Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/741600
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2016 17 Politically, in many ways, Donald Trump is not a Republican. His views are not traditional Republi- can views. The Republican Party has never been isolationist; it has always wanted to play a role on the world stage. Look at past presi- dents such as Richard Nixon, for instance, who was so interested and involved in international poli- tics... or George W. Bush, who sent troops all over the world. Another pillar of traditional Republican politics is free trade. Historically, most of the votes in favour of trade agreements come from Repub- licans, not Democrats. Trump's position on trade is 180 degrees opposite... But if Trump doesn't have the support of his own party, how could he have expected to win an election? In some ways, Donald Trump has been helped by rejection from other politicians: even from with- in his own party. It helps define him as the 'anti-politician'. He is so much not a politician, in the eyes of his own party, that they won't even support him. Looked at from the perspective of ordi- nary voters... isn't that wonderful evidence that, if he is elected, he will blow up the system? That's what many voters want. So if he had been a 10% better candidate, he could have won the election. I don't think he will; but he did have an opportunity... At the same time, it is not just Donald Trump who makes this election unusual. The Democratic campaign to choose a Presidential nominee saw Hillary Clinton edg- ing past Bernie Sanders, who – in different ways – is also atypical. Is the Democratic Party suffering from the same malaise? I think that is why you don't see much enthusiasm for Hillary Clin- ton among Democrats. People in other countries often ask why Clinton is so disliked. Part of the answer is because she is not con- nected to ordinary Americans. She's not a warm person to begin with; she doesn't have the same warm personal touch that Bill Clinton had. The optics around her tend to be bad for her image, too. She likes to surround herself with rich, powerful people. She is part of the elite. That is why young people especially, who really want- ed change, loved Bernie Sanders. To them, he was revolutionary. Clinton, on the other hand, doesn't represent change. She's not going to blow up the system... This raises the question of why the Democratic Party would choose a continuity candidate, when its own electorate was hungry for change. Does this indicate that the US economic system is (like the banks) 'too big to fail'? The Democrats had a way of defending themselves that the Re- publicans didn't have. Ironically, in our politics, the 'Democrat Party' is the less democratic of the two in the way it operates. They have these people called 'super- delegates' at their convention; the Republicans have them too, but nowhere near as many. They are there for a purpose: to protect the party's interests... to ensure that the party doesn't elect a candi- date it doesn't work with. The Re- publicans don't have that system. They might be wishing they had it now... Prof. Paul Sracic is Chair of the Department of Politics and Inter- national Relations at Youngstown State University, Ohio, and di- rector of the Rigelhaupt Pre-Law Centre US elections like no other "It's not just Trump who makes this election unusual. The Democrats saw Clinton edging past Bernie Sanders, who – in different ways – is also atypical. Is the Democratic Party suffering from the same malaise?"