Trump, Sanders Managing Political Angers
The farther the left and right wings in politics move toward opposite extremes, an old saying goes, the more they resemble each other. You can see this vigorously at work these days in the Republican campaign of billionaire Donald Trump and the Democratic campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Both are drawing huge crowds and surprisingly high poll numbers for their seemingly candid and courageous disregard for the usual political etiquette.
With their politically opposite appeals, each has stirred up a segment of society that longs for candid speech, clear solutions, strong leaders and, at least, a chance to "shake things up" in a gridlocked political establishment.
Whether they lean right or left, the ranks of these moody masses gave us the tea party at one political extreme and the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements at the other.
In recent days, we have seen how both Trump, now a seasoned reality TV star, and Sanders, a self-descried democratic socialist, have faced sharp criticism within their separate political tribes for omitting or offending key constituencies.
And it is here that we see key differences in the ways that the two of them handle the criticism, differences that tell us a lot about how each side can expand its appeal -- or not.
In the days following the Republican presidential debate, Trump appeared to have polarized his own party over remarks that, at best, remind me of why the now-defunct Spy magazine in 1988 tagged the flamboyant real estate mogul as a "short-fingered vulgarian" -- as if Trump cares.
"I don't frankly have time for total political correctness," he said, sparking thunderous applause from the Republican crowd at the debate. "And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either."
That was his response to Fox News' Megyn Kelly after she listed some of his descriptions of women he doesn't like ("... fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals..." ) and asked, "Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president -- and how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton, who is likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on women?"
Many, including many fellow conservatives, were shocked -- although they should not have been surprised -- by Trump's casual dismissal of what I think most people still would call common decency. Yet Trump, unbowed, emerged from the evening still dominating the national political conversation (it's August, which makes that easier) and with no apparent damage to his first-place standing in polls.
...continued
(c) 2015 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
