This a great article defining the Trump phenomenon (movement is perhaps too strong a word) that is refreshing old wounds between the conservatives and the populists:
At the risk of being called a giant elitist, I think about these cargo cults (and the Underpants Gnomes) as I watch the Trump phenomenon make its way across this fine country. Trump would be, I think one of the finest cult leaders the world has ever known. His energy is apparently limitless, he extols the virtues of himself tirelessly, and he never even acknowledges the merest hint of humility or personal limitations.
Jay Cost over at The Weekly Standard has more:
About 50 years ago, political scientist Philip Converse argued that ideology could be understood as issue restraint. In other words, somebody who accepts conservative principles about free markets is restrained from endorsing the kind of redistributive tax scheme that Bernie Sanders is promoting. By this standard, Trump has little if any ideology. For instance, he avers that he is for “free trade,” but also for making Mexico pay for a border wall, and he will slap a tariff on Mexico if it won’t.
Issues are not the reason to support Trump. Instead, Trump wants you to send him to Washington to do great deals for America.
Of course, those who put their money behind their convictions are overwhelmingly choosing Bush as their favorite, followed by Rubio before Trump comes in at barely 1 in 4. Even Kasich comes within striking distance, which should tell you something.