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Older generations in the US do not appreciate the fact that Gen X & younger Americans have never seen functional politics based on shared facts & compromise. To them it might as well be a fairy tale. They've *only* see a conservative movement descending into reactionary madness.
I mean, I'm pretty f'ing old at this point, but even for me, when I think back to my very first consciousness of US politics, it was deranged Republicans accusing Bill Clinton of running drugs & having people killed. The Starr witch hunt. Dan Burton shooting a watermelon. Etc.
The actual conservative movement & the actual GOP abandoned moderation a long time ago. The only reason there's any notion of Republican moderation at all in US culture is that the *media carries the torch*. It's center-left pundits & VSPs who keep the idea alive.
Super excited to see a bunch of adult human beings strawmanning this to say "US politics used to be great & wonderful." What a productive way to engage this discussion!
