The Modern Republican Party

I rarely do this (at all, let alone midweek), but here’s two longish reads you might want to tackle when you take a break from the madness today:

• The Republicans waged a 3-decade war on government. They got Trump. Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann revisit their previous, name-the-blame work that was so studiously avoided by the media because it obliterated  Both Siderism and brought down the hammer on the GOP. This isn’t exactly I Told You So victory lap but sure: they told us so.

• The End Of A Republican Party Clare Malone exposes the small gubmint lie at the heart of the Republican Party for the fig leaf that it is, covering the culture wars, racial, and economic grievances. It’s beautifully written, and I don’t say that often about FiveThirtyEight’s posts.

UPDATE: Off-topic, but I had the great surprise of having out of town guests show up and we’ve been seeing the sights. Sorry for the interruption of regular service…