Mr. Bush, in particular, may pose as a reasonable, thoughtful type credulous reporters even describe him as a policy wonk but his actual economic platform, which relies on the magic of tax cuts to deliver a doubling of Americas growth rate, is pure supply-side voodoo.
And heres whats interesting: all indications are that Mr. Bushs attacks on Mr. Trump are falling flat, because the Republican base doesnt actually share the Republican establishments economic delusions.
The thing is, we didnt really know that until Mr. Trump came along. The influence of big-money donors meant that nobody could make a serious play for the G.O.P. nomination without pledging allegiance to supply-side doctrine, and this allowed the establishment to imagine that ordinary voters shared its antipopulist creed. Indeed, Mr. Bushs hapless attempt at a takedown suggests that his political team still doesnt get it, and thinks that pointing out The Donalds heresies will be enough to doom his campaign.
But Mr. Trump, who is self-financing, didnt need to genuflect to the big money, and it turns out that the base doesnt mind his heresies. This is a real revelation, which may have a lasting impact on our politics.
Again, Im not making a case for Mr. Trump. There are lots of other politicians out there who also refuse to buy into right-wing economic nonsense, but who do so without proposing to scour the countryside in search of immigrants to deport, or to rip up our international economic agreements and start a trade war. The point, however, is that none of these reasonable politicians is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
