Trumpism a half century in the making A reference Rick Perlstein makes in “Reaganland” to a Senate speech made during 1978 debates over ratification of the Panama Canal treaty caught my attention recently. Sen. Thomas J. McIntyre (D-N.H.) decries the “ominous change” in American politics represented by “the bully boys of the radical New Right” and their “politics of intimidation.” Long before the Freedom Caucus, McIntyre called out Conservative Caucus “ideologues” who demand that “we must see every issue as they see it – unless there is something sinister in our motivation.” If you want to see more reactionary acrimony and personal destruction, McIntyre warned his colleagues, “stand aside and be silent.” It is instructive reading. Nearly a half century ago, movement conservatism in its nascency planted the seeds of Trumpism and MAGA extremism. “And in the fullness of time,” as the saying goes…. THE CANAL TREATIES AND THE NEW RIGHT (By Sen. Thomas J. McIntyre, D-N.H.) March 1, 1978 (as they appeared in the Washington Post of March 3 and Senate record of March 7) I believe the techniques used to exploit the issue of the Panama canal treaties are the most compelling evidence to date that an ominous change is taking place in the very character and direction of American politics. In his farewell broadcast several months ago, Eric Sevareid warned of the paradoxical rise of “dangerously passionate certainties” in a time of no easy answers. One could speculate endlessly about the root cause of this development: a…