Monday, March 28, 2016

US Election 2016: The Trump Protectionist Party

It may be useful to stop thinking of this presidential campaign as a contest between Democrats and Republicans.
Hillary Clinton is a Democrat. Donald Trump is also a Democrat.
Come on, you know it's true. This isn't a political race, it's a class race.



Take a look at his economic policies. They are certainly more in line with traditional Democratic thinking than they are with Republican orthodoxy.
Mr Trump opposes free trade deals - that's anathema to many conservatives.



Make way the old TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Here comes the new TPP, the Trump Protectionist Party, which promises to do whatever it takes to protect American manufacturing jobs, even if it means slapping massive tariffs on China, Japan and Mexico.
Even if it means a trade war.
Last September Mr Trump released a tax plan that calls for higher taxes on the wealthy - a suggestion that would have disqualified any other recent Republican candidate.

He even said of his own policy that it would cost him a fortune. He is not a deficit hawk, and has promised to protect welfare programmes such as social security and Medicare.
Since deficit reduction was the litmus test of true conservatism in the 2012 campaign, Mr Trump's position is pretty staggering.

He is even squishy on some social issues. He has kind things to say about Planned Parenthood - a federally funded women's health organisation which is seen as the devil incarnate by many social conservatives because it provides abortions.
Mr Trump says he doesn't like the abortions but the organisation itself does a lot of "wonderful" things. Again, no other Republican candidate would be able to say this and get away with it.

Where Donald Trump is not in line with Democratic thinking is on anything to do with minorities, whether they are Hispanic, Muslim or female. Those are the issues on which his views cleave him firmly away from most Democrats

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