"The Great Revolt" by Salena Zito and Brad Todd

Above: "The Great Revolt." Salena Zito and Brad Todd. 266 Pages.

"Part of the difference as to why Trump won Erie and no other Republican in recent history has is that Trump actually came here. He showed interest."

I completed reading this book today.

This book is about a very game attempt to understand who voted for Trump. It goes far beyond the left's hackneyed dismissal of the Trump cohort as a bunch of uneducated losers... or as HRC would have said, "deplorables," or as Obama said, "bitter clingers."

The book revolves around The Great Revolt Survey, a post-election survey and in-depth interviews with Trump voters who "broke rank" and voted for Trump in ten important counties that Obama had won in previous elections.

The authors pigeon hole these voters into seven categories:

Red-Blooded and Blue Collared
Perot-istas
Rough Rebounders
Girl Gun Power
Rotary Reliables
King Cyrus Christians
Silent Suburban Moms

Trump voter Michael Martin of Erie, PA, who came from a family of Catholic Democrats said, "Part of the difference as to why Trump won Erie and no other Republican in recent history has is that Trump actually came here. He showed interest."

Zito and Todd concluded from their survey and interviews that Trump held a certain appeal to very different people with different priorities. Some were concerned with growing religious liberty restrictions. Others had watched their town decimated by globalist political policies. Some were concerned about personal security. Many were concerned about losing the American traditions of a hard day's work and patriotism. It wasn't that one party or the other had let these voters down. It was the entire political system and those. Most of these voters were deliberately voting for a candidate totally outside the existing political system.

The authors discuss the future of "Trumpism." Can a coalition of populists and conservatives be held together to overcome the conventional wisdom that "coalition of the ascendant" will eventually prevail? Coalition of the ascendant: specifically racial minorities, millennials, immigrants, and highly-educated whites who take a multiculturalist, globalist view?

The authors posit some strong arguments that the Trump coalition cannot hold. For example, many national brands have "bought in" to the notion that the coalition of the ascendant represents their growing future market. After decades of avoiding political controversy, it is now normal to see national consumer brand companies such as Delta, Starbucks, Target, or Dick's Sporting Goods weigh in on hot button social issues, and almost always on the liberal side.

Democrats continue to write-off reaching out to, or understanding, Trump voters. They have decided to try to outrun this revolt and form a new coalition of the self-styled enlightened that looks far different from the New Deal framework on which the party functioned for nearly a century. We see Democrat leaders moving further to the left, in this regard, focusing on central government leadership on environment, multilateral trade agreements, and social issues.

On the other hand, Trump voters interviewed for the book clearly believe that they are part of a cause that is larger than a president, and one that began before the last election. Their sense of mission to right the wrongs put upon middle-class Americans by the indifference of big business, big media, and big government is expressed independently of their trust in a man most admit is flawed.

For now Trump voters trust in Trump... and not the Republican party. But, they claim, the cat is out of the bag. The movement carries on Trump or no Trump. Notwithstanding the grass roots tough talk, Republican leaders are naturally a little nervous about the ability to hold the populist/conservative coalition together. On the other hand, the coalition has had great success at the level of state and local government, where Republicans currently dominate.... governor-ships, legislatures etc.

The 2018 mid-terms will tell a lot about whether the tectonics of the Trump movement continue to shift party electoral coalitions, or whether we slide back into business as usual.

Through August 2018, Trump has defied all predictions about his impending demise. He has scored political and legislative victories, consistent with his campaign promises, at a pace and integrity level not seen in my lifetime from other administrations. Pundits and players, with a vested interest in the status quo who predict a blue wave in the 2018 mid terms, consistent with historical shifts in congressional seats at midterm time, may find, to their peril, that they didn't try hard enough to understand the forgotten Americans and the depth their anger and resolve to "set things right."

This is an excellent book for anyone looking for insight into who the Trump voter is and what their concerns are. The reality of who Trump's supporters really are is far from how the left/media megaphone describes them. It may not be wise to continue to dis them, even if you believe the coalition of the ascendant will marginalize them down the road.