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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse *

It would be stunning indeed if there were very many Americans unwilling to admit that a fairly large segment of the populace are angry, frightened and looking for revenge. These people want revenge against a broad swathe of America whether it is over the losing the Civil War, the election of Barack Obama, equal rights for all Americans; or the fact that America is not an Aryan Christian nation.

Now that anger, fear, and lust for revenge has, as many pundits claim, resulted in a political party that seems to be visibly coming apart at the seams. Those pundits also note that it is a rarity that a fair portion of the population is so on edge about its politics, but they seem to misunderstand why the population at large is “on edge.”

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While many Americans are still in a state of shock that a racist, pugilistic, former wrestling television celebrity will actually be on the presidential ballot in November, experts are beginning to opine on why Donald Trump appeals to millions. That appeal is not a mystery to anyone remotely familiar with the past decade of Republican politics, and many pundits are asserting that what Trump and his supporters have accomplished is a “hostile takeover of one of America’s two major political parties.”

Here’s the thing though; some of the same pundits claim that Trump tapped in to “seething voter anger among Republicans across the country who say they were betrayed by Republicans over the past twelve years.” What that means to a sane human being is that instead of a “hostile takeover,” Trump is just promising to soothe angry conservative voters’ wounds by doing what Republicans promised, but knew they could never deliver; to create a white Christian nation ruled by a Republicans’ iron fist.

Now of course the majority of Trump’s ardent supporters, like many of Bernie Sanders’ supporters, are ignorant of the constitutional limitations on executive branch authority. But ignorance aside, Trump’s supporters are livid that immigrants still exist in America, minorities are allowed to vote, and America is not running the world the way Trump promises to rule America, with an iron fist. It is why since Barack Obama has been President, polls continue revealing that Republicans believe America is on the wrong track, and by wrong track they mean the country is not reverting to the conservative glory years; the 1950s.

Obviously, to most Americans Trump is an unlikely spokesman for the grievances of struggling, evangelical, racist, alienated Americans due to being a “high-living non-religious Manhattan billionaire.” But Trump studied the “base” the Republican Party created over the past decade and delivered himself as the kind of messiah ignorant conservatives have lusted to put in the White House; a racist loudmouth strongman who promises that without his iron hand and nativistic agenda, America will never be great, or Aryan, again.

After fuming at Washington Republicans for so long, many of Trump’s voters see him as the conservative savior who will finally deliver on the Party’s promises over the past eight years. Never mind that there are no details to his policies, his offensive and harsh language strikes them as coming from a “real American” and they feed off of his yokel slogans like “Make America Great Again.” Even though “establishment” Republicans have promised the same results, the base are sick and tired of cautious policies and slowly-but-surely agendas of Washington Republicans.

The internal divisions among conservatives had been brewing for some time before the unifying threats of global terrorism “were papered over directly after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But they re-emerged toward the end of George W. Bush’s second term; first with Bush’s attempt at immigration reform that included a path to citizenship, and then again after the Bush administration bailed out the financial sector and big banks during the Republicans’ financial collapse and Great Depression.

According to Harvard political scientist Robert D. Putnam, “For working-class whites, combined with their perceived social isolation, Mr. Trump lit a spark by constructing a series of scapegoats that these folks find plausible.”

Putnam cited Trump’s attacks on Muslims and immigrants and parroted what this column has asserted several times; “Trump was willing to say things that have always been popular, but you couldn’t say it.” Republicans may not have said what Trump says in the same manner, but they certainly spoke volumes with their dog whistles and pledges to “take America back;” their agenda was to “eventually achieve” the same goal Trump’s campaign pledges to achieve immediately on entering the White House.

It is a matter of opinion whether or not Donald Trump bullied his way to the GOP nomination. He certainly had no part in programming his newfound base of support over the past eight years; establishment Republicans did that for him and he seized on their due diligence and propaganda. What Trump offers the angry racist conservatives is a strongman image and a believable promise that because he is not part of the “establishment,” he can and will deliver on every promise Republicans have made over the past eight years because he is unafraid to use his iron fist.

Of course it appears to be true that the Republican Party is in turmoil, but only because Donald Trump is not part of the Washington establishment. Democrats and liberals should beware of writing off Trump’s chance at victory based on rumors that many Republicans will not vote for him in November. Donald Trump’s supporters definitely want revenge against the GOP establishment for not delivering on their promises, but mainstream Republicans want revenge against Americans for twice electing a Democrat as President.

When November rolls around, Republicans will do what Democrats are incapable of doing in the worst and best of times; they will come together and they will support Donald Trump and get revenge on America for electing a Democrat as President; it is something they will fight to the death to guarantee will never happen again even if it means voting for Donald Trump.