The Seven Broken Guardrails of Democracy (and the rise of Trump)

[Fast Walker 52]

The American republic was long safeguarded by settled norms... shattered by the rise of Donald Trump
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/the-seven-broken-guardrails-of-democracy/484829/
Long piece but worth the read. It doesn't quite explain what happened to the GOP, but it documents the Trump issue well

"A long time ago, more than 20 years in fact, the Wall Street Journal published a powerful, eloquent editorial, simply headlined: “No Guardrails.”

In our time, the United States suffers every day of the week because there are now so many marginalized people among us who don't understand the rules, who don't think that rules of personal or civil conduct apply to them, who have no notion of self-control.

Twenty years later, that same newspaper is edging toward open advocacy in favor of Donald Trump, the least self-controlled major-party candidate for high office in the history of the republic. And as he forged his path to the nomination, he snapped through seven different guardrails, revealing how brittle the norms that safeguard the American republic had grown.

Here’s the part of the 2016 story that will be hardest to explain after it’s all over: Trump did not deceive anyone. Unlike, say, Sarah Palin in 2008, Trump appeared before the electorate in his own clothes, speaking his own words. When he issued a promise, he instantly contradicted it. If you chose to accept the promise anyway, you did so with abundant notice of its worthlessness. For all the times Trump said believe me and trust me in his salesman patter, he communicated constantly and in every medium that there was only thing you could believe and trust: If you voted for Donald Trump, you’d get Donald Trump, in all his Trumpery and Trumpiness. "

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. This is an incredible article. Trump appears to be an asteroid to shatter the American system

in place since the end of WWII.

[Fast Walker 52]

2. sure, seems that way. It's just a mind-boggling story that I still can't wrap my head around but

mainly I think it shows the GOP losing its freaking mind.

[alarimer]

3. The last guardrail also applies to Democrats

Once you’ve convinced yourself that a president of the other party is the very worst possible thing that could befall America, then any nominee of your party—literally no matter who—becomes a lesser evil. And with that, the last of the guardrails is smashed.

Yes, that's where we are too. Actually we have been for some time. We have to elect a Democrat, any Democrat, because the other side is too horrible to contemplate. So we get Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, Clinton. Not horrible people, probably, but not very good candidates either. The "lesser evil" never actually accomplishes much beside holding the line.

[Fast Walker 52]

4. true-- but IMO holding the line against truly regressive people like the GOP is important

and to a large extent, the "lesser evil" thing is one reason so many people don't vote.

But also if more people put aside the lesser evil trope, and just voted Dem, isn't likely we could shift things more in our direction? The problem is the center of political gravity has shifted way too rightwards because of the not voting for the lesser evil mentality.

[milestogo]

5. If Gore and Kerry are not very good candidates then who is?