Three theories of the rise of Trump: Paul Berman on on how a cultural collapse — of civility, civic education, and decorum — brought us “the Mussolinian con man of our own moment”. The weight of the words: Jacob T. Levy on how Trump’s speech becomes part of political reality, as he and the media outlets that serve as his megaphone address the world, the US government, and the people. The unacceptable cost of “taming” Trump: If the Republicans have contained the president at all, it's because they agreed to shield him from investigation. Of course Republicans will keep letting Trump slide: They’ll line up and salute when the time comes.
Boycotting Republicans isn’t enough: What’s needed after Trump is an asymmetric fight to render the Republicans’ style of politics toxic. “Those who call for compromise and reasonable bi-partisanship fail to acknowledge that Republican politics have become entirely untethered from reality”.
