So when the populist champion came and rose to the top of the polls, why didn’t I see it for what it was — the culmination of the populist uprising that had so clearly been brewing for years?
Maybe because my inside-the-Beltway sense of politics convinced me he would lose. Trump was too unfocused, too undisciplined, too underfunded to win.
But probably it’s something planted a bit deeper. My view of populism was mostly about battling government favors for the special interests, yet Trump came in calling for protectionism and singing the praises of the ethanol mandate — as a boon to the farmer. Distinguishing between a government favor for a special interest, and a big business profiting in the free market — that’s too ideological for Trump, who just sees good guys and bad guys.
Trump’s political strength was that he was largely liberated of ideology — which is exactly what turned me off. I have championed a populism wedded to conservatism, limited government and libertarianism. Trump unshackled populism from any ideology.
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