Democrats have often been ambivalent about that ardent nationalistic voice, but this week they accepted Trump’s unintentional gift. At the DNC this year speakers found their eloquence in staving off this demagogue. They effectively separated Trump from America...from conservatism. They made full use of the deep nationalist chords that touch American hearts.Trump has allowed the Democrats to mask their deep problems and to seem positively organized and orderly compared to Candidate Chaos. But the final and shocking possibility is this: Maybe, in this moment of fear, cynicism, anxiety and extreme pessimism, many voters may have decided that civility is a surrender to a rigged system, that optimism is the opiate of the idiots and that humility and gentleness are simply surrendering to the butchers of ISIS. If that’s true it’s not just politics that has changed, but the country.
At www.nytimes.com
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