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When pundits accuse congressional Republicans of enabling @realDonaldTrump, they get the causality wrong. POTUS enables the modern GOP by championing their policies and their style of governance from the Oval Office./1
The dynamic reminds me of a song by the @drivebytruckers, “The Part of Him,” which is about a Tea Party politico. @pattersonhood sings about how the party eventually kicks him out, knowing that “someone else will play the part of him." /2
With lyrics about a conservative who is “totally Nixonian/honing in the art of making deals” and who “did what he had to do to get southern boys to vote for you” it is notable that the song came out in 2014. /3
In numerous areas of policy—immigration, deregulation, climate change, tax cuts, gun control, rightward judicial appointments—the president fits pretty well with the congressional wing of the party. /4
The GOP has become more conservative since the 1970s./5 
This graph, from 2014, captures what was going on with the House Republican Caucus. /6
See partisan views on immigration, for instance. /7
Or climate change, in 2014. /8
His disruptive style of politics is something that we have seen from younger Republicans for several decades now. Watch this great @voxdotcom discussion featuring @NormOrnstein./10
vox.com/2018/10/29/180…
vox.com/2018/10/29/180…
The partisan-conservative media alliance? It is an old story. @Eric_Alterman had a smart take on the history of @FoxNews./11
thenation.com/article/fox-ne…
thenation.com/article/fox-ne…
@SamWangPhD and I had a long back-and-forth about this with @JeffFlake as we challenged him about this reciprocal relationship and his hope that @realDonaldTrump is an aberration. /12
soundcloud.com/woodrowwilsons…
soundcloud.com/woodrowwilsons…
Without any serious primary challenge to speak of, and with ongoing support from congressional Republicans (i.e. @LindseyGrahamSC), it is safe to assume that when Trump is done with his presidency, someone else will play the part of him. /end
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