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The Hillary Defense
Greg Sargent,
...a reliable foot soldier for the Democratic party who uses his by-line to advance the agenda...
channeling the Democratic establishment's fear that Donald Trump is unstoppably advancing like the Blob on the capital, has laid out Hillary Clinton's defense plan against him. The first thing Hillary will do is fire up the liberal base and circle the wagons.

Today’s New York Times delivers the most comprehensive report yet on the evolving Dem strategy. It’s worth dividing the Dem approach into two categories: First, there are the attacks that are designed to tear Trump down in the eyes of core Dem constituencies (minorities, single women) and groups of gettable swing voters (suburbanites and college educated whites).

The Republicans are also belatedly realizing they must outbid Trump on key issues like immigration, jobs and national defense to stop his advance. In both cases the problem will be whether anyone will believe them this time. Hillary's credibilty problems need no explanation. But the GOP must also outbid Trump in a way that unambiguously binds them to their pledges. This time the promises need collateral. James Hohmann writing in the Washington Post observed that the most threatening aspect of the rebellion has been its surprising vehemence, almost bordering on kamikaze determination.
Nice language. It's not 'kamikaze' to insist that a national politician have a core set of beliefs, and to act upon the same. But it is a striking contrast to the Democrats, who can be counted on to have no beliefs other than what the hive-mind tells them to have...
Up until now the political elite always believed that discontent could be bought off. But by backing Trump voters have echoed Sherlock's famous defiance to Moriarty, this time as dialogue between the middle class and the establishment. That's when you know it's serious.

Moriarty: It has been a duel between you and me, Mr. Holmes. You hope to place me in the dock. I tell you that I will never stand in the dock. You hope to beat me. I tell you that you will never beat me. If you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you.'

Holmes: 'You have paid me several compliments, Mr. Moriarty,' said I. 'Let me pay you one in return when I say that if I were assured of the former eventuality I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept the latter.'

Commitmentment is a powerful weapon in the theory of deterrence. "Precommitment is a strategy in which a party to a conflict uses a commitment device to strengthen its position by cutting off some of its options to make its threats more credible. ... For instance, an army can burn a bridge behind it, making retreat evidently impossible. A famous example of this tactic is when Hernan Cortes had his men scuttle the ships in order to eliminate any means of desertion. Alternatively, in the context of the Cold War, fail-deadly retaliation systems such as the Soviet Dead Hand make a response to a sudden attack automatic, regardless of whether or not anyone is left alive to make decisions."

Supporting Trump is equivalent to burning the bridges. There's no way back. It's a very potent strategy for those with nothing to lose. Whether the Republicans or the Democrats, whose response so far has been a day late and a dollar short, can call and up the ante remains to be seen. The establishment, unlike the voters, is risk-averse. They are too used to gambling with other people's money to go for broke. They are more likely to offer the appearance of reform rather than its painful reality and hope smoke and mirrors suffice to halt the blaze.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-03-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=447531