SALENA ZITO: Grassroots rage and the Democrats’ crackup.

The base’s tack — arguing that Trump is akin to Hitler, when he takes actions that many of his voters find at least arguably appropriate, even if they have questions — cuts off debate. It’s a mistake Hillary Clinton made in trying to scare voters away from Trump rather than articulating why she was the right choice.

And now the angry left, thinking it’s learning from Clinton’s mistakes, is actually repeating one of her biggest. Essentially, the Clinton faction won the party’s nomination, but the Bernie Sanders faction won the day. Instead of offering independents, moderate Democrats or reluctant Republicans an alternative, those non-liberals see protests after protest, outrage after outrage — and they’re tuning the anger out and going on with the business of life.

It appears that the Trump team grasps that with a strategy zeroed on making the Democrats constantly play defense.

Says Sracic, “Trump issues an executive order beginning the process of dismantling the ACA, and Democrats respond by saying he is trying to ‘Make America Sick Again. People think, however, that the ACA needs to be improved. Where is the Democratic alternative?

“You can argue the same thing about immigration, taxes and regulations, all subjects of Trump executive orders.”

I’m not overly fond of rule-by-EO, but there’s a big difference between EOs used to circumvent Congress (“I have a pen and a phone”) and orders written in harmony with Congressional action (ObamaCare repeal).