This, from Krugman's blog, I thought was some analysis of the rise of Trump that went beyond the "people want a non-politician" drivel that we keep hearing repeated ad nauseam, so I thought it was worth diarying.
Krugman argues that Trump is something of a new breed in American politics and in American conservatism, or, if not new, at least something we haven't seen in a while. Let's talk south of the orange squiggle.
So check this out, from Krugman's blog post, linked above:
In the bottom right corner, you have traditional conservatives:
The dominant role in the modern GOP is played by a faction that links de facto disdain for Those People with a desire to slash social insurance.
But Trump is a breed apart:
But there are plenty of voters who want Social Security and Medicare for people who look like them, but not those other people. And at some level Trump is catering to that unserved population.
So Trump is blending the nativism of contemporary conservativism with the welfare state, "social democratic" features favored by most liberals: he wants single payer, doesn't want to cut Social Security, criticized Jeb! for saying we are spending too much on women's health, etc.
Krugman goes on to consider what to calls the breed that Trump represents:
Of course, Trumpism is a really bad name for this, partly because the man himself isn’t actually coherent, partly because it’s still likely that he’s a case of hair today, gone tomorrow. And maybe nobody else will make a play for that box. But it’s also possible that we’ll see the rise of a movement that needs a better name. Hmm. How about National Social Democracy? Any problems with that?
I am hoping Trump implodes in his own buffoonery, at some point. And I am not saying that Trump equalz da HITLERZ. But I think Krugman may be warning that there is an opening here for someone with a lighter touch, who knows how to play the long game of electoral politics, to exploit the empty box that Trump has stepped into. Demographics will likely rule this out as whites become a minority, but we won't be there for a while, so in the near term, I think it's worth thinking about.