Meanings of Sanders and Trump

Sanders and Trump have shaken up the party establishment, and as Instapundit Glenn Reynolds observed,

“Both Sanders and Trump pose threats to the respective establishments. Sanders might be another Eugene McCarthy, who garnered tremendous enthusiasm in 1968 while sapping the energy of Democratic establishment candidate Huber Humphrey, who went on to lose. Trump might turn out be another Ross Perot, whose plain talks about deficits exited a lot of GOP voters who then saw George H.W. Bush as unappetizing…In a democratic polity, you can’t ignore the concerns of large numbers of voters forever. Both Democrats and Republicans are learning that lesson yet again.”

Reynolds noted that Sanders attacked his own party's President's policies as creating inequality and unemployment when he stated that the real unemployment rate is closer to 10.5% when you include those who have left the job force or working part-time when they want a full time job. The Democratic presidential front runner and her husband, who received $300,000 speaking fees and have become as wealthy as the previous Republican nominee Mitt Romney, is now being viewed in similar by her own grass roots as being out of touch with the common working folks.

Trump’s issue is immigration, and for many Americans, they wonder what present immigration policies are doing for them and whether it is costing them their jobs and chances to succeed. I am not a fan of Trump as a politician but with the exposure of violent crimes committed by illegals, new anxiety has been added to the debate and for many Americans, the failure of securing our borders is just one more example of the incompetence of the political class.

What Sanders and Trump have done is put the political class under siege. But, how can the rest of the Republican field tap into that frustration. As our own research with Americas Majority Foundation has shown, the average American views that the economic system is rigged against them but they also don’t view additional government largess as the path to prosperity. They want job creation and a fair opportunity to succeed. Researchers from both parties are finding the same result that voters want to see the economic pie increase and create a fairer opportunity for them to succeed and pass on a better America for their children.

Sanders has tapped in on this from the left, and Hillary’s latest platitude is fairness and economic growth for the Middle Class. Republicans do have the advantage since it is the left’s policies causing much of the economic anxiety and decline in many middle class families. Those candidates in the race need to promote fair opportunity to succeed and show how expanding the private sector while reducing the public sector spending and debt is that path.

Trump is tapping into the economic anxiety by his attack on immigrants. As I have already pointed out, Trump is not the man who can sell ideas to the general public, considering his past as a crony capitalist and his tone with immigrants, which could ensure defeat in 2016. The Republican establishment must realize there is no trust between much of the GOP grass roots and them. Trump’s surge in the polls is a message to the Republican political class. They are on notice. It is a warning that many of those grass roots may just as likely stay home or vote for a third party if Trump chooses to go in that direction.

The key to a Republican victory is to sell the concept that the GOP has the right ideas and solutions to relieve the economic anxiety facing many voters, while pointing out the failure of Democratic leftist economic policies. Outsider candidates like Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker are doing exactly that, tapping into that anxiety. The GOP has a shot to win this race, but it means they have to understand the anxiety of voters and show how their policies will work for the average Middle Class voters.