What It Means for Trump's Campaign to Start in Waco

Every revolutionary movement needs martyrs. The modern U.S. militant right­ has long had its own, and the most important among them have been dead for three decades: the 70-plus men, women, and children killed in the spring of 1993 at the conclusion of a 51-day government siege at a compound outside the Central Texas city of Waco. They were members of an armed Christian sect, unfamiliar and isolated, and for many Americans, Waco was another footnote in the country's long history of violence. In the worldview of right-wing militancy, however, Waco is foundational: a gory testament to the dangers of…