Will the Pubbies Walk Away from Populism?

Given the history of the Republican Party--their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory--the Party may be attempting to repeat.

...Since the 1990s, Republican talk of cutting middle-class entitlements, as well as the party’s general association with the rich, have been fodder for the Democrats’ attacks. Trump did an end-run around these attacks by charting a new direction, one that was less focused on smaller government and cutting spending and emphasizing instead using state power to deliver tangible benefits to his supporters, such as higher wages and secure employment.

In 2020, Trump’s campaign deemphasized those winning issues, went in weird directions to curry minority votes, could not claim success with building a border wall, and actually lost white male voters. He failed to rally or deliver results to the new working-class voters he brought into the party. Setting aside whatever impact fraud had—and I said at the time and still believe it could have been significant—losing votes from core constituencies is never going to help anyone win an election. ...

The author goes into a brief analysis of DeSantis, ending here:

...DeSantis’ approach ties in nicely with the Republican politics of yesteryear, including the Tea Party movement of more than a decade ago. But the strong emphasis on freedom and opposition to the government historically has meant tax cuts for the wealthy and connected, coupled with indifference about the economic struggles of working-class Americans. 

Traditionally, Republicans call any attempt to alleviate those burdens interventionist and socialist and other bad names. Tone-deafness about these issues is the reason Jeb Bush thought it was a good idea to say “he wants there to be more millionaires,” even though a lot of people would be thrilled to make $50,000 a year and pay less than $6 for a dozen eggs. ...

There's little doubt about the inclinations of the Bush-clone Nikki Haley.  Wall Street/Big Finance money greases her palm like cocoa butter.  The Koch syndicate's public avowal to support anybody but Trump should be a sign, too.

Will the country club prevail--again--and precipitate another loss in '24?

Don't be surprised.  At the same time, it would be smart of Trump to study PJ Buchanan.  Very smart.