Washington — People on the left think highly of themselves when they praise the impoverished, when they cry for world peace, and when they talk about race. While these Americans on the left prattle on about their supposedly noble ends (as opposed to the means to those ends), some conservative Americans have become downright jealous. They wonder, why can’t we think highly of ourselves when we talk about poverty, international relations, and race? The answer is that conservatives usually talk about specific policies that lead to jobs for the impoverished (a modus vivendi for enemy nations) and the rule of law for all Americans. Yet such talk makes these conservatives jealous of America’s sanctimonious left.
Their troubled state of mind explains why some conservative pundits are so eager to rail against Donald Trump, comparing him to George Wallace and Adolf Hitler. One conservative scholar even compared Trump unfavorably to Joseph Stalin. I won’t mention any names, so that after these conservatives get over their self-aggrandizing hysteria, we can renew our friendships. I can’t imagine how they plan to back down from the extreme positions they have taken. Perhaps they will insist that they were referring to another George Wallace, who lives in Schenectady, New York, and is celebrated for helping senior ladies cross the street. After all, the names Hitler and Stalin were common enough in Europe before Adolf and Joe blackened their reputations.
These slanderers are now planning to ambush the Republican frontrunner at the Republican National Convention. Or perhaps they are planning to run a third-party candidate, as George Wallace did when he ran under the Independent Party.
I would suggest that these political Machiavellians take on Trump at the convention. What we are witnessing in 2016 is a steady turnover of national political parties that the eminently sensible Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson calls “political entrepreneurship.” He says that if you want to be president, “you don’t need permission from any party. You simply announce your candidacy, meet the legal requirements for filing, and start your campaign.” This kind of political entrepreneurship began with President Jimmy Carter, continued with Barack Obama, and now with Trump. Samuelson says that the advent of political entrepreneurship “represents a major upheaval in U.S. politics.” No wonder conservatives are worried.
Trump will arrive at the convention with 1,237 votes for the nomination, or very close. Then the man who wrote “The Art of the Deal” will be ready to make deals. He’ll be dealing with John Kasich, the popular governor of the all-important state of Ohio. Trump, by the way, has already expressed his admiration for Kasich. Or there’s Scott Walker, the very conservative governor of Wisconsin. Another popular governor is Rick Scott of the voter-rich state of Florida, who has already joined the growing number of politically vigorous politicians who support Trump. I have no doubt there are other potential dealmakers.
Suddenly, powerful political leaders are beginning to appreciate Trump, a man who is fresh to politics—if not to public life—but who has demonstrated astonishing political skills, not the least of which is identifying issues that are popular with voters. What’s more, he is finding fresh coalitions of voters who are joining the Republican Party, such as moderate Democrats and independents. I suspect Trump will be strenuous to outwit at the upcoming convention.
But restless Republicans might want to try. They’ll need a candidate — and they’ll need one now. The only plausible candidate I’ve heard of is former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. They’ll have to convince a majority of the convention crowd, assuming Trump doesn’t get a magic number of delegates in the first round of voting. In the end, they’ll need a lot of smoke to fill the room. That’s going to be tough. Have you ever tried to bring smoke into an empty room? It’s especially tough when you don’t even smoke.
In fact, I think I would forget about the smoke-filled room or persuading delegates to change their votes. If I were among the conservatives who threw names like Hitler and Stalin at Trump, I would simply start practicing saying “President Donald Trump”—the sooner the better.
