I so avidly consume political journalism that I can't remember now who compared the Republican party in the Age of Trump to a serial drunk driver who finally one night finds himself doing calisthenics in a flashlight glow on the side of the road, but it seems to me an apt analogy. Looking back, Romney looks like a comparatively reasonable person, and it's easy to forget that four years ago he had a hard time disposing of Newt Gingrich, a buffoon, and an even harder time shaking Rick Santorum, a kook. The party has in recent times flirted with forcing a default on the country's debt and, going back at least to Nixon's "southern strategy," has laid out a welcome mat for bigots. It's reckless, like getting behind the wheel after having been over-served three times a week for years. And now they have Trump.
The way in which "responsible Republicans" try to balance their contempt for Trump with their desire to win the election is one of the weird dances of the season. It's a genre of magical thinking, this determination not to draw the necessary conclusion. Trump is unthinkable, but maybe he could win the electoral votes of Pennsylvania and Michigan. Well, if he is unthinkable why would you want him to win those electoral votes? The debate time corollary is someone like Marco Rubio saying at 9 o'clock that "Trump is unfit for office" (which is plainly true) and at 9:05 that he will support him if he's the nominee. Why? I guess because this smart, experienced, knowledgeable, cautious, calculating politician--Hillary Clinton--is the anti-Christ! If Rubio &c really believe that Trump is a better choice, they're deranged. If they understand that Trump is a worse choice, they're just kissing up to their deranged audience--precisely what over the years has made their party a target for this not altogether hostile takeover.
Could Trump possibly win the Presidency? Maybe it's time to stop enjoying the show and wonder-worry about that. I hope this proves to be a judicious assessment.
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