"This Long-Standing Tendency on the Right"

"The idea that the left is depraved, corrupt, and ruthless has been an important strain of American conservatism since the movement began. But in the Trump era, it has metastasized. Right-wing policy ideas have been so thoroughly discredited—does anyone even argue anymore that trickle-down economics will ensure mass prosperity?—that the only apparent reason for conservatism's existence is to fight back against evil liberals. This is, of course, not the sign of a healthy political movement. The right's support for McCarthy has been a long-standing embarrassment for American conservatism. Its embrace of Trump may be history repeating itself."

David A. Walsh at The Washington Monthly explains that "[s]ince the 1950s, the conservative movement has justified bad behavior—including supporting Donald Trump—by persuading itself that the left is worse."