Arthur Brooks: 2016 candidates can help conservatives’ messaging

Conservatives need to get more effective at messaging, Arthur Brooks says in his new book The Conservative Heart, pointing to the collective crop of GOP presidential contenders as good salesmen.

At this point in the 2016 race, American people see the Republican field as one composite candidate discussing “solutions for poverty that are more compelling, that are more heartfelt,” the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) president tells The Hill’s Molly K. Hooper in a video interview.

{mosads}Even Donald Trump plays a role in Brooks’s “amorphous candidate,” as a comparison point for other candidates.

“The amorphous candidate suddenly has some sort of a weird claw arm on him or something that is a little scary to somebody who is not paying attention,” Brooks said. “Donald Trump is responding to a lot of anger, a lot of insecurity around the country, this perceived … sort of lawlessness.”

Brooks said Trump’s harsh rhetoric opens the door for his opponents to put a more positive spin on their campaigns.

“That’s actually a huge opportunity for the other candidates, who should pivot towards aspiration. Anger is not where the Republican party needs to go,” he said. “A year from now, the candidates that pivot to aspiration now are going to be glad they did it.”