Trump-driven divide will consume GOP long after the election - WaPo.

Quote
The axis of furious conservative activists and hard-right media that spawned Trump’s nationalist and conspiratorial campaign is determined to complete its hostile takeover of the GOP, win or lose.

Trump’s insistence that the election will be “rigged,” which he again suggested at the debate, has only stoked the specter of a grievance movement that will haunt Republicans for months and years to come — threatening to leave the longtime norms of American politics shattered and Washington paralyzed by his followers’ agitation and suspicion.

“What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time,” Trump said Wednesday, refusing to say whether he would accept the result of the election as legitimate. “I’ll keep you in suspense.”

The first post-election target for the grievance movement is likely to be House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who has drawn Trump’s wrath for not supporting him more fully. Trump’s backers, both inside and outside the House Republican caucus, are already talking about a takedown.

....For top Republicans, the challenges could be staggering in the aftermath of a Trump defeat, as polls show is probable. Their numbers are likely to shrink in both chambers of Congress, and they would have to navigate a Hillary Clinton presidency with constant questions about their loyalties and scorn for any attempts at bipartisan governing.


A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich