Conservative columnist and radio host Hugh Hewitt says President Donald Trump's rise to power is the result of support from a modern-day version of an 1850s political movement known as the Know Nothings that was built on an anti-liquor, anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant platform.
"President Trump took over the GOP riding the old Know-Nothing movement's modern counterpart — evolved to no longer be anti-Catholic or pro-temperance, but very much a reflection of rapid change and disintermediation, the fears and shocks of terrorism and economic panic of the new millennium combined with 24/7 media," Hewitt writes in The Washington Post.
"Where the first Republicans beat the Know-Nothings in the 1850s, the GOP establishment was helpless to stop Trump’s extraordinary hostile takeover of the party. … Hardly 1 in 10 elected Republicans cheers all of the president’s agenda, but close to 90 percent are willing to hang on for the ride, at least for awhile.
"Trump delivers traditional Republicans the military buildup, deregulation, tax cuts and, crucially, judicial appointments of the sort that would make the Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and both Bush coalitions happy."
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