Maginot Republicans

The blue-blood, red-neck coalition, of screwers and screwees, is as odd a thing as you will find. With Trump we have a rich boy successfully playing to the rednecks.

On the Maginot scale of isolationism it's ranking pretty high. We are as well-knit into the world economy as we can be but workers think the net flow of goodness is now out.

It is for them but not for the rich folks. That comes later. And, since the rich are oblivious to everyone but themselves, we are seeing some conflict. The rich just want more.

When they say "America" they mean themselves. When they say "freedom" they mean theirs. When they squander money it's ours and usually to their benefit. They are a class. 

They envision an "America" with themselves in golf carts and everyone else caring for them in a servile way. They think they are being generous by employing anyone at all.

The rednecks vote for this out of ignorance. But exceptionalism, to which most Americans at least unconsciously subscribe, is racist so the roots of the trouble are everywhere.

We have become an unwitting empire and our time is up. We are on the downslope of the cycle of empires. The rich think they can weather anything. Maybe they can.

But Trump has turned their methods back on them. They don't know what he will do and they got used to being able to buy the government. See how they squirm.