By CHARLES SYKES
CLOWN SHOW: The party of Paul Ryan, middle, and Mitch McConnell, right, has allowed liberal overreach to blind it to the crackpots in its midst.
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX FINE
THIS IS A PAINFUL STORY FOR ME TO write. For a quarter of a century, I was a major part of the conservative movement. But like many on the right, in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory I had to ask some uncomfortable questions. The 2016 presidential campaign was a brutal, disillusioning slog, and there came a moment when I realized that conservatives had created an alternate reality bubble—one that I had helped shape.