Further On Down The Road: Why That 'Basket Of Deplorables' Isn't Going Away

ERIN SCHAFF / THE NEW YORK TIMES

You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?  They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic – Islamophobic – you name it. ~ HILLARY CLINTON (September 9, 2016) 

There are two reliable constants in the Category Five shitstorm that is the Donald Trump presidency.  Things are going to get worse and his much-vaunted "base" -- Hillary Clinton's infamous "basket of deplorables" -- isn't going away.   

These voters are a wondrously malodorous thing.  They don't just tolerate lies, greed, corruption and cruelty, they vote for them.  And for the historically inclined, there has never been such a huge bloc of immovable voters, estimated at upwards of 40 percent of registered votes although probably less, nor a president whose every move is predicated on stoking and coddling that bloc no matter how vile or destructive the consequences. Not even supporters of the relatively short-lived No-Nothing Party of the mid-19th century compare.   

For those of us who awaken each day in fear of what Trump's latest outrage might be -- and they come with the regularity of a ticking clock -- there is endless wonderment over how so many people can be so ignorant. 

What exactly is Trump's base"?

* White evangelicals: Many "born-again" Christians have backed Republicans for years, but upwards of 70 percent support the sinful Trump.  

* White men: The gender gap in was never higher than in 2016 when Hillary Clinton was the first woman nominated for president by a major party. 

* White non-college: This should come as no surprise if you equate bigotry and ignorance with having less education.

* Whites over 50: This is further evidence that retirees will make up a significant proportion of the Republican Party in coming years. 

* Whites over $50,000: Contrary to assumptions, median Trump voters aren't poor because many poor voters do not vote.

* White rurals: As voting has become more geographically polarized, non-city and non-suburban voters have trended Republican.

The common denominator among these six groups is, of course, their abject whiteness. 

This should come as no surprise because of the discriminatory Republican policies of the last 50 years and Trump's unabashed racism and embrace of white nationalists.  But what astonishes if -- and only if -- you naïvely believe that Christians practice what they preach is the strength of Trump's white evangelical support. 

Nearly four in five white evangelical voters voted for Trump in 2016 although he is a thrice-married, foul-mouthed narcissist who has been pro-choice and pro-gay.  None of the other groups in his "base" came close to delivering such overwhelming support. 

Trump resonates with the God Squad for one simple reason -- fear. 

He has been articulating the fears of evangelicals since Barack Obama, who we all know is not really a Christian, let alone an American, became president and evangelicals realized that the Republican Party establishment had sold them down the river in repeatedly promising to fight their battles. 

Fear causes people to shut down, and this informs faith.  And then there's the bullshit about evangelicals being forgiving, which prompted Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, to famously contend that the evangelical community has given Trump a "mulligan" when it comes to his personal behavior. 

"Yes, evangelicals, conservatives, they gave him a mulligan. They let him have a do-over. They said we'll start afresh with you and we'll give you a second chance," Perkins explained last year. 

PAUL STREET

It is tempting to suggest that Clinton's "deplorables" had been lurking in the shadows for years just waiting for a demigod like Trump to come along and water them.  But that is half wrong, just like Hillary's basket was half full.

Clinton was roasted to a turn for impolitically stating the obvious, and soon was compelled to apologize.  The gibe, used to great effect by Trump at the direction of his handlers at rallies down the homestretch of the campaign, was to shadow her through and beyond Election Day.   

But while there certainly were millions of voters ("tribalists" in current political psychobabble) who had been lurking in the shadows, there were many millions more for whom Trump had a sometimes counterintuitive appeal like those frustrated evangelicals who were sick and tired of Republicans -- notably George W. Bush -- promising them the moon and not delivering.  Trump the huckster, in their eyes, delivered and has kept delivering even while wiping his backside with the Ten Commandments. 

Veteran "National Interest" political columnist Dick Polman recently articulated three reasons why Trump's "cultists," to appropriate a word from the headline over his column at public broadcast station WHYY's website. 

Here they are:

* They love how Trump beat the system and wish they could be him. 

Real and fabled criminals and rogues enjoy huge popularity. Even if Trump’s voters were to admit, deep down, that the guy has conned them out of their socks, they'll love him anyway for sticking it to the IRS.  

* They have no interest in vetting Trump's so-called credentials. 

Clinton warned voters early on about Trump's phoniness, notably as it regarded his wealth and why he wouldn't release his tax returns, but Trump's "base" hated Clinton on sight and were deaf to her words. 

* They dwell within the Fox News bubble. 

Typical and not-made up comment from a Fox blondette: "If anything, you read this (story) and you're like, 'wow, it's pretty impressive, all the things that he's done in his life.' It's beyond what most of us could ever achieve!"

Trump's "base" does not care about any of this.  As Polman so acutely puts it, "They're eternally tethered to the delusion that he's a winner." 

I can take some comfort -- hell, great comfort on day when Trump is further denuded by the latest news developments, perhaps a break in one of the extraordinary 29 investigations against he, his family and business that would humiliate someone who actually had a conscience  -- that the rest of us know the truth, as malleable as that word has become.   

But then I get to thinking about that basket of deplorables.