Why Republican voters continue to be drawn to the dark side in the party’s nomination process?

Keywords or Terms: State of Iowa and New Hampshire primaries or caucuses; Minority Groups; Donald Trump’s Demagogue; Tea Party; White House Administration; CBS Face the Nation Program; John Dickerson; Focus-Group of republicans; Establishment Republicans; Stalinist or Hitlerism; George Wallace (1968), Father Coughlin (1936), Gerald Smith, William Pelley and Gerald Winrod (1930’s); and Donald Trump (2015)

Recently, Americans began wondering why violations of political decorum in presidential campaigns are being rewarded with voters’ support; or, why a demagogue and racist bigot appears to be gaining more support and running farthest than any other aspirant in the race for Republican Party nomination. Despite repeated and insistent derogation comments from real estate mogul Donald Trump about minority groups, the Republican front runner for party nomination appears to be maintaining his lead and acquiring increasing support from likely Republican voters in the early nomination states of Iowa; and or, New Hampshire?

It is now on record that the more Mr. Trump lambastes minority groups, neither expected backlash nor rejection by the rank and file Republicans, appears to be his portion. Rather, Mr. Trump continues to receive growing and expanding support from hitherto unlikely groups, even among Americans who are hardly known as extremists. The extremists’ Tea Party membership, who are seeking outlet for their frustration with current White House Administration, continue to reminiscent in Trump’s offending comments against minorities. For the Tea Party group, Donald Trump represents, if not mirror all their frustrations, and helps broadcasts their inner inhibition about minorities and or, anyone who does not look like them. Frankly, the divergence in the position of the ‘center-right’ Republicans and the extremist Republicans are gradually narrowing and there is no better way to celebrate Donald Trump’s front runner’s status than to shower him with accolades for his campaign style. Like one of Donald Trump’s new convert said on CBS Face the Nation program, it appears the nation is in a funk and only Donald Trump among the field of Republican aspirants has had the gut to say things the way they are; and, only the voting booth will determine who is wrong or right in the coming months or year.

A room-full of focused survey group interviewed by a Republican strategist on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday, December 13, 2015, reasserted the reasons for the front-runner’s lead in the opinion polls with one focus group member reiterating: “Donald Trump is able to say what he likes because he is not beholden to anyone.” You may want to ask, despite their exposure to examples of demeaning and derogation comments from aspirant Trump, majority member of this focus group had no problem defaulting on the side of the front-runner? If there is any consolation for many Americans who have their reservations regarding the focused-group position and mystified about current Republican polling results or what popular press is crediting to Mr. Trump’s campaign style and strategy, maybe Governor Kasich follow-up response to the CBS Face the Nation program host, John Dickerson, question would suffice. The Governor reminded everyone and anyone watching the program on Sunday Morning that, the opinions of a small focused group of Americans cannot be said, as representative of the true opinions of the Republican Party in collective, and no one can say with any degree of certainty, the real reason why members of the group are opting for the dark side of their party. For Governor Kasich, a rival of Mr. Trump for the party nomination: “Until the final voting in all the fifty states’ causes and primaries are completed and counted, no one must assume that the party nomination is going to Donald Trump.”

Like establishment Republicans and opinion leaders, who are anticipating a procedural change at the 2016 Republican National Convention with the caviar, a candidate must have a written support of a “plurality’ of delegates, just to ousted or upend Donald Trump’s chances, Governor Kasich is certain that Mr. Trump will never end up being the Republican Party nominee. Establishment Republicans appear to share the same belief and conviction that the party’s flag bearer must at a minimum, be a representative candidate of the plurality of Republicans, not just the extreme fringe groups that have overwhelmingly supported Mr. Trump so far, a group establishment Republicans prefer to categorize as the dark side of their party. Preponderance of Democrats and Independents hardly want the Republican problem to become a national problem: having a demagogue, Xenophon, racist or religious bigot standing in contest and ending up as the President of the United States.

To their credit, it appears establishment Republicans are not ready to nominate or defend someone they consider unrepresentative of the plurality of their party membership to be the party’s flag bearer. Yet, they are unwilling to totally denounce Mr. Trump, fearing unwholesome criticism may implode the party’s apparatus. Indeed, in private, some concerned Republican Party kingmakers are seeking credible alternative to Mr. Trump, hoping his campaign polls number will not continue to catch fire and derail party’s ethos of decency. Unfortunately, if Mr. Trump continues to garner additional support, and it appears that is the case as of date, Republicans may ultimately end up with a candidate of demagoguery in the general elections.

Perhaps Mr. Trump’s perceived support is a fluke because the actual voting in all states’ caucuses and primaries have not taken place. Perhaps also, if given the choice between a demagogue and a center-right Republican in the voting booth, voters will default on the side of decency, and do the right thing. Thus, if majority of Republicans decide that it is in their best interest to support an alternate candidate before the end of the stats’ primaries and caucuses, maybe the party echelon would not have to deal with the problem; or persuade themselves that a Stalinist or Hitlerism is the ultimate the 2016 Republican party has to offer in the general elections. For now, let all Americans apprehensive of Mr. Trump brand of campaign hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Reasonably interpreted, demagoguery hardly represents the place of any major American Political Party in 2016; and no amount of extremism and or nationalistic campaign messaging will attract additional support from Republicans. However, the message so far from the polls taken is that, Donald Trump’s version of demagoguery discounts the importance of other Republican aspirants and gradually denies them the necessary limelight to connect with likely Republican voters. The present reactive theory is that Donald Trump’s demagoguery continues to trigger waves of powerful emotions among Republicans and he has readily exploited those emotions for his personal political benefits; that his brand of demagoguery appears to be breaking establishment principle and threatening the governance of the party; that, but for the fact that Mr. Trump, with his millions could hardly convince himself or pass as an ordinary America, his brand of campaign would have readily met all the four criteria, the 19^th Century Author James Cooper identified as all that are needed in a demagogue or campaign of demagoguery. Ted Cruz’s candidacy and campaign strategies have been moving towards Donald Trump’s brand lately and polling figures are indicating some progress for the Canadian-born Republican Senator from Texas in early voting state of New Hampshire. However, no one can decipher if this new upsurge can upstage Donald Trump in the State of Iowa or South Carolina.

One can only speculate from historical data that demagogues and demagoguery campaigns hardly lead any aspirant to the White House oval office. We know demagogues are antithesis of democracy and are mostly tyrannical in their outlook of people and public policies. How about George Wallace (1968), Father Coughlin (1936), Gerald Smith, William Pelley and Gerald Winrod (1930’s)? These demagogues got nowhere with their message(s) of hatred; but only confused Americans the more about the purpose of presidential campaigns, and or political governance. Fast forward to 2015, it is rather unlikely a Republican demagogue like Donald Trump could win 1,191 delegates. Neither would a demagogue in the Democratic Party win as many as 2024 delegates in current cycle of campaigning to be nominated the party’s flagbearer. Would anyone imagine a candidate who believes that: 1) “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”; 2) “Hillary Clinton Killed hundreds of thousands of people with her stupidity”; 3) “Hillary Clinton is running for president because she wants to stay out of jail”; and, 4) “Ted Cruz is a bit of a manic and doesn’t have the right temperament to be president”; or 5) “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on”; can actually end up being the President of the United States in 2016? Further, unless the center-right establishment Republicans are unable to coalesce or get its acts together, would the American voters would have to make a choice between a Democratic nominee flag bearer and a Republican aspirant who has failed to uphold the simple tenets of Titus 3:2; 10-11: “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men; and reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition; knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”