As Donald Trump continues to establish himself as the front runner, the fears and trepidation about him winning the Republican nomination grows. Some see him as another Hitler or relatable to him (an example here).
I don't see Trump in a Hitler kind of light. The Nazis and Hitler were focused on destroying the Jews by playing to the anger and frustrations of working class Germans. Trump is using working class frustrations to become president, but for all his bluster, I don't think he will send illegal immigrants to concentration camps.
He is touching a nerve. Working class Americans, particularly white high school graduates face a world where they will be worse off than their fathers and mothers. Like generations before, they fear those who compete with them (Blacks, Latinos) and when demagogues like Trump promise to "make America great again" it it their parent's America they see. That is why even though Trump takes positions the Republican orthodoxy rejects, it fits with those Americans. Lower taxes for the rich - we want good paying jobs, Planned Parenthood is bad - that is where me (as a woman) or my wife or my daughter can go for healthcare, not an abortion.
Personally, I don't think that the other Republican candidates can embrace these fears and concerns. However, the Democrats can. Democrats have a history of fighting for working class Americans through union support. But it is not limited to unions. Trump is right to stand up and say people are getting a raw deal. Bernie Sandersa is right to say the same. Even Charles Koch in a recent op-ed piece agreed with Sanders. Mr Koch says that both Republicans and Democrats try to pick winners and losers, what I would call special interests. If reasonable men and women can come together and listen and compromise, then progress can be made. That is where Donald Trump and demagoguery loses.
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