General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson could see the Nazi in the GOP a long time ago. [View all]Caliman73
(11,735 posts)Trump is unique in his naked disregard for any sense of decency, but the real groundwork for even Trump's ability to get into office was laid by Nixon.
At the time of Nixon, Trump was a Democrat (maybe in name only) but you have to think about why Trump could only ever have any success in the Republican Party. The Democratic Party would have rejected him, just like we rejected Bloomberg, not because they are rich. FDR was rich. We rejected both because they were anti-democracy authoritarians. The GOP, with Nixon's "unitary executive" ideas, was the ONLY place Trump could ever go but throughout the 60's through the 2000's the party wasn't quite crazy enough. It took Nixon, Reagan, and Bush Jr. with their criminality. It took the gamble on Sarah Palin with her idiotic disdain for intelligence, to prepare the road for Trump. Trump is a common crook. He is stupid and unimaginative. He ALWAYS rides on the shoulders of others, even as he proclaims himself above all others. Nixon was a criminal mastermind compared to Trump and America is worse for that.