David Brooks hopes that the real Republican Majority will reject Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. The silent majority will come to their senses and nominate a more thoughtful conservative. Paul Krugman looks and the numbers and argues that the majority of Republican primary voters support Cruz, Trump and Carson. Neither of them belong to the Republican Party that David Brooks longs for. Brooks' silent majority is a minority within the Republican Party. The people have spoken and they want a right wing populist to be our next president.
Curiously, the "silent majority" term was coined by Richard Nixon in his election campaign. He decided to enlist the populists from the Democratic Party to pursue his Southern Strategy. He helped to turn the solid south which always voted for Democrats into red states. They have become the center of the GOP majority. The conversion was based mainly on the social wedge issues that now define the GOP electorate. The GOP establishment provides the campaign funds needed to win elections but they have lost control over its electoral base. They have been organized into a powerful group by a narrow segment of the GOP elite which is headed by far right extremists like the Koch brothers.
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