The core structural threat to political incumbents is now from primary challengers, not the general election. This forces candidates to appeal to their party's most extreme base rather than the median voter, creating a system that structurally rewards polarization and discourages broad-based governance.
The speaker uses the political science term "personalist regime" to describe how Trump has blurred the distinction between his personal aims and the demands of the state. This erodes institutional norms and trust in a way that, like a broken personal trust, cannot be easily or quickly repaired.
A critical sign of institutional decay is that numerous federal judges, including conservatives, have rescinded the "presumption of regularity." This legal norm meant judges assumed government lawyers were acting in good faith. Its removal signals a profound crisis of trust in the executive branch's integrity.
The push for small-dollar donations, intended to create mass-participatory democracy, instead created mass-participatory populism. This system incentivizes inflammatory figures like AOC and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who excel at fundraising through outrage, over those focused on effective legislating and compromise.
A key schism on the right is defined by an "anti-anti-Nazi" faction, similar to the historical "anti-anti-communists." These figures may not be overt Nazis but see political advantage in defending Nazi-adjacent individuals or advocating for a "big tent" that includes them, opposing those who condemn such extremism.
It's impossible for one political party to maintain sanity while its opponent is extremist. The current climate creates a vicious cycle where one party's radical behavior gives the other "permission to be crazy as well." Restoring normalcy requires a simultaneous return to sanity from both sides.