The modern Republican Party, Gay argued this week, originates from the backlash to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. This would be insightful if it was true, which it is not.
“The Tea Party is now the base,” began MSNBC host Joy Reid. “These Tea Party people are now the fundamentals of the party. So, it's not as if Trump is some sort of outlier.”
“I think that’s what we’re missing — is that Trump isn't some freak who’s dragging the party to the right,” she added. “He represents the median belief system of many of the people who vote for him.”
