More On "What The #@!* Happened" -- And Why

There's some good reading this morning on the roiling state of the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party and what's underlying the neo- fascist phenomenon that is Donald "Rump" Trump.

John Cassidy on the party's internal contradictions:

For decades now, the Republican Party has been appealing to low-income and middle-income whites while promoting an economic agenda that runs contrary to their interests: tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, free trade, deep cuts to entitlement programs, and so on.  [snip]

In the past, Republicans cleverly obfuscated the regressive nature of their economic platform by appealing to social issues, and quietly playing the racism/xenophobia card. Trump, however, is beating his rivals at this game, too. On social issues, he has demonstrated that you don’t have to be a Bible-thumping pro-lifer to attract the vote of evangelicals. On immigration, by promising to round up and send home eleven million undocumented workers, he has trumped even the Cruz wing of the G.O.P. And in playing to white hate groups and other racists he is doing what other Republicans, particularly in the Deep South, have been doing for generations. But, while many of these Party regulars used a dog whistle, Trump is using a foghorn.  (our emphasis)

Amanda Taub takes a long look at the controlling factor in Stormtrumpers support for Rump -- authoritarianism:

These Americans with authoritarian views, they found, were sorting into the GOP, driving polarization. But they were also creating a divide within the party, at first latent, between traditional Republican voters and this group whose views were simultaneously less orthodox and, often, more extreme.  [snip]

Authoritarians are thought to express much deeper fears than the rest of the electorate, to seek the imposition of order where they perceive dangerous change, and to desire a strong leader who will defeat those fears with force. They would thus seek a candidate who promised these things. And the extreme nature of authoritarians' fears, and of their desire to challenge threats with force, would lead them toward a candidate whose temperament was totally unlike anything we usually see in American politics — and whose policies went far beyond the acceptable norms.

A candidate like Donald Trump.  (our emphasis)

There's so much more to read in both pieces, and we hope you take time to do so.

Meanwhile, Republicans are caucusing in Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine, and goosestepping going to the polls in Louisiana's primary today, with 155 delegates up for grab.