Recent events have led me to write something not often heard in Bloomington: Donald Trump makes a good point.
Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Kasich have supposedly created a pact not to compete in certain states, including Indiana.
Trump responded to the news by noting how, if this sort of collusion were not to compete, it would be illegal in business or investing.
This is the maneuvering seen by many Trump supporters as evidence the primary system is rigged against them and their votes.
It is further evidence politicians get to play by a different set of rules, one more reason for Trump’s supporters to vote for him.
Trump’s supporters would be right.
Cruz and Kasich have now explicitly shifted their focus from amassing their own delegates to denying Trump as many as possible.
There is a reason collusion is illegal in business.
It makes the market a zero-sum game in which, instead of creating value and drawing customers in with better offerings, businesses restrict consumer choice.
Instead of adding value, colluding businesses force consumers to choose sub-par options by arbitrarily restricting their choices.
This sort of move may not be illegal in politics, but it is distasteful.
It’s also a bad idea, for many of the same reasons.
Cruz and Kasich must both know the Republican party needs to bring in new voters going forward to stay competitive.
Instead of trying to appeal to as many potential voters as possible with their distinct brands and ideologies, the two men are divvying up a shrinking pie.
If this is the GOP’s strategy going forward, it won’t stay competitive for long.
If anytime a non-traditional candidate decides to run and brings non-traditional voters to the table, they are shunned and locked out, the Republican party is then refusing to grow.
To Trump voters, it will appear the insiders are teaming up against the outsider, and this is not an unreasonable viewpoint.
It is not difficult to imagine how that will look to those that identify themselves as political outsiders.
I cannot think of an establishment candidate in recent history that has expanded the Republican base.
When extolling the virtues of the free market, conservatives often highlight the importance of removing barriers to entry and regulations so startups can shake up stale established markets.
Now is the time to practice what they preach, allowing the market of ideas to flourish and be disrupted by outsiders.
Only then will the Republican party be able to grow their tent.
The old order is stale.
Arguably the last time the GOP expanded its appeal was with Reagan during the 80s, and he was considered an outsider candidate then.
Though I hate the term, “establishment” seems more appropriate everyday.
Cruz and Kasich would be wise to remember an anyone-but-Trump strategy does not guarantee one of them the nomination either.
zaochamb@indiana.edu
