There is this theory among the talk radio/conservative publishing/Fox opinion show set that if only a candidate would come along who dared to say what talk radio hosts say, he’d be wildly popular and win the presidency. They’ve said this many times. I mean, they don’t put it quite that way; they say someone who speaks the conservative message “unapologetically” would win. In fact, it is that firm belief in conservative talk as representative of the nation that is at the root of the “immigration is all things” idea. Which is to say, massive demographic change would change that dynamic.

So these pundits believe that if a candidate came along who took no crap and said what they say every day, that person would dominate. It seems that they’ve tried to create that candidate in Donald Trump. The problem, obviously, is that the talk radio/conservative publishing/Fox opinion show model isn’t about conservative policy and ideas, or good governance, or increasing our liberty, or social conservative values, or even really about the Constitution. To a great extent, it is essentially about getting the audience outraged. Outrage clicks on links. Outrage tunes in. Outrage buys books.