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Every historical trait of American populism — its anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, distrust of expertise, hatred of so-called elites, rural and small-town mythologizing, suspicion of institutions, paranoid-conspiratorial world view, unfocused anger and faith in panaceas — fits the psychology of the current Republican base like a glove, at least when its characteristics are adapted to the schizophrenic quality of contemporary American culture.

Decades of anti-Washington bombast, denunciations of expertise in favor of “common-sense solutions,” anti-intellectualism and faith in tough-guy bromides, à la “Dirty Harry,” have brought us to a disaster that causes intelligent foreigners to blink with astonishment.

“There is growing in this country a wave of anti-intellectualism which is violently opposed to free speech and free expression,” he said.

“Anti-intellectualism precedes the totalitarian putsch, and anti-intellectualism is on the upswing here.”

But it bears all the hallmarks of the worst of the Red Scare era: knee-jerk anti-intellectualism; a baseless conviction that an elite, anti-American conspiracy was pulling the strings in Washington; and a willingness to abuse the levers of political power with little foresight about the unintended consequences.