WASHINGTON ¨C The Donald Trump phenomenon ranks as the great political story of 2015 ¡ª and maybe 2016 ¡ª but could it simply be a subplot of a bigger story: what commentator David Frum, once a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, calls the Republican Party¡¯s ¡°internal class war¡°? Yes, argues Frum. His thesis is laid out in engrossing detail in the January/February issue of the Atlantic, where he is a senior editor. I don¡¯t usually recommend other journalists¡¯ work, but Frum¡¯s provocative analysis is definitely worth a look.
Briefly, his argument goes like this:
Republicans have traditionally run on what he calls Conservatism Classic: ¡°tax cuts, budget cuts, deregulation (and) free trade.¡± This was the essence of Mitt Romney¡¯s agenda, and it¡¯s what the party¡¯s wealthy donors expected of the 2016 campaign. The trouble is that this pro-business platform is rejected by much of the party¡¯s voter base, who support ¡°entitlement¡± spending (read: Social Security and Medicare), favor higher taxes on the rich and fear free trade.
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