As you watch the professions of shock and horror greeting Donald Trump's entirely predictable win in New Hampshire — he held a double-digit lead going into Tuesday's vote and has led there longer than former front-runner Scott Walker was even a presidential candidate — don't forget how many of those now protesting made his meteoric rise possible.
Don't like Trump? The Republican establishment deserves its share of the blame for his polling dominance. Here are five reasons.
Republicans are angry. Nearly 50 percent feel betrayed by their own party. Four in ten expressed anger to exit pollsters. Trump's entire appeal is based on the contention that our leaders are incompetent and don't know what they are doing. They are either complicit in screwing the country or are incapable of protecting it.
Republicans particularly feel that way about party leadership. Trump isn't the only candidate who has capitalized on or benefited from this mood. Some think it's a positive when Ted Cruz calls a leading Republican senator a liar. The whole Tea Party phenomenon was an outgrowth of this disappointment and dismay.