Political Party and/or "the man" as Meaningful Placeholders

Why many will vote for Trump.

Were I still teaching American Government, I would describe voting behavior in the 1940s and 50s.  Many voters, according to national surveys were largely uninformed about policy options.  They had voted for the “man” in selecting Roosevelt in four elections and then continued to vote for his political party. 

They told researchers that they trusted the Party to support their interests.  Roosevelt, in one of his fireside chats, described the Democratic Party as a team, a baseball team.  He was in the lineup swinging for the fences, or at least hitting a walk off sacrifice fly. 

That is, as the saying goes, the election was as American as apple pie.  More often than not, political parties have been “stand-ins” for policy choices and voter interests.  It goes a long way back.

Sometimes the candidate was unknown or even “questionable” in the voter’s eyes.  Hold your nose and vote for the Party.

Today, isn’t this similar to Magna support for Trump?  And increasingly for the Republican Party as long as it can claim to be the Party of Trump.  He’s batting for “our team.”  He may be a womanizer, or a little shady, but I like the way he swings the bat.  And some pretty good ballplayers were ….

They sang this about Grover Cleveland, “Ma, ma, where’s my Pa.” 

Then I would ask my class for comment.  How new is Trump?  Your opinion?