From Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) at the USA Today:
... the Tea Party famously cleaned up after itself, and was orderly and law-abiding. Yet they were nevertheless demeaned and dismissed by the political class.
Yet the tea party movement was smeared as racist, denounced as fascist, harassed with impunity by the IRS and generally treated with contempt by the political establishment -- and by pundits like Brooks, who declared "I'm not a fan of this movement."
After handing the GOP big legislative victories in 2010 and 2014, it was largely betrayed by the Republicans in Congress, who broke their promises to shrink government and block Obama’s initiatives.
So now we have Trump instead, who tells people to punch counterprotesters instead of picking up their trash. When politeness and orderliness are met with contempt and betrayal, do not be surprised if the response is something less polite, and less orderly.
Brooks closes his Trump column with Psalm 73, but a more appropriate verse is Hosea 8:7 "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."
Trump's ascendance is a symptom of a colossal failure among America's political leaders, of which Brooks' mean-spirited insularity is only a tiny part. God help us all.
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