A new political machine has emerged that is not so new. At least not for Donald Trump.
The Hollywood Machine has traditionally supported Democratic candidates. Thus, Hillary Clinton remains very popular among the entertainment elite. Actors, directors, producers, and entertainers have lined up to endorse Mrs. Clinton. Many assist in fundraising efforts, while others attend rallies mostly in swing states. Even more take to social media to ‘get the word out’.
Unless you have been living under a rock or just spent 39 days on an island eating bugs to win $1 million, you have seen the media onslaught against Trump. The American voter has been bombarded by an orchestrated media blitz to undermine the Trump momentum and tarnish his stature as an American pop icon of the last 30 years. It’s not working.
Tampa-based political strategist Doug Guetzloe explained the pop culture’s influence in a February 2016 op-ed:
Trump is a pop culture phenomenon, a TV star, a bigger than life personality who is the very antithesis of what most voters have come to disdain. Reminds me of the ‘experts’ back during the first run of Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor. They all laughed and said he’d can’t win, he can’t get the Hispanic vote.
He concludes his op-ed by predicting:
Trump will attract a huge percentage of the Obama fringe – marginal voters – the 6-8% that swing elections. Republicans will vote Republican, Democrats will vote Democrat and non-party will vote Trump along with the clueless ones whose entire life is pop culture, social media and Facebook.
Iconic Republican Juggernauts
Democrats were unable to stop two iconic Republican juggernauts, namely Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. These two represent the last two major Republican pop culture icons that successfully ran for major public offices.
In 2004 Time Magazine explained the potential impact of Schwarzenegger’s societal influence:
He has become a crucial element in making the GOP seem even faintly appealing to social liberals and moderates, and represents the lingering Cheshire smile of Reagan Republicanism in the new century: the optimism, the inclusiveness. Above all: the charm.
Likewise, Reagan’s legacy still reigns supreme in 21st century American politics:
Public-opinion polls in recent years often rank Ronald Reagan as among the most popular U.S. presidents in history, a group that includes Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy.
“He helped us rediscover who we were. He reminded us of our history and he challenged us to have big dreams about where we are going. When all is said and done, that may be his greatest legacy,” said former Chief of Staff James Baker.
Trump is not beholden to any political party despite having the’R’ at the end of his name.
Guetzloe also explains Trump this way in his op-ed:
Nixon had the ‘silent majority,’ Reagan had the “Reagan Revolution” and “Reagan Democrats.” The strong undercurrent in American politics today has now reached a high water mark that has overrun the river banks and Trump didn’t tap them, they tapped Trump.
Trump possesses the resources that have allowed him to stand firm against the negative media critiques that have humbled past candidates. In the past he has created several cultural tidal waves simply at the whim of his will.
That ability to revolutionize societal change at such a deep cultural level terrifies the Democrat-Left. To this point, revolutions have been at the domain of the Democrats, or better yet Liberals.
Notwithstanding, establishment Republicans, aka RINOs fear disruption of the current political norms. They were omitted from Trump’s pop culture revolution, intentionally. They were one of the targets.
In the past, the late Andrew Breitbart urged the DC GOP to tap into conservatives in Hollywood, and to embrace the creative arts to engage in the pop culture wars. Breitbart further implored Republicans to use their creativity to hone their message for greater outreach.
Has this occurred? No. And in fact, those efforts were universally rebuffed by the consultant class, the “inside the beltway” Republican political elite.
The revolution occurred in the Republican Party, and the blood spilled across the aisle. Trump has both parties on notice, because he understand that pop culture is where revolutions are made.
