The Donald and the Kingfish

The Donald's appeal to a certain segment of the American electorate should come as no surprise to anyone with a passing acquaintance with our history.  From the "know nothing" party of the 1840s to the present, there is an undertone of intolerance and animosity toward immigrants and people of color.  This hatred is often wrapped in populism.  One of the most famous examples of this type of populism is Huey Long.  A governor of Louisiana during the great Depression, Long was a self promoting politician who started as a supporter of FDR, but eventually broke with him and in league with the racist priest Charles Coughlin planned a presidential campaign in 1936.  Personal scandals eventually broke his dreams, but in his heyday, he appealed to the same sort of "ugly American" that Trump seems to have found.  The difference is Long was a politician who actually got things done for his constituents and ran campaigns based on issues, albeit wrapped in a racist, immigrant bashing agenda.  Trump is a pure narcissist who has no agenda other than pulling down his rivals and basking in the media attention his candidacy has attracted.  The scary part of this whole scenario is that he taps into the deep hatred the Republican party has stirred up against government as something good for the people.  Instead there is a call for destruction with no alternative.   That a billionaire buffoon should ride this wave of solipsistic anarchy to become the nominee of a major political party is to call the whole American experiment into question.  Even the Kingfish would have had second thoughts.