Former Dumbya speechwriter Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson:
He [Trump] doesn’t employ the careful words of a politician. He is so appealingly unprepared. So refreshingly ignorant. So disarmingly half-baked.
But the durability of Trump’s appeal creates a conundrum for many Republicans. For decades, some of us have argued that the liberal stereotype of Republicans as extreme, dim and intolerant is inaccurate and unfair. But here is a candidate for president who fully embodies the liberal stereotype of Republicans — who thinks this is the way a conservative should sound — and has found support from a committed plurality of the party.
If the worst enemies of conservatism were to construct a Frankenstein figure that represents the worst elements of right-wing politics, Donald Trump would be it. But it is Republicans who are giving him life. And the damage is already deep.At what point does a "stereotype" cross over into becoming empirical fact? We'd argue it's when nearly your entire party supports not just the well- documented lunacy of Trump, but also "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz and the very not-"moderate" John Kasich. That's a wingnut trifecta and a sign your party in toto is "extreme, dim and intolerant."
