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EJ Dionne: elitism won't defeat trumpism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/elitism-wont-defeat-trumpism/2016/08/07/ca4971b6-5b67-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?It’s certainly true that Trump appeals to outright racists and nativists. He is, first and foremost, the product of a Republican Party that has exploited extremism since President Obama took office. GOP leaders should be called to account whenever they try to prettify Trump by ignoring his assaults on Mexican Americans and Muslims, or when they disregard his checkered business record that belies his pretensions of being a friend to the working class.
Trump further damaged his credibility as a paladin of the downtrodden on Friday by naming what The Post’s Jim Tankersley called “a new team of ultra-rich financiers and businessmen” as his core economic advisers.
Trump further damaged his credibility as a paladin of the downtrodden on Friday by naming what The Post’s Jim Tankersley called “a new team of ultra-rich financiers and businessmen” as his core economic advisers.
. . .but. . .
Eric Hauser, strategic adviser at the AFL-CIO, said that both parties need to face the obvious: that “there is a lot of rage in this country.” “People have been angry for more than a generation about their difficulty in moving ahead despite their best efforts,” he said. Noting that most policy proposals on behalf of workers are too timid, he added: “There has been too much acceptance on the part of elites, including Democrats, that a little bit of trying is good enough.”
Hillary Clinton is clearly aware of the fury. Speaking to organizations of African American and Hispanic journalists on Friday, she noted that while some of Trump’s appeal is “xenophobic and racist and misogynistic and offensive,” his foes should “not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind.” During Saturday night’s Olympic broadcast, her campaign ran a spot with a populist message on taxes, outsourcing and job creation.
If the country is lucky, Trump will continue to do an excellent job of defeating himself. His racism and sexism are leading nonwhite voters and women to form a durable front of opposition. But his voters should not be demeaned or ignored, and his rise should shatter the complacency of the comfortable.
Hillary Clinton is clearly aware of the fury. Speaking to organizations of African American and Hispanic journalists on Friday, she noted that while some of Trump’s appeal is “xenophobic and racist and misogynistic and offensive,” his foes should “not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind.” During Saturday night’s Olympic broadcast, her campaign ran a spot with a populist message on taxes, outsourcing and job creation.
If the country is lucky, Trump will continue to do an excellent job of defeating himself. His racism and sexism are leading nonwhite voters and women to form a durable front of opposition. But his voters should not be demeaned or ignored, and his rise should shatter the complacency of the comfortable.
