he will be replaced by others, and some of them will be more capable and far more wicked than he is. Trump was able to mobilize the Deplorables, and now that everyone knows how many they are, and how easily they are controlled, it will only be a matter of time before someone exploits that resource.

As bad as Trump is, he is just a man. The tragedy of this whole episode in our history is not how America can give birth to him, but how America already has that constituency in place, ready to be awakened again.

The rebellion of 1860 was not caused by Jefferson Davis, or Robert E Lee. It had been bubbling furiously beneath the surface for decades. And when the Civil War ended, the Rebels were still there, simmering, a superheated vapor ready to flash into a furious boil as soon as the pressure was released.

The MAGA Nation is not the same as the Reconstruction South; but the link between the two can be traced through history, a straight line from the 19th century through the 21st. Between a quarter and a third of American adults WANT to be led by a Donald Trump, or someone like him. THAT is what fills me with dread and despair. The Democrats may win this election, they may even succeed in eventually turning the country around to a more gentle and progressive future. But this new Civil War is not over yet.