(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Trump speaks during a rally on August 2, 2018, in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. I f you're a white person who angers Donald Trump, you never know what particular insult he'll choose to lob at you. He might call you little, or crooked, or ugly, or something else, utilizing all the insight available to your average elementary school bully. But if you're black, chances are he's going to call you stupid. In his many recent campaign-style rallies, Trump's extended stream-of-consciousness rants are sure to include a section going after Representative Maxine Waters, who, like hundreds of other elected Democrats, has been highly critical of the president. When he criticizes Waters, he inevitably calls her a "low IQ person." And then there's this: Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018 The interview in question was...

AP Photo/Seth Wenig Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greets a reporter near Rockefeller Center in New York. I magine this scenario: Republicans, after viewing dozens of polls and considering recent political history, begin publicly asking whether passing a gigantic tax cut for the wealthy and corporations was actually a terrible idea, and one they should never repeat. Some insist that it was the right thing to do, but just as many are adamant that if the party really wants to appeal to a majority of the public and win elections in the future, it can't go down this foolhardy path. You can't imagine it, can you? That kind of ideological second-guessing is something Republicans just don't do—even when the public is firmly and obviously opposed to their agenda. Democrats, on the other hand? They love them some self-flagellation. And this is the great irony of contemporary party politics. We have one party whose agenda is largely rejected by the public, but which...