Creation and destruction

In a NYT op-ed piece this morning, Stephen Rattner argues the republicans in Congress who blocked administration attempts to ameliorate the lives of ordinary workers displaced by trade deals and the Great Recession  created the phenomenon of Donald Trump.  By rejecting virtually every initiative from Obama, the republicans created an alienated base which is ripe for the grandstanding authoritarian populism of The Donald.  Obviously this is a simplistic answer to a complex series of questions, but it made me think once more of the obvious disconnect between republican party policy and the middle and lower class base on which it depends for the votes to elect officials.  The social issues; abortion, gay bashing, dog whistle racism, etc., which has been a staple inducement for religious conservatives to vote for the GOP have lost some of their appeal.  Meanwhile, the economic lot of the working class has fallen precipitously and there has been no credible response from government except to shred the safety net.  As they realize their position as cannon fodder in the republican army, many have fallen for the facile authoritarianism Trump offers.  Much as Hitler and Mussolini played on the economic fears of their followers, Trump promises "there will be so much winning you'll get tired of it".  For poorly educated, low information voters, it's much easier to listen to Donald who promises to institutionalize your prejudices against "those people" and advances a vague program to help your economic situation.    The dems don't seem to be able to address these voters' fears either.  Wonky programs lose their attention and besides, they feel most of the benefits will flow to the others.  Which ever way you analyze this situation, it's not good for democracy.