Obviously you're a historian who won't ever understand Trump. You think he is attacking 'norms' and the Constitution. The anti-Trumpers are literally have to make up 'facts' like Russian collusion, Patriot Front, and calling Americans fascists or semi-fascists. And this is coming from Federal institutions... talk about attacking 'norms' and the Constitution. Get your head out of your rear man or die ignorant.
And Trump did. Is Joe Biden not President of the United States today? Was Trump the first politician to question the results of a Presidential election? Was not the Russian collusion hoax the inability of certain Democrats and beltway insiders to accept the verdict of the voters? Is it not anti-democratic this very day to criminalize voting for Trump in any future election?
It’s about trust, or lack thereof. The Donald is popular with the people who know better than to trust the government. Until the government somehow regains the trust of the working class, this is how it’s going to be.
This is a nearly perfect rundown. I would add two things. 30 years of talk radio poison. The Talk Radio schtick was never moderation or intellectual. It was spreading anger and fear and enmity towards the “other.” Another factor is 40 years of television preachers spreading fear anger and division. The belligerence of the talk radio host and the tv preacher became the standard by which Americans on the right saw and acted.
Thanks again for a succinct summary of what led us to this point in American political history. It will take a distance in time to see what it meant in our long astonishing history.
"The takeover of the party by a coastal intelligentsia obsessed with cultural issues unconnected to the lives of most Americans"
As one of those "coastal" Democrats (born, raised, and living in Minnesota so I guess the shores of Lake Superior count as a "coast"), I would argue it's not that the cultural issues we care about are unconnected from the lives of most Americans, but that Democratic politicans and whomever they consider allies in the media have done a poor job of making most Americans realize our concerns ARE connected to their lives. We all do better when we all do better. But you're absolutely right that Trump saw an opening there, and took it.
Both Rush Limbaugh and Steve Bannon recognized the curb appeal the Don had on the masses of angry mostly white, Americans. I believe its roots start in 1970 with the Hard Hat Riot in NYC. This was the point where the Dems began loosing America's working class. There has been growing chasm ever since with neither party producing a candidate that spoke to them. Along comes a "charismatic " leader with no sense of decency, only unfettered greed and a penchant for lies. But he tells this angry crowd, using their own crude vernacular, just what they want to hear even though he doesn't believe it himself. Its an age old formula that works every time. Its what con artists do!
There is another step in the analysis to understand Trump’s enduring appeal. Yes, Trump told them what they want to hear, but they also saw the visceral reaction that the entrenched elites in Washington had when Trump came on the scene and then won the 2016 election. They also saw the elites’ extreme efforts to “get Trump” that are still ongoing. After seeing all of that the “angry masses” clearly understand how the elites view them as well.
Agreed, the Democratic party has become a party of elitist no doubt. They turned their backs on the working class long ago. But as for the "get Trump" effort, he simply seems to ignore the laws and code of conduct that we really need to keep democracy alive. We have never had such moral bankruptcy in the White House. Bill Clinton really lowered the bar but Trump just pushed it aside, and is still pushing. All I ask is with 350 million people in this wonderful country, can't we just get two decent candidates? Thanks for your thoughts sir!
Obviously you're a historian who won't ever understand Trump. You think he is attacking 'norms' and the Constitution. The anti-Trumpers are literally have to make up 'facts' like Russian collusion, Patriot Front, and calling Americans fascists or semi-fascists. And this is coming from Federal institutions... talk about attacking 'norms' and the Constitution. Get your head out of your rear man or die ignorant.
The most basic norm in a democracy is that you accept the verdict of the voters.
And Trump did. Is Joe Biden not President of the United States today? Was Trump the first politician to question the results of a Presidential election? Was not the Russian collusion hoax the inability of certain Democrats and beltway insiders to accept the verdict of the voters? Is it not anti-democratic this very day to criminalize voting for Trump in any future election?
This is a brilliant analysis and summary of where we've been, are, and may be heading.
It’s about trust, or lack thereof. The Donald is popular with the people who know better than to trust the government. Until the government somehow regains the trust of the working class, this is how it’s going to be.
This is a nearly perfect rundown. I would add two things. 30 years of talk radio poison. The Talk Radio schtick was never moderation or intellectual. It was spreading anger and fear and enmity towards the “other.” Another factor is 40 years of television preachers spreading fear anger and division. The belligerence of the talk radio host and the tv preacher became the standard by which Americans on the right saw and acted.
Thanks again for a succinct summary of what led us to this point in American political history. It will take a distance in time to see what it meant in our long astonishing history.
"The takeover of the party by a coastal intelligentsia obsessed with cultural issues unconnected to the lives of most Americans"
As one of those "coastal" Democrats (born, raised, and living in Minnesota so I guess the shores of Lake Superior count as a "coast"), I would argue it's not that the cultural issues we care about are unconnected from the lives of most Americans, but that Democratic politicans and whomever they consider allies in the media have done a poor job of making most Americans realize our concerns ARE connected to their lives. We all do better when we all do better. But you're absolutely right that Trump saw an opening there, and took it.
Both Rush Limbaugh and Steve Bannon recognized the curb appeal the Don had on the masses of angry mostly white, Americans. I believe its roots start in 1970 with the Hard Hat Riot in NYC. This was the point where the Dems began loosing America's working class. There has been growing chasm ever since with neither party producing a candidate that spoke to them. Along comes a "charismatic " leader with no sense of decency, only unfettered greed and a penchant for lies. But he tells this angry crowd, using their own crude vernacular, just what they want to hear even though he doesn't believe it himself. Its an age old formula that works every time. Its what con artists do!
There is another step in the analysis to understand Trump’s enduring appeal. Yes, Trump told them what they want to hear, but they also saw the visceral reaction that the entrenched elites in Washington had when Trump came on the scene and then won the 2016 election. They also saw the elites’ extreme efforts to “get Trump” that are still ongoing. After seeing all of that the “angry masses” clearly understand how the elites view them as well.
Agreed, the Democratic party has become a party of elitist no doubt. They turned their backs on the working class long ago. But as for the "get Trump" effort, he simply seems to ignore the laws and code of conduct that we really need to keep democracy alive. We have never had such moral bankruptcy in the White House. Bill Clinton really lowered the bar but Trump just pushed it aside, and is still pushing. All I ask is with 350 million people in this wonderful country, can't we just get two decent candidates? Thanks for your thoughts sir!