This week’s question: Who’s most responsible for the rise of Trump – the indifferent political elites, or the uninformed masses?
Steve Kroes, president, Utah Foundation. I think a number of forces are combining to create interest in a strongman character like Trump. If it wasn’t him, someone else would rise to fill the role.
In his new book, liberal columnist E.J. Dionne blames Republicans for 50 years of unachievable promises, starting with Goldwater. He claims that the perennial promises of smaller government, lower taxes, lower national debt, a stronger military, freedom from government regulation, combined with a general nostalgia for an idyllic American past are simply unworkable, and continuing to promise these outcomes while being unable to deliver has angered the Republican base to the point that they want a strong-willed outsider to smash through the logjams.
