Why do GOP are more anti establishment than the dems...

[weixiaobao]

Despite big talk about down with power and for the people blah blah blah.

The GOP is way more anti-establishment.  In 2012 cycle, Romney was only front runner every time there is a transition when a former anti-establishment candidate went down as another anti-establishment surging.  That was true when Perry, then Cain, then Gingrich.  All 3 were at various times outpolled Romney nationally.

In 2016, Trump and Cruz did far better than Rubio and Bush and the likes.

Sanders never overtook Clinton in 2016.  And Biden still remained the front runner despite gaffes and scandals?  I do like Biden as a person.  But I am always curious about this.  

[Annatar]

It's because GOP voters are more suspicious of the establishment because they feel the Republican establishment doesn't share the same concerns as them on issues like immigration etc. In the democratic party the voters and the party elites are more aligned on what issues are most important.

In the long run, eventually the Republican elite will be steadily replaced so it's views become more reflective of where Republican voters are and I think that will end the anti-establishment feeling among Republican voters with regards to their own party.

[Adam Griffin]

This historically wasn't true at all (in fact, the opposite was true until 8-10 years ago), but the short and simple answer is "Barack Obama made them lose their minds".

[brucejoel99]

In the long run, eventually the Republican elite will be steadily replaced so it's views become more reflective of where Republican voters are and I think that will end the anti-establishment feeling among Republican voters with regards to their own party.

Technically, then, this has always been happening, on however steady a time scale. Just ask the elite Rockefeller Republicans how they were replaced by the Goldwater/Reagan Republicans, who were now replaced by Trumpists.

[Annatar]

In the long run, eventually the Republican elite will be steadily replaced so it's views become more reflective of where Republican voters are and I think that will end the anti-establishment feeling among Republican voters with regards to their own party.

Technically, then, this has always been happening, on however steady a time scale. Just ask the elite Rockefeller Republicans how they were replaced by the Goldwater/Reagan Republicans, who were now replaced by Trumpists.

I agree, in the long run political parties eventually end up having their elites reflect where their voters are, it's painful for the elites still in charge though but who are out of touch because nobody likes being replaced.

[Hammy]

Look at all of Trump's cabinet picks and tell me Republican voters are anti-establishment. They're very pro-establishment, but it's far more pro-corporate establishment rather than simply party elders.

[SInNYC]

Ds seem to run to not lose instead of to win, while Rs are a bit more of a mixed bag. Ever since McGovern, the standard refrain has been that going anti-establishment is a sure path to electoral disaster, so any anti-establishment candidate has to not only win but also convince D voters that they can win the general election. Even with a person the likes of Trump, there wasn't really that much discussion of his winnability during the primaries.

Ds are also less unified, with substantial prominent defections from the establishment if they go anti-establishment - even for Trump, the never-Trump movement kind of fizzled.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Since the 1960's, the GOP's primary strategy has been to rile up their preferred demographics against perceived excesses real or imagined by the "cultural elites" be it Hollywood celebrities, or "New York Values" or what have you. This means that over time the base has been conditioned to be more hostile towards the establishment and this will then be turned on the internal establishment as well.

In the long run, eventually the Republican elite will be steadily replaced so it's views become more reflective of where Republican voters are and I think that will end the anti-establishment feeling among Republican voters with regards to their own party.

Technically, then, this has always been happening, on however steady a time scale. Just ask the elite Rockefeller Republicans how they were replaced by the Goldwater/Reagan Republicans, who were now replaced by Trumpists.

Yes it has been happening for the past 50 to 60 years on a cyclical basis. Rockefeller>Reaganite>Trumpist is a good way to look at it and it should be noted that while you have some who are sticks in the mud who end up submerged, there are other establishment figures who manage to flow with the tide. The Bush's were very much from the Rockefeller wing but managed to hop the fence beginning in the 1960's with HW's political career starting Texas and ending with HW becoming Reagan's Vice President.