"More for thee means less for me," is a zero-sum fallacy that Republicans, once upon a time, preached against. When they were still the party of conservative economic policy and laissez faire capitalism, Republicans touted the benefits of increased economic activity brought about by immigration and small business, noting that the U.S. does not have a scarcity problem.

Indeed, compared to almost all other developed countries, we are rich in natural resources in a land that is practically empty. (Look at people per square mile statistics compared to Europe, for example.)

But somehow, the party of "trickle down" morphed into the party of "get your hands off my stuff," driven by xenophobic, racist voices.

And politicians don't hesitate to leverage those impulses to buy power.