Summary: Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributor at The Atlantic, and has been writing about the state of American politics and institutions. Rauch and Domenech discuss the ways in which communities have degraded and their expectations for the new incoming elite class in Washington D.C. Congress now is so disorganized because any individual or group can stop things. Its so disorganized that its very hard for them to do the basic work of governing, Rauch said. Meanwhile, over on the political side you also have chaos. The runner-up for the Democratic nomination was not a Democrat, Bernie Sanders. The winner for the Republican nomination was not a Republican in any meaningful sense. Despite Donald Trump having shown no opposition to gay and lesbian rights, the level of outrage from the LGBT community remains extreme. This is not someone who is anti-gay, Rauch said. Of course, presidents have to build coalitions. Evangelicals were a key element of support for President Trump.
