What people see in Trump

There may be a way to tease out where Donald Trump gets his support.

Here is a little test.   Ask yourself which traits you would prefer in your children:
  Respectful or independent?
  Obedient or self-reliant?
  Well-behaved or considerate?
  Well-mannered or curious?

Psychologists use those questions to put people onto a scale of an "authoritarian personality".  People who want the first of the pairs score high on "authoritarian."   And a psychologist determined that the single most prominent trait of Trump supporters is that they are authoritarian.   Here is an article that describes the findings:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-weiler/demystifying-the-trump-co_b_8089380.html

Trump presents himself as a very strong, self confident leader, exactly the kind of strong leader that people with authoritarian personalities find attractive.   I am struck by a difference between Trump and Cruz.   The final ten minutes of a sixty minute Cruz Town Hall was devoted to what I considered a sort of trivial point.  Cruz's state co-chair gave a long Bible story involving Roman centurions who considered themselves under the direction of higher authority.  I thought the story rambled endlessly but I noted a few days ago that the audience didn't seem to mind at all, so apparently he understood the audience better than I did.   Cruz was ready extemporaneously with a response to the surprise Bible lesson, and went with the flow and handed back his mutual token of promise of servitude. The burden of the long story and response was that Cruz was not a free agent either, that indeed Cruz would exercise great power as president but would do so under the authority and service of God.

What a weird little point, I thought.

But reading this article about the support Trump gets from people with authoritarian personalities causes me to think that Cruz's campaign may be operating at a higher level of political craftsmanship than I had realized.   Voters who want a strong leader have to wonder how trustworthy that leader is.  Currently Trump appears to be winning the race, but it remains to be seen if he will wear well with followers.

In the longer run Cruz may seem a safer bet.   Cruz presents being as strong and fearless as Trump, much more bellicose and absolute in words and tone,  frightening and careless in his fierceness ("carpet bomb", etc. fierce enough that even indulgent Fox reporters like Chris Wallace seem skeptical and probe Cruz on this.)   But Cruz may seem not more dangerous a leader after all since Cruz says he operates in servitude to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

He is a lion, but a lion in Christ's chains.   Strong but safe.

Trump and Cruz appeal to people tired of nuance, people concerned about threats from the outside, and people who want a leader who communicates loyalty and resoluteness, not fair-mindedness.   If someone wants a fair and open minded leader they will never find their way to Cruz or Trump.   They are selling certitude and confidence, not shades of gray.   It may be that this is what people want.   Certainly the authoritarian personality type want that kind of firm strength.

 Authoritarian personalities may skew Republican but there are lots and lots of independents and Democrats who are authoritarian in personality.   And Trump may get the more secular of that group and Cruz may get the more religious.   Bt it is possible that Trump will seem boundless, so the religiousness of Cruz will actually appear to be a moderating force, not a foreshadowing of a Christian version of an Iranian theocracy brought to America.   If people get nervous about limits on that leadership Cruz may seem like the safer choice.  Cruz is in service.