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I’ve tooled around with ideas about why Trump just secured the 2016 Republican nomination, but since a graphic says at least 500 words, I’ve taken the liberty of creating a pie chart.
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A Quick Breakdown:
- Cable News at 20% Blame
From the wise mouth of legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow: “One of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news. “
The “news” industry has gone all in on Trump because he has been a boon to their ratings. To quote a far less noble source, CBS head Leslie Moonves: “It [Trump] may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”
Will the wonders of ad revenue never cease to bring out the best in all of us?
At any rate, the endless Trump saturation on regular and cable news is by now well-documented. And it’s awfully hard for voters to figure out whom else they might vote for, when the only face they regularly see (a full hour on Sean Hannity’s Fox propaganda show, conveniently scheduled before every single primary) is the one and only orange-haired Donald Trump.
- The Anger Tribe of Talk Radio & Fox News at 18%
In fairness to both entities, there are countless conservative print publications who also jumped on the “burn it down” bandwagon, insisting for the better part of six years now that the fault of every problem this country faces lies at the feet of “Establishment” Republicans.
Ted Cruz built his entire (failed) presidential campaign on this theme.
But the biggest loudmouths and foment-stokers are your brand name “truth-tellers:” Rush Limbaugh. Mark Levin. Sean Hannity. Bill O’Reilly. Laura Ingraham. Ann Coulter. And so on. The Who’s Who of righteous right rage.
After whipping much of the country up into a fury over government corruption, is it any wonder the supposed “outsider” status of Trump gave him a huge advantage over those “phony” politicians contenders?
- Bipartisan Commitment to Dysfunction at 15%
Yesterday, Senator Ben Sasses (R) of Nebraska posted an open letter to “Majority America,” having spoken with several constituents at a local Wal-Mart. During said errand run, Democrats and Republicans told Sasse how sick and tired they were of “politics as usual.” The senator went on in his letter to compare the constant Democrat v. Republican fighting to the endless bickering of immature divorced parents.
We regular Americans are the kids who have to put up with this stalled feud.
Harry Reid spent the better part of six years in the Senate refusing to bring any legislation up for a vote. Ted Cruz shut down the government in an idiotic quest to make himself famous.
Ds and Rs: there aren’t any clean hands here.
- Failing Public Schools at 12%
Some issues should be non-partisan. Taking care of the environment. Gender and racial equality.
Certainly, education.
Unfortunately, because of #3 (see above), these issues – most egregiously, public education – have been partisan-ized, and the result is an American electorate without the knowledge to see through Trump’s propaganda, and without the confidence to call him out on it.
When politicians refuse to compromise and work together, everyone suffers, and that includes students sitting in our schools. And remember, folks: those kids grow up to be voters.
- Racism and Sexism at 12%
Beyond his infamous refusal to denounce the KKK, according to several Trump biographers, interviewed for a long read piece over at Politico, Trump began his campaign around the dog whistle of racism. To quote one small piece of the multi-person interview:
Barrett: I think his entire message can be reduced to one word: race. I think that’s his entire message. You know, he carried New Hampshire that has the lowest poverty rate in the United States, that has an unemployment rate around 3%.
D’Antonio: I grew up there, and I went to school with the one black kid in the state.
Barrett: Yeah. He carries every Deep South state. Does anybody remember that he’s carrying every slave-owner state? He doesn’t even do well in Oklahoma, which was not a slave-owner state.
Along the lines of his sexism, the best example is this ad by Arkansas Democrat Senate nominee, Conner Eldridge:
Even sadder? There are clearly many Americans who feel the same way.
- Mad as Hell Old White Men at 10%
If you need any proof, just watch any one of the many videos of Trump rallies.
I’ll leave off the speculation as what these dudes are so angry about, and just let it be said: Trump has this voter bloc locked down.
- Lunatic-level Speech Policing at 4%
Part of Trump’s appeal, it must be admitted, is a backlash against the constant accusations of sexism and racism slung around with the nonchalance of weather observations.
People who support Trump are rebelling against “political correctness.” Many of them feel left out by not just the political process, but the culture at large as well. More on that momentarily.
- Celebrity Worship at 4%
An friend who grew up overseas recently pointed out to me that the top four stories in his CNN newsfeed included a massive earthquake, the ongoing ISIS genocide, and… Kim Kardashian’s vaginoplasty.
That last item is not “news.”
But American culture is obsessed with celebrity, and Donald Trump brought his Apprentice brand to bear on that.
- President George W. Bush at 3%
The last Republican President’s massive unpopularity left the GOP reeling, and it has yet to find its footing. Following the election of Barack Obama, there was the temporary rise of the Tea Party, who purported to be radically committed to small government and the Constitution.
But the Tea Party was always a minority, within a much larger and liberal “east-coast” Republican Party. The two sides never did figure out a way to get along.
Into this identity crisis, enter Donald Trump.
- President Obama at 2%
Part of Obama’s appeal in 2008 was his promise to undo the political polarization already growing under President W. Bush. Remember “No more Blue States or Red States, just the United States”?
But rather than work with Republicans, Obama retreated into his own enclave of liberal Democrats, and proceeded to demonize the Right on most opportunities given him.
This has exacerbated in the political gridlock of Washington DC. So much so, even the Left is revolting against Obama’s legacy (see: Bernie Sanders).
The post What Explains Donald Trump? A Pie Chart Analysis appeared first on The Good Men Project.