Man the Lifeboats! Republicans are Jumping Ship in Droves

It’s a sign they’re starting to understand how dangerous Trump is

Watching Republicans leave the party is nothing short of astounding when you consider that it has taken so many, so long to realize Trump is a loser. (Photo from Shutterstock by Elnur)

The demise of the Republican Party is painful. It’s a reminder to be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Back in the ancient political history of 2016 when Hillary Clinton was running for the Democratic Party nomination and Donald Trump was clearing the field of Republicans, I voiced hope and a prediction.

I wanted Donald Trump to win the nomination because I thought it would spell the end of the Republican Party. And, if he managed to get the nomination, I never thought the majority of Americans would vote for him.

I was right.

People forget that Hillary Clinton got 48% of the votes cast in that election. Donald Trump got 46%. Donald Trump has never won the majority of votes in a Presidential election. He became President because he received the most votes in the Electoral College. For those short on their civics learning, that’s the antiquated system of government we have that is supposed to equalize the clout of states with small populations against the big states where people actually live. So much for the founding fathers.

America has such a pursuit of equality for everyone, that we have developed systems that some would say engender reverse discrimination in everything from race, gender, and right up to the election process.

So now we have Trump. But I continued my belief that he would spell disaster for the G.O.P. because I was sure that the American people would see right through his blustering bullshit and uncover his neo-nazi, self-serving power-hungry true being. And, that no matter what happened, it would spell the end of the Republican Party.

And, I was right again. The Republican Party as we know it has all but disappeared. What I didn’t realize was what would take its place.

The inmates have truly taken over the asylum.

The conservative wing of the G.O.P., centered in the states of the deep south, is banning books, destroying women’s reproductive rights, eliminating voting rights for minorities, and taking a last-gasp attempt to create a society based on white supremacy and neo-fascism.

With Trump center stage they’ve inflicted such damage to our court system through his appointment of Federal Judges, that it may take a generation to clean up the mess. His appointments to the United States Supreme Court will last until a bunch of the justices die, or the Democrats get some balls and add more seats to the bench. Having nine people hold that much sway over how our society operates takes us all back to the Middle Ages or the early twentieth century, depending on which you think was worse.

But I still retain hope.

Trumpism — aka American Fascism, will not outlast Donald Trump who, despite the mainstream media's attempt to portray him as spry as a teenager, is 77 years old. On the off chance that he wins the 2024 election (which I doubt), he will be in his 80s by the time he gets out of office. And, if he keeps up his diet of fast food and stress, he’ll never make it through the term.

History proves that once the demagogue dies, followers who inherit the political machine never cast the same spell over the people. The cult of personality fades like the color on a MAGA t-shirt after a second washing.

There are already signs of rust on the armor.

Even though Trump’s brand of neo-fascism has permeated the soul of the Republican Party, there are a lonely few who are beginning to act responsibly.

Mitch McConnell has decided to step down as leader of Republicans in the Senate. But not because of his age as has become the popular focus on his leaving. The underlying reason he’s getting out is because he can't stand the direction the G.O.P. is headed, and he wants no part of it. It’s no secret that he despises Donald Trump. But, at the moment, he’s helpless to do anything about it. The best thing he can do is to step down and hope that any other Republicans who have a lick of sense will join with him.

Some have.

Ronna McDaniel, the Chair of the Republican National Committee has been quick to follow the suit drawn by Mitch. She stepped down from her position as well and for the same reasons. She doesn't want to lead a political party that has been taken over by the crazies.

Trump has appointed his daughter-in-law to be heir apparent. It's kind of like the Kennedys did back in the sixties when lots of relatives took positions in politics and government.

But trust me. Donald Trump is no Kennedy. His brand of politics is vile, corrupt, and destructive. Theirs was a new Camelot.

Just ask Liz Cheney. She may be the last best voice of reason for the party of Lincoln. She was there when Trump made his tragic attempt to take over the government. Sadly, he might have succeeded if he had the guts to lead instead of hiding in a hotel room laughing at the stupidity of the rag-tag loons he recruited to storm the capitol.

Her book Oath and Honor, is a detailed account of what really happened on January 6th and what occurred in the months that followed. Besides being a good lesson in history, it is every bit a call to action for her fellow Republicans to fight back against Trump’s attempt at tyranny.

Trump's Republicanism is an embarrassment. And while both parties in our two-party system have cause for blushing at their ineptitude of governance, more and more voters are choosing not to enroll in either political party. This has meant that while Democrats still hold the number one registration choice in the country, voters who register as unaffiliated have outpaced the numbers for Republicans, pushing them down to third place among voters.

Trump would have us believe that the Republican Party is firmly behind him and that he is a winner in the horserace that will see him regain the Presidency. But evidence to the contrary comes in the remarkable results Nikki Haley has gotten in the primaries. Yes, Trump won. But it has yet to be the mandate that the mainstream news was reporting. She’s walking away with 40% of the vote which translates into a healthy minority of hard-core Republican voters who don't want Trump, who see him as the danger he is, and who want to return the Republican Party to the ideals it once held.

In the end though, it’s slow and excruciatingly painful.

I still believe in the greatness of the America of my youth. My “liberalism” brands me by conservatives as a danger to democracy. When in fact, the things I believe in are the things of the American ideals we longed for as a people after beating back the fascism of the mid-twentieth century through the Cold War.

Yet, fascism is back again with a wolf’s vengeance and wearing the sheep's clothing of Trump’s Republican party.

I so wished that Trump would bring an end to the Republican Party I had long voted against. But I never thought it might signal the end of democracy in the process.