Very Good Analysis From Robert George

Whatever one thinks of Robby George, this analysis of the Republican Party is spot-on.

...For a couple of decades or more, important elements of the Republican elite thought that the future success of the Republican Party depended on moving in a socially liberal direction, especially on issues such as abortion, marriage and religious freedom. The idea was to combine social liberalism with economic libertarianism: the ideology of small government, free markets, free trade and so forth. They reasoned roughly as follows: We need to get ourselves out from under the control of religious conservatives with their pro-life position and their pro-marriage position; then we’ll be able to appeal to a broader swath of Americans who are moving in a more socially liberal direction and who are not averse to our economic message. They thought this was the way you get the votes of suburban women, for example, and professionals — people who want low taxes but who don’t like being associated with people who are opposed to abortion or gay marriage.

What Trump perceived is that not only was the Republican establishment wrong, they had exactly the opposite of the correct view. I’m not here addressing moral questions; I’m talking about how do you succeed in politics, how do you win, how do you get votes? What Trump perceived was that the way to win was to combine social conservatism with economic populism. States that were otherwise tough to get or un-gettable — Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — all of a sudden were back in play; and even if Trump loses, what was not repudiated in this election, and what will be the lasting consequence of the Trump phenomenon, is that the Republican party now sees that its elites were wrong — this is now a working-class party, it’s no longer a professional-class party. It’s a party that shares the values of the working class, which are socially conservative and economically populist. Trump may go but that philosophy will stay. ...

Yup on the analysis--but George may be optimistic about 'the philosophy will stay.'

The brief interview doesn't address some other very important questions--like, for example, will the Republican Party remain under the spell of the NeoCon/Pentagon Party of War--which is to say, will the foreign policy remain America First?  Or will it be a Bolton wet dream?

Trump had four years to wrench the Old Guard's heads out of their asses.  He really needs four more; the Old Guard won't surrender easily.  But if nothing else, he showed them the path and gave a lot of Americans hope.

For that we should be grateful.