Why Evangelical Support For Trump Was Inevitable

Donald Trump has nothing in common with devout Christians.  A professor of religion from Princeton offers his explanation for their support of The Donald.  He argues that many evangelicals have become secularized for a variety of reasons.  Political power was more attractive to many of them than biblical values.  Over time large numbers of evangelicals were transformed into political evangelicals.  Conservative ideology and the affiliation with the Republican Party began in the Reagan era despite no apparent connection between Reagan and evangelical values. 

Trump Turns To GOP Clowns For Help On Tax Policy

Donald Trump has been convinced that his tax policies would be inflationary.  He has done what Republicans usually do when they need economic advice.  He has gone to the conservative think tanks for tax policy advice.  His economic policies will eventually be determined by others.  In this case he has gone to the bottom of the think tank barrel.  He has selected Larry Kudlow and Stephen Moore to shape his positions on tax policy.  It would be hard to find two economists who are further to the right than Kudlow and Moore.  Moreover, their records as economic forecasters could hardly be worse.  His choice of economic advisers tells us a lot about the price for ignorance that we will pay if Trump becomes our president.  He does not know enough about policy issues to arm himself with the best available talent in the conservative think tanks.  Moreover,  the advice that he receives will not distinguish his policies from those of his Republican predecessors.  He will end up looking a lot like them if he is elected. 

Trump Ended The Civil War Within The Republican Party: What Follows?

Ted Cruz was the leader of the "True Conservative" movement in the Republican Party.  He believed that he could win the GOP nomination with a coalition of evangelicals and ideological conservatives.  Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio were favored by establishment Republicans who held to the basic ideas that led George Bush to two terms in the White House.  The Republican Party managed to contain the civil war between between these two factions within the Party until Donald Trump arrived on the scene.  Ted Cruz was unable to move beyond his base of "True Conservatives" as Donald Trump brought many of them into his camp.  Social issues were less important to many of them than fear and resentment.  Neither Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio were able to sell another version George Bushism to the Republican base.  The Civil War within the Republican Party is history.  The only remaining question is what will the Party become under Donald Trump?  Ross Douthat is concerned that the narrow differences that separated the two factions with the Republican Party during the Civil War has been torn asunder by Donald Trump.  Its possible that a new religion called Trumpism, which bears little resemblance to the core ideas of the Republican Party, will take its place.  The real danger is that Trump could win the November election.  That would be terrible for our nation and it would also put  what remains of Republicism in its grave.  The split within the GOP has divided two Republican senators who usually agree with each other.  John McCain will support the Republican presidential candidate and Lindsey Graham will not.

Swing Voters Don't Believe That Trump's Economic Policies Are Bad For Them

Democratic Party focus groups show that Trump voters are like most people.  They believe what they want to believe.  They recognize that many of Trump's statements are extreme but they do not believe that his tax policies benefit the rich.  Trump is more of a personality to them.  They like his personality and they believe many of his promises.  They have not seriously examined his policy proposals.  It will not be easy for the Democrats to shake their belief system by presenting them with facts that they do no want to think about.  These focus group results and polls taken in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania which show that the race between Trump and Clinton is very close in these swing states is not good news for Democrats or for America.  Trump's success in the GOP primaries was not an accident.  He is an attractive personality to many voters.

Why Amazon May Become A $3 Trillion Enterprise

This is a link to Amazon's 2015 letter to shareholders.  One investor claims that Amazon's culture is the secret to its success.  Its culture, and the scope of its business investments which are driven by the culture, are described in the shareholder letter. 

Hillary Clinton Will Do To Trump What Republicans Could Not

This ad from Hillary's campaign shows how she will let the Donald's own words destroy him in the general election.  His primary opponents were not able to attack Trump on several issues because the GOP primary base supported Trump on the issues.  The public will be repelled by Trump's pronouncements during his campaign which were directed towards sympathetic segments of the GOP primary base.  Trump will attempt to switch his rhetoric to a more general audience in the November election but he left a time bomb behind him during the GOP primary campaign.

The Republican Party Is Now The Donald's Party

Trump's victory in Indiana makes it inevitable that he will be the Republican Party's nominee in November for the presidency.  Ted Cruz announced the end of his campaign and Trump is no longer campaigning in GOP primaries; he is setting up his organization to run against Hillary Clinton in November.  A plurality of Republicans have rejected establishment candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, as well as Ted Cruz who was unable to turn his appeal to evangelicals and libertarians into victory.  I have linked to two obituaries for the Republican Party in the New York Times (here and one by the Editorial Board here).  More will be written, but it is very clear that whatever the Republican Party stood for, it is now history.  The Donald Trump wing of the Republican Party has won a clear victory.  The GOP establishment will have to deal with its new leader who is not easily led.  The Party will follow The Donald who has promised to "Make America Great Again".  Its not clear what will happen to the Party if Trump loses the general election in November.  It will be hard to put all of the pieces together again.

The front page of the conservative Daily News told the Trump story with a single picture