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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWill Trump Rebrand GOP As White Nationalist Party?
By JOSH MARSHALL
Is Donald Trump a 'populist', the candidate of resentment and privilege or simply the final embodiment of the Crazy, the Crazy made flesh and coming amongst us, the Jesus who was foretold by Michele Bachmann's John the Baptist. One of the great injuries Trump has already done to America and our collective dignity is that we are now forced to take him seriously in terms of understanding what he represents in political terms since he's not going anywhere and only appears to be gaining strength.
Much of what has driven the GOP in the Obama era has been anxiety and resentment about losing out to rising forces in the American political-economy and culture - the decreasing white share of the national electorate (embodied by but also partly connected to Barack Obama's election), changing social and cultural mores (support for LGBT rights) driven by Americans under the age of 35, a renascent and assertive women's movement and the increasing defensiveness or even paranoia of organized wealth.
Trump brings all these together with better messaging and fewer apologies - which is the core of his political potency and why his electoral strength seems to cross many common ideological divisions. In Trump world there are winners and losers. And right now you're a loser. And you should be ashamed of being a loser when Mexico and China and the illegal immigrants are winners. But Trump will show you how to be a winner again because he's a winner. He'll help you get back what's yours - which is basically the textbook definition of the politics of resentment.
Most interesting to me is how Trump appears to be making a bid to rebrand the GOP as a white nationalist party, just with better marketing and better hair. Trump's response to that anti-immigrant hate crime in Boston remains very telling and has not received enough attention. Today we see a similar response from his campaign manager to people chanting 'white power' at his big speech in Alabama. Said Corey Lewandowski: "I don't know about the individual you're talking about in Alabama. I know there were 30-plus thousand people in that stadium. They were very receptive to the message of 'making America great again' because they want to be proud to be Americans again."
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/will-trump-rebrand-gop-as-white-nationalist-party
djean111
(14,255 posts)villager
(26,001 posts)underthematrix
(5,811 posts)the first NAZI Party was established in Yorkville, New York in Manhattan. Yorkville was also referred to as Little Germany. Hitler took personal interest in and guided the Little Germany's NAZI Party.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Making an issue of someone's ancestry?
Are you sure you are in the right place?
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)Trump claims to be Swedish because his father who also pretended to be Swedish knew his tenants, many Jewish did not like Germans. And yes if more "white" people were more connected to their European ancestry we would have less racism
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,198 posts)Does that make me 1/16th Nazi?
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)The Repukes have been the White Nationalist Party since Zombie King Reagan kicked offthe '80 election in Philadelphia, MS.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)fasttense
(17,301 posts)Ever since the civil rights movement RepubliCONS took in the white supremacists. Now Trump is singing to them.
We are seeing a similar problem in Europe where the Nazi party is making a come back. It's the kind of thing the rich capitalists encourage when they are ravaging the economy. Keep the poor idiots fighting each other so they don't notice how the uber rich are screwing them.
They funded Hitler, Pinochet and Mussolini. The uber rich are a danger to a peaceful society.
world wide wally
(21,754 posts)the word. I am a lifelong democrat, albeit by accident for the first 10 years of voting or so just because I agreed with their policies more. and I don't feel any sense of fear, threat, or resentment toward any minorities. I think it must have something to do with the environment people are brought up in. . That, or I'm just weird.
pampango
(24,692 posts)dangerous.
With LW populists, what you see if what you get. We focus our ire on class and corporate interests.
The RW version of populism tends to identify 'enemies' based on color, religion or nationality. Though some of their policies have a 'progressive' ring to them, it is the way they define their 'enemies' that makes them dangerous.