1. When Reagan ran on supply side economics, mainstream Republicans laughed at it. HW Bush famously called it "voodoo economics."
2. Reagan carried my cohort (late boomers/early GenX) which caught the Democratic Party by surprise. We were the Reagan Youth.
3. After Reagan won, the rest of the Republican party fell in line. His economic policy became Republican orthodox.
4. Now traditional liberals were called "extremists." Bill Clinton's capitulation which we call neoliberalism was the final blow to the New Deal.
The conservative movement to play the long game to dismantle the New Deal succeeded. Here we go again?
1. When Trump ran on MAGA, mainstream Republicans scoffed at him.
2. Their resistance lasted 10 seconds. The party fell in line undeterred by his loss in 2020 and Jan 16. Now MAGA is mainstream in Republican politics.
3. Trump unexpectedly performed well with young voters. Do they get to be called the Trump Youth?
4. Will Dems surrender? Now they are once again called extremists. I see people wanting to nominate a straight white male in order to compete in 2028.
The conservatives' long quest to dismantle the civil rights may succeed.