Trump has entered the Querencia Phase of his presidency

“The politics of economic self-interest that underpinned the New Deal era have been supplanted by “expressive partisanship,” a form of “affective polarization,” as political scientists put it.

The more highly educated also tend to be more strongly identified along political lines.

Intellectual discourse is out.

The idea has taken hold that citizens discharge their obligation to the republic merely by ascertaining the political leaning of the person raising an objection.

Once they acquire this knowledge, they believe they have everything they need to exercise the duty of citizenship and make an informed, independent judgment.

But especially today, when the foundational institutions of American life are under constant assault and the very idea of truth is called into question by the loudest voices in the public square, we cannot afford to collapse deliberative democracy into partisan branding.

Seriously? There hasn't been "intellectual discourse" on the right since Buckley died.

The right gave up on "intellectual discourse" sixty years ago when Phillips, then Dent, then Atwater, then Rove decided fear and hate worked oh so much better. In fact, it worked so well, it created and unleashed an anti-intellectual monster which then turned around and devoured the party-formerly-known-as-the-GOP which today, in reality, is a fringe-right collection of extremists, nutjobs and traitors and truly GINO ('GOP-in-name-only') - moderates republicans were shown the door years ago. Hell, Log Cabin republicans are more honest and out in the open today than moderate republicans.

... a shocker: Donald Trump, a man who took sociopathic pleasure in “firing” people on television for over a decade and allegedly stiffed hundreds of workers and contractors, is a terrible person to work for.

The New York Times reports that Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen—who was branded one of Trump’s “fiercest loyalists” by the New Yorker just two months ago—was so thoroughly berated by Trump in front of the entire cabinet on Wednesday that she was prepared to quit, and even drafted a resignation letter, although she didn’t submit it.

Like a bloated, portly fake billionaire rolling off a hooker after a hot 45 seconds of passionate sex, Donald Trump’s ardor for Rudy Giuliani seems to have cooled.

Trump has been mostly unable to hire and retain top-flight litigators because he destroys everyone around him. His record of stacking former staffers like cordwood as they are either fired, humiliated, shamed, permanently scarred, forced to cut off a finger by the Yakuza, morally compromised, or moved into the Witness Protection Program will go down in presidential history. It’s no secret that he’s a spectacular liar at all times and on all subjects, leaving his legal team constantly wary they have a client who combines a stubborn streak and a self-destructive nature with an endless capacity to lie to them about his marital, financial, and political lies.

Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure to adequately secure the nation’s borders, according to several current and former officials familiar with the episode.

Ms. Nielsen, who is a protégée of John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, has drafted a resignation letter but has not submitted it, according to two of the people.

In the end, I don’t believe there’s any policy justification for the attack on food stamps: It’s not about the incentives, and it’s not about the money. And even the racial animus that traditionally underlies attacks on U.S. social programs has receded partially into the background.

No, this is about petty cruelty turned into a principle of government. It’s about privileged people who look at the less fortunate and don’t think, “There but for the grace of God go I”; they just see a bunch of losers. They don’t want to help the less fortunate; in fact, they get angry at the very idea of public aid that makes those losers a bit less miserable.

And these are the people now running America.