Following Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama in 2012, Republicans famously issued an “autopsy” to assess what they had done wrong. The document provided a blueprint for expanding the party into one that in future could win national campaigns. It focused primarily on boosting “inclusion.” (Funny how that word’s connotations have changed.)
After Donald Trump’s win in 2016, the GOP had become a “big tent” party — but when traditional conservatives looked around, they were confused by just who had snuck into the tent. Suddenly, QAnon conspiracy theorists, incels, people with retrograde racial attitudes, and most chillingly, people who say “Democrat Party” instead of “Democratic Party” were now part of the family.
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