Episode 33: Liberals' Obsession with the Phantom Reasonable Republican
The unlikely rise of Trump in the past three years has created a chasm in the Republican party: those who embrace the President\u2019s wild, unorthodox, nativist style and those who\u2013\u2013with much posturing and self congratulation\u2013\u2013reject his brand of conservatism. The latter group, generally called \u201cNeverTrump\u201d Republicans, occupies a special, protected status in Serious Centrist media\u2013\u2013despite representing only 5% of the population.
Major outlets like The Washington Post, The Atlantic and the New York Times employ roughly 20\xa0#NeverTrump\xa0conservatives between them; there is no greater affirmative action policy in U.S. media than for anti-Trump conservatives. So long as they reject Trump,\xa0#NeverTrump\xa0pundits can get away with the most odious points of view \u2013 anti-Arab racism, climate change denial, literally suggesting women be hanged en masse for having abortions.
What accounts for this? Where does the institutional obsession with finding a Reasonable Republican come from and why is there such a widespread denial that Donald Trump does, in fact, actually and accurately represent the GOP as it exists today?
We are joined by Slate's Osita Nwanevu.