Fascinating thread and @newrepublic article from the ever-thoughtful @samuelmoyn. Regarding @dziblatt's "Conservative Dilemma," #LetThemEatTweets shows clearly that it's the Republican Party that's been most transformed by the rise of hyperinequality (and not for the better!). 1/
As Paul & I wrote in our 2010 "Winner-Take-All Politics," both parties have been deeply affected by America's inequality explosion. But that effect and their roles have been very different. 2/
In a nutshell, Democrats have been cross-pressured by the emergence of extreme inequality; Republicans have been radicalized. 3/
Part of the reason for this is that the plutocratic choir -- the wealthiest Americans who engage in politics and the most influential corporate groups and donor networks -- sings with a very strong conservative accent. 4/
Just look at campaign donations: According to @adam_bonica, the share that came from the top 0.01% of donors goes from 10% in 1980 to almost 50% in 2018. 5/ 
Meanwhile, Ben Page, @M_J_Lacombe and @Jasonseawright point out that in recent years, 2/3 of the 100 richest families on the Forbes list gave exclusively or mainly to Republicans. 6/
And campaign donations are much more balanced than more hidden forms of money in politics, as Paul & @JakeMGrumbach have convincingly shown. 7/
.
.
Plus, what conservative plutocrats want is really unpopular! Ben, Jason & Larry Bartels found in a 2011 survey that just 17% of the superrich are willing to support higher taxes to reduce inequality -- a majority position among the public. 8/
faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jnd260/cab/CA…
faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jnd260/cab/CA…
And, as we point out in #LetThemEatTweets, a majority of Republican voters opposed BOTH extension of the Bush tax cuts for the affluent and the Ryan budget plan. 9/
So the Ziblatt logic is very strong: If you're an aspiring Republican politician who wants to win over likely voters, running on what your plutocratic paymasters want--and, importantly, what your party puts at the top of their agenda whenever in power--is a very bad idea. 10/
Yes, there is a CONSERVATIVE dilemma. 11/
