A lot of Republicans talked a big game about budgets and debt/deficits during the Obama Presidency. That's supposedly what fueled the Tea Party, worry about government spending and too much borrowing. I think Kasich had more credibility in that area than a lot of the other guys running, based on some of his previous work in Washington & Ohio. But it meant nothing. The primary voters couldn't have cared less about deficits/debt. Matter of fact, they chose a guy who was arguably the worst on that issue out of the entire group.

So, I think the party base voter isn't really into fiscal discipline. They were arguably the most moved by illegal immigration and maybe outsourcing of jobs (trade deals, supposedly). Add in Trump's cult of personality and his willingness to say things that would sink other politicians, and it paints a frightening picture of the Republican base voters. It's unusual to see a major political figure advocate violence at his rallies, or for him to suggest banning an entire religion from entering the US. But for him, there was nothing he could say or suggest which seemed to hurt him. He certainly didn't pay the price for straying from conservative orthodoxy.

The primary voters nominated the biggest big-government guy running on the GOP side, if you take what he said about his positions during the campaign seriously. The voters are certainly not small government people. Any claim to that was blown out of the water in 2016.

It felt like a screaming mob that got what they wanted in the primaries - and that was before we even got to the general election.


[Post edited by BugBoy at 12/28/2016 3:54PM]