, declared that Trump is a “unique threat to American democracy.”