re: #8 mikec6666

It was a long time coming, but I think the exact point in time they completely lost it was when they sanctioned the Swiftboat ads against John Kerry in the 2004 campaign. That was the point at which you could distinguish the former GOP from the new GOP. The new one in which no false reality is too far fetched.

I think I agree with that.

Certainly rightwing extremism has been an element of the Republican Party for a long time - but I remember still that day when I was raking leaves in my yard and listening through headphones to mainstream media rightwing talk radio and hearing someone ranting about Kerry’s service in the military and actually being shocked at the level of vitriol and vindictiveness that I was hearing. It did strike me as a defining moment - and it came back to me for the first time when I read your comment.