Matthew Comments

I’ve heard a number of commentators--right, left, and center--characterize Trump as the pivotal problem with Republican leadership. But why was Trump overwhelming to the Republican party? Why was he gradually embraced by nearly all Republican leadership? And would the Republican party be much different today without him? Each party is made up of different interest groups. Two large factions of the Republican Party are fiscal conservatives and the Christian Right. The fiscal conservatives are dominated by Free Market Fundamentalists. Anti-tax pledges and opposition to virtually any government regulations are Free Market Fundamentalist positions, and those positions are prominent in the current Republican party. The Christian Right wants white Christian conservative values to dominate American culture. They once did dominate American culture, and they want to turn back the clock. These two influential factions of the Republican party do not make natural teammates. Free Market Fundamental