I view Trump win as a cry for help from the Republican base. The Republican agenda has consistently failed its base for the last 30 years. The true agenda has been to shift more power and money to the super wealthy, with no regard to the suffering of the middle and lower classes. They get the votes from these voters by playing their racial animosity towards the minority, and by waging a cultural war against the so called "liberals". Once in office, their only interest is to hand more tax cuts and more power to the economic elites, with no regard to the needs and welfare of their working class supporters.
In addition, they brainwashed their supporters to distrust the government. As a result, the base find less and less reasons to trust the existing political institutions and mainstream politicians. The mainstream politicians have utterly failed them anyway. No wonder they decided to find someone outside of mainstream in the recent election cycles.
We don't see this at the Democratic side because
1. The Democrats have more or less tried to help their supporters. Their professed agenda largely matches what they do once in office
2. The Democrats don't incite extreme distrust and hatred of government. As a result, Democrats are more trustful of existing political institutions.
There is another theory, which is Trump won because of his open racism. This has some valid points. But I don't think there are so many hard core racists, even in the Republican party, to push him over the top. The main reason, I believe, is still economical. Trump supporters want a better life. They have utterly lost faith in the Republican establishment, which I don't blame them. They also can't trust Democrats. As a result, the only one they can support is Trump, a businessman with no government experience. This is a "shock therapy" the Republican primary voters administered to the political system.
The conservative movement ushered in by Reagan has run its sorry course. It probably was a fad from the beginning. Never has been an honest intellectual movement, but a facade to advance plutocracy in this country. The base has had enough and rebelled. I have no sympathy towards it. Let it die. Reaganism has passed its expiration date. Dismantling social welfare and lavish tax cuts for the wealthy have never been popular among the majority of people.
Reasonable and honest Republicans should return to the center and start over. We need a two party system.
Note: the picture is downloaded from NBC
