February 27, 2016
Greg Hinz on Politics
Barack Obama Bruce Rauner David Axelrod Donald Trump Greg Hinz Michael Madigan Pat Brady Government and Politics Politics Greg Hinz on Politics More +
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Maybe it's the lack of snow, but February truly has been a through-the-looking-glass month. I mean, we have a "pro-education" governor who is OK with colleges closing their doors and students dropping out because state funding has been blocked; a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate that thinks pouting equals good government; and "reformer" Jesus "Chuy" Garcia climbing into a big political bed with the head of the Illinois Democratic Machine, Michael Madigan.
And one more: How does "President Donald Trump" sound to you, Chicago?
Admittedly, the method we use in this country to nominate and elect presidents is something Alice and the Mad Hatter could have cooked up—or should I say hookahed. Only in America does the government empower a bunch of little, generally unrepresentative states to winnow the field and then select the winner not by a popular vote, which would force the candidates to campaign everywhere, but by something called the Electoral College.
"Her eyes immediately met those of a large blue caterpillar . . . taking not the smallest notice of her or of anything else."
Still, the juggernaut that is Trump is in a category of its own. I've never seen so many pundits, insiders, strategists, reporters and other "experts" so gob-smacked. Which, I must admit, is thoroughly entertaining to much of America.
The rise of Trump and the parallel climb of Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side of the political divide are clearly linked.
"While the economy has improved, incomes have lagged over a long period of time" and on average are no greater than they were in 1999, says David Axelrod, the Chicago strategist who more than anyone but the candidate himself made Barack Obama president. "This is fuel in (Trump's) tank." And Sanders', too, if you just pivot to the 1 percent and how well they're doing.
"Obviously there is a lot of fear and anger. But I think Trump has tapped into some anxieties that we weren't even aware were there," says David Yepsen, a longtime presidential campaign watcher who now heads the Paul Simon Institute of Public Policy at Southern Illinois University. "Race, gay marriage, the threat from abroad. America today is more of a stir-fry than a melting pot."
But there's more there.
Part of it, I suspect, is Obama's fault. Though Axelrod puts it down to hard-right conservatives upset that Congress won't "stand up to Obama," the Chicagoan who is president raised expectations through the roof when he first was elected in 2008, campaigning as a messianic sort who would soar above the clouds bringing bipartisan harmony, hope and change to all.
He couldn't deliver on all of that. Frankly, I doubt anyone could. The old social-issues divide remains. The continuing globalization of the world's economy—increasingly everyone everywhere competes with everyone else—has added heaps of new kindling atop that already burning pile.
Given such realities, it's not hard to explain why people will turn to crisp, simple answers and tough-talking, self-financed, little-understood Type A business titans who declare they know the formula to restore past glory.
No, I'm not talking about Gov. Bruce Rauner, though some similarities definitely exist. Rather, my target is Trump, and to a lesser degree Vermont's Bernie "I'll make everything free" Sanders.
I have no idea how all of this is going to play out in months to come.
Former Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady, a John Kasich fan, predicts "a revolt" in the GOP if Trump snags the nomination. "Trump started his campaign talking about (Mexican) rapists and murderers. . . . This is not what the party is about."
My suspicion is that the parties are realigning. Blue-collar folks, people who are more conservative on the social issues, are headed to the GOP. Upper-middle-class office workers are turning Democratic, joining Latinos and African-Americans who feel dissed by the other party.
What will life be like on the other side of the looking glass? Your guess is as good as mine. But it sure looks like we're about to join Alice there.
Above is from: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160227/ISSUE05/302279992/go-ask-alice-when-shes-10-feet-tall
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