I enjoyed this article in the Washington Monthly by David Atkins:
www.washingtonmonthly.com/…
“Why We Should Celebrate the Trump/Cruz Ascendancy.” I’d be interested in the DK community’s take.
Mr. Atkins says it is slowly sinking in — and we’ve seen this written about elsewhere — that it is very likely one of what I like to call ‘The Crump’ will lead the GOP ticket. He adds:
“Even though both Trump and Cruz are the least electable of the leading GOP candidates in a general election, the vagaries campaign gaffes, scandals, and unforeseen events could easily throw the race to a Republican underdog. The danger is therefore quite clear. Even so, the Trump/Cruz ascendancy on the right is nonetheless a good thing for American politics. “
His reasoning:
“No longer can the Republican party of the Bushes and Romneys count on an attack dog to do their dirty work for them on election day so they can implement policy that benefits only economic elites while keeping a sunny, smiling Reaganesque face. The monster has broken free of its chains and it is demanding at long last to be fed.”
Atkins says watching the “dangerous beast” that is The Crump “gorge of the flesh of the malevolent wizards who created it is not only a source of pleasant schadenfreude, but ultimately good for the country.”
He believes neither can win, but that anything is possible given the vagaries of our election seasons.
Conclusion: Even if the unthinkable happens, it will only last 4 years and end the GOP madness. To me, this comes dangerously close to the Naderite thinking of 2000. But as long as neither can win, it’s just an intellectual exercise, and I simply don’t see it happening — and neither does the GOP if their panic/resignation we see now is any indication.
Atkins: ”If you believe, as most progressives and even many conservative activists do, that the combination of big business interests and crony-capitalist Washington Consensus lobbyists are the biggest challenges facing the country, then a future led by Rubio/Bush is far more to be feared than one led by Trump/Cruz.”