Steyn says Trump is the consequence of YOU.

For three years the question absorbing Swamp-dwellers has been: How did Trump get elected? According to Adam Schiff, the answer is the Russians. According to Hillary, the answer is sexism and/or Macedonian content farmers. According to the media, Trump “tapped into” a large segment of the American electorate’s ingrained sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and other assorted bigotries. If these fine fellows were genuinely interested to know how Trump got elected, the quickest way to the answer would be for them to look in the mirror: Trump is the consequence of you. No Russians or Macedonians are required: it’s because of you – the permanent governing class. If the only alternative to Hillary is Jeb, it’s hardly a surprise that there’s a stampede to the “Neither of the Above” box. And, if the only fellow waiting over there is Donald J Trump, so be it: that’s on you.

As I put it just shy of two decades ago:

If the political culture forbids respectable politicians from raising certain topics, then the electorate will turn to unrespectable politicians.

And, when they do, it’s a conscious choice: they know what they’re doing. So, when the respectable class whines that “a real conservative walks with us” and therefore Trump can’t be a conservative because he doesn’t, they fail to grasp that that’s all the more reason to back him.

I understand that National Review has suffered somewhat since its “Against Trump” issue. That’s because, to reprise another old line of mine from four years ago, it’s always easier for the base to get itself a new elite than for the elite to get itself a new base. Given that the horrors they predicted failed to come to pass, and that the crisis of the republic these last three years has been the refusal of the permanent state to accept the result of the election, you might think, having hoist themselves on their own petard, National Review might wish to de-hoist and admit they were wrong. But, apparently, changing your mind is the ultimate no-no. 

From that first (National Review) headline “Witless Ape Rides Escalator”, much of the conservative establishment revealed its fundamental unseriousness. Most dismal of all, they failed to realize that it was they who were on the downward escalator – and still are.

Yeah, well, just wait till they see how very far down that thing actually goes. And suddenly I’m reminded of a classic AC/DC lyric from the Bon Scott days:

Come on honey gotta change your tune
Cause it’s a long way down

A DAMNED long way, bub. Ain’t no coming back from there, either. But maybe their mulish insistence on Resistance™ is an indication that they know that already. The ticket was bought, paid for, and punched a long time ago; might as well ride it on out to the bitter end.