The Fundamental Flaw in ‘Make America Great Again’

Leonard Steinhorn: “When Donald Trump poached Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign catchphrase ‘Let’s Make America Great Again,’ it was not just the slogan but the meaning behind it that bonded the two Republican campaigns. What it embodies is less an ideology or even a conservative worldview than a deep yearning and determination to restore an idealized version of 1950s America that many Republicans believe has been lost. For the last half-century, that idea has informed much of what the GOP has come to represent.”

“In reality, however, the 1950s were great only for some Americans. Restoring that America — as many Republicans are attempting to do in places where they wield political power — would hurt almost everyone else.”