>>>>I have no strong opinion/explanation on "what the heck happened" since 2000.
>>
>>Right, because the MSM is focused on partisan conspiracy theories.

>
>And I'll once again recommend Chris Hayes' book "Twilight of the Elites" for a big-picture explanation of why such things gain traction today, when once they would have just made us point and chuckle.
>

His book is a super light read and a re-hash of his stilted TV segments. :)

The part that makes me chuckle the most is that a significant number of the "elites" (to whom he refers) are ones firmly entrenched in the political party he valiantly defends on his TV show.

I'm not going to drop the context that a large % of the anti-vaccine families also live in areas of California that heavily supported our current president in both elections - I only bring that up because Hayes' network is going to considerable (dishonest) lengths to try to make "anti-vaccine" mindsets a problem for the Rs.