The Atlantic's Tom Nichols wrote yesterday that "the immediate problem America faces is that it no longer has a center-right party that represents traditional conservatism, or even respects basic constitutional principles such as the rule of law."
Well, yes and no. According to the latest NBC News poll (B+), the immediate problem America faces is that it no longer has an electorate that understands what "traditional conservatism" is, and it sure as hell fails to grasp which party respects basic constitutional principles such as the rule of law.
Hie thee to the 5th and 7th lines of the poll's findings. We'll get to the third in a moment.
Respecting the rule of law is a fundament of "protecting our constitutional rights." Turning the proposition around, all rights are based in law. There is no distinction. And yet the party that has consistently opposed the rule of law — including its majority support of a presidential candidate who believes the Constitution should, from time to time, be set aside — leads the constitutionally respectful party by 8 points, 43%-35%.
"Protecting democracy" serves our constitutional right of self-governance. Here the party that has acted unfaithfully is tied, 37%-36%, with the party that carries both democracy's name and its principles.
Ventured one of the pollsters: "[The] thing that is maybe not expected is these phrases: 'protecting our constitutional rights' and 'protecting democracy.' These are things where overall the electorate thinks Republicans are more focused and would do a better job than Democrats."
"Maybe not expected." Translation: We were flattened with near disbelief when we learned the electorate is insanely, cretinously assbackward in assessing which party is faithful to the U.S. Constitution and American democracy and which is approaching the National Socialist stage of 1933.
And "dealing with the economy." By an eye-popping margin of 21 points, 49%-28%, the electorate sides with the party that has bought us economic destruction twice since 2007; the party that still hustles the "traditionally conservative," widely discredited trickle-down slop that does immense injury to the middle class, line #3.
The electorate isn't merely out to lunch. It's on another planet.