Is Trump the final coffin nail in the Republican Party?

[Cyrano]

The GOP has been backing a madman and they don’t care about the consequences.
Any sentient human being knows that Donald Trump is mentally disturbed. Yet, no matter what piece of insanity he comes up with on a daily basis, the Republican Party remains silent and allows the consequences of that insanity to continue.

And those consequences could well be the destruction of concepts, like democracy and freedom, as well as the destruction of physical entities (such as part or all of this planet that we share with the rest of humanity).

There are countless Trump voters who approve of everything he does. Many of them are people who are looking forward to, and can’t wait for, a “Mad Max” world. (This is a mental sickness that I can’t explain.)

Who can deny that Trump’s actions, (intentional or not) are leading, step by step, to the destruction of civilized society. Yet, the Republican Party does nothing. Do they grasp the danger that Trump represents? Does their holding onto power mean more to them than anything else? Are they more willing to serve their billionaire donors than consider the futures of their own children and grandchildren?

The “death” of the current version of the GOP has been predicted for a couple of decades now. But, imo, Trump is bringing about their final demise. It may take a few more election cycles, but their corruption, mindlessness and inhumanity is being recognized by more and more people daily. You don’t get to ignore an insane president run amok when you’re in a position to do something about it, and then escape responsibility.

The Republican Party is on its death bed. I don’t know how many of their members are even vaguely aware of that, but they have become irredeemable.

At some point, conservatives who have walked away from them, will form a new, sane opposition party and that’s a good thing. No democracy can survive under a one party system.

We are still in the midst of a long national nightmare, but the end is approaching. Some of us may not be around to see it, but it is inevitable. And when sane people regain control of the levers of power, they must hold those responsible for this nightmare accountable. Because if they don’t, it will happen again. And again …

[Downtown Hound]

1. More like the beginning of the end

They will be around for a long time to come, don't kid yourself of that. But the demographics of the country are changing. And Donald Trump will remain the face of the GOP for a long time to come. And people of color aren't gong to forget that as they grow in size and influence.

[empedocles]

3. Changing demographics are helping. Power does corrupt of course though.

[louis-t]

2. I certainly hope so.

[Brainfodder]

4. You'd think it, but he's still in office.

Apparently an (R) will put up with ANYTHING as long as it pisses off at least 1 (D).

That's really pathetic.

[BlueMississippi]

5. Yes

The handwriting is on the wall

[tinrobot]

6. He's essentially lost a generation of voters for the GOP. I hope that generation votes.

If everyone under 40 voted, that would be it for the GOP.

[rampartc]

7. when they begin their frenzy to name every public park, building, and highway after this bozo

I hope we have enough majority to name those things after barak Obama instead.

I suppose there must be a trump postage stamp, but instead of "forever" it should be "postage due."

[saidsimplesimon]

8. Excellent essay, well done, thank you Cyrano

We are still in the midst of a long national nightmare, but the end is approaching.

I've often posted items related to the fall of the Roman Empire. Hopefully, this mad man will not burn US to the ground before we can kick him to the curb.

[DBoon]

9. Not as long as preachers tell their congregations they will go to hell for voting "D"

.. and as long as their are 1500 right wing radio propaganda outlets, including a stranglehold on powerful clear channel stations

... and as long as Fox news can continue to create an alternative reality

[Va Lefty]

10. This post!👍

[comradebillyboy]

11. Is any Republican on the Freedom Caucus better than Trump

from a policy perspective? I think not. Trump embraced the existing GOP agenda and attached his name to it. Most of the Senate is on board with Trump.

[Bettie]

12. I certainly hope so

but they are like cockroaches in that they will probably always be around.

[TlalocW]

13. Changing demographics are not working in the republicans' favor

The GOP has had several chances to try to outreach to people who aren't White and over 50 and have even admitted it. I remember an article that was nothing but quotes from various GOP apparatchiks from the 1990s on, always after they suffered a loss at some level, about how they needed to somehow get non-Whites a reason to vote for them. It was pretty much always lip service.

Add on to that that America is becoming less religious, rejecting the hatred spewed by conservative religious nutjobs. People are more accepting of LGBTQs, concerned about climate change, economic fairness, etc.

That said, the GOP has, by hook and crook, entrenched itself into positions of power and won't go down without a fight - one that they will make sure is unfair because they know that's the only way they can win, and we'll be dealing with Trump's judge picks for a long time.

TlalocW

[unblock]

14. he may turn out to be the symbol of the republican party's death, but it's not dead yet.

nothing will happen quickly. the demographics take years and years to change things.

the 2020 census will play a key role, as will control of key legislatures when developing maps. most likely, republicans will cheat on the census itself and then cheat again in creating the maps, although we may be able to get back a few important legislatures and improve things a bit, although the overall tilt of gerrymandering will still lean strongly to the right.

meanwhile, republicans are doing everything they can to stem the tide. cracking down on immigration isn't just random xenophobia, it's also a calculated effort to prevent non-whites from having enough of a say in politics to get control away from rich white people. but certainly by the 2030 census, one can hope we've got a pretty solid majority at that point.

but even then, republicans will probably still have control of the supreme court and much of the federal judiciary and will continue to use every trick in the book to delay the inevitable.


the real question is how bad will the violence get in the meanwhile.

[world wide wally]

15. Americans are devoid of the powers of memory.

I thought they learned from Bush.

[AJT]

16. No. People have short memories and will always have a lizard

brain for the GOP to take advantage of.

[sarisataka]

17. I have been hearing about

The imminent demise of the Republican party for over 40 years. 23 of those years have seen a Republican in the White House.

Nail in the coffin? My opinion FWIW is they haven't finished picking the wood yet.

[TheRealNorth]

18. Never count out the 1% to pull off a rebranding campaign

Some would probably love to get current Republican voters to ditch the GOP for the libertarians. Given how much the religious right has bent over backwards for Trump, I don't see it as too far a leap.

[madville]

19. Nope, power will always change hands

Voters are a disgruntled bunch and always blame their woes on the party in the White House.

I remember when the Republicans were finished in 1992. Then they were finished in 2006. Then they were finished in 2008. Then they were going to be finished off by Clinton in 2016.

[lagomorph777]

20. "Trump's actions, (intentional or not) are leading...to...destruction..."

Really? Can there be any doubt at all about Trump's intentions at this point? Trump was hired to destroy American society, and he is doing a great job of it.

[lame54]

21. Maybe - if he loses...

If he wins it may the end of us

[Polybius]

22. Of course not

Do you really think that after Trump we will forever have Democratic super-majorities in Congress and only Democratic Presidents from then on?

[apnu]

23. No. Trump won't kill the Republican party

He may diminish it significantly. but "end" it? Nope. The GOP will probably become a regional party, if Trump really is the drag we think he is.

Most Republicans are enthusiastic supporters of Trump, at least 70% of them. And we know from the darkest days of W's time, you know when Katrina fallout was at its worst, W still had a 30% floor of support that would not budge. Trump has that same group of stubborn ignorant people. And when he leaves, they will still rally for whomever has (R) next to their name.

So the diminishing of the Republican Party is up to the independent voter. Also a factor: the 40% of eligible voters who routinely stay home every election. If they ever wake up they'll will rock all of our worlds.