I came across this quote on a political site that I thought was worth putting up here. It's from Steve Schmidt, who was one of the main guys behind John McCain's campaign in 2008. He was on a show and he was asked to explain why Donald Trump was doing so well and he replied…
We're at the moment in time when there's a severability between conservatism and issues. Conservatism is now expressed as an emotional sentiment. That sentiment is contempt and anger.
I don't think that's true of everyone but I think it's true of some people. The anti-immigrant thing especially seems to be driving some folks. A few months ago — and I forgot to mention this here — I was behind a fellow in line at the CVS Pharmacy and I sure hope he was there for something that calms rage.
He was carrying on and on about how it used to be that when you called Customer Service at some company, you spoke to someone in America and now you find yourself talking to someone in the Philippines or India or somewhere else. He seemed to think that this has something to do with immigration and foreigners taking our jobs.
And he seemed unable to respond when I pointed out to him that that's just American business finding a way to increase profits by employing cheaper labor. He's in favor of lifting all restrictions that get in the way of the Free Market and companies making as much money as possible.
No real discussion was possible on this point because the guy was just angry…it didn't matter at what, though if it could be at foreigners and people who weren't Caucasian, so much the better. (I don't like that kind of outsourcing but for another reason. Customer Service folks in other countries rarely seem sufficiently trained, nor do they usually have much power or even the ability to re-route your call to another department. About all they're allowed to do is to apologize to you that you're having problems.)
The fellow wasn't wearing a Trump button at the time. But it wouldn't surprise me if he is now.