Conservatism turned toxic: Donald Trump's fanbase has no actual ideology, just a nihilistic hatred of liberals
SalonThe horror show that was the 2016 election will be examined and reexamined for years, and depending on how bad things get, quite likely decades to come. But it's also important to notice that Donald Trump's election is the culmination of decades of right-wing media teaching its audience that liberals are subhuman scum, and that hating liberals — whatever their stereotype of a "liberal" looks like — is far more important that minor concerns like preventing war or economic destruction. As Sarah Kliff at Vox discovered during her recent exploration of Kentucky, it's because many of these voters believe that when politicians like Trump talk about ending government benefits, they don't actually mean their government benefits. When someone else — someone perceived as liberal — uses government assistance, it's "welfare," a sure sign that person is lazy and just needs to get off their butt and go find a job. One can read a billion think-pieces about Trump's divergence from traditional conservatism, but the reality is that "traditional" conservatism doesn't exist anymore, outside a few enclaves of coastal elites.
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