In a striking op-ed by Brent Budowsky, the former Democrat aide and liberal columnist presents the case that Steve Bannon is laying the foundation for a presidential run as early as 2020. Budowsky argues Bannon is acting akin to a presidential prospect — giving speeches across the country, energizing the grassroots against ‘The Establishment,’ and ‘creating a substantial base of small donors.’
Budowsky writes in The Hill:
A Bannon presidential candidacy could occur in 2020 if Trump leaves office before his term is concluded or if Trump decides for some reason to not run for a second term. A Bannon candidacy could occur in 2024 if Trump runs for a second term and is defeated, or if Trump is re-elected and annoints Bannon as his successor.
Bannon is doing everything a presidential candidate would do:
- He is traveling around the country, cajoling ideological allies to run in primaries against traditional Republicans;
- mobilizing an insurgent grassroots challenge to the dazed Republican power structure;
- attacking virtually every major Republican leader in Congress and the last Republican president;
- building a network of mega-donors who write massive checks to elect Republicans they support or defeat Republicans they oppose and
- creating a substantial base of small donors.
Could Bannon ultimately be nominated as the GOP candidate for president? You bet he could. In the coming months, the political world will witness the first cannon fired in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination for 2020.
Click here to read the rest of Budowsky’s piece.
As this author has argued, ‘Bannonism,’ not Trumpism, might be the guiding ideology which makes America great again.
Steve Bannon is on the warpath, continuing his mission to drain the swamp. This is hardly a new revelation. Long before President Trump was a glint in the Tea Party’s eye, the Breitbart News chairman was hard at work laying the foundation to what would be a dominating force in Republican politics at the intersection of Conservatism, Libertarianism and Populism – promoting the likes of Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul to national prominence.
The former Chief White House Strategist is fresh off stumping for firebrand jurist Roy Moore, who claimed a decisive victory against Sen. Luther Strange – a swamp varmint appointed under dubious circumstances to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ vacated Alabama Senate seat.
Bannon’s influence in the Alabama blowout has many wondering what’s next for the populist rabble-rouser. CNN’s Dana Bash reports the political tactician is setting his sights on the 2018 midterms, crisscrossing the country in search of populist candidates to remake the Republican Party, and blackballing swamp creatures who refuse to be drained.
At first glance, Trumpism and Bannonism bear many similarities. Rooted in right-wing populism and traditionalism alike, both ideologies seek to shift the center of power from Corporate America back to the American worker. Both men believe the elite have benefited disproportionately from globalization, while hallowing out a once prosperous middle class in the process. And both Trump and Bannon have furiously railed against a swamp that has profited handsomely from endless spillage of blood and treasure abroad, while cities at home suffer from racial and economic tensions stoked by the Obama administration.
In short, both Trump and Bannon see that the world is suffering from systemic division orchestrated at the highest levels, and Western cultures are actively being destroyed under the false pretense of humanitarianism and open-border politics. Finally, in order to preserve America’s borders, language and culture, both men believe an impenetrable wall must be built to prevent illegal aliens from breaching the nation’s geography. That’s where the similarities between Trumpism and Bannonism end.
A key difference, if not the difference between Trump and his former chief strategist, is the President’s penchant for compromise and dealmaking, while Bannon is far less malleable in his beliefs. Where Trumpism fails the ideological purity test – which risks alienating his base, Bannonism is brimming with the very civic nationalism that led to Trump’s win. Herein lies the rub for Trump voters – the commander-in-chief has demonstrated a very ‘swamp-like’ flexibility on matters ranging from healthcare to immigration, leaving Trump’s most oft-repeated campaign promises on the cutting room floor. In September, for example, President Trump shocked Washington by announcing a tentative framework to work with Democratic leadership on DACA and the looming budget crisis.
The post PAPER: Populist Hero Steve Bannon “May Run For President” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
