The political crisis that has gripped the US over the past decade is the outgrowth of this country's peculiar political history. Just as the hard right turn of the 21st century GOP can be traced back to the failures of post-Jim Crow desegregation, so too can the Democrats' failure to uphold any 'left' politics worthy of the name be drawn back to a betrayal of labor decades in the making. Few are as equipped as Rick Perlstein, historian of the post-1980s conservative movement, to place our current conjuncture in the context of the long arc of US history, as he does in his new column The Infernal Triangle: Authoritarian Republicans, Ineffectual Democrats, and a Clueless Media. Perlstein joins The Marc Steiner Show for a discussion on his work and the present political moment as the US enters yet another election year. Studio / Post-Production: David Hebden Help us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mss Sign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-st Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealdews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewd