Jerry Kremer

Republicans are allowing Trump to wreck their party

Posted

Having been in politics a long time, I have seen a lot of politicians, political groups and minor parties rise to the top and then fall faster than a comet in the night sky. In almost every case I could mention, all of them went down fighting bitterly to the end. But at least they fought.

I am watching in amazement as the national Republican Party wallows in pity over its current state of affairs, but is unable to muster the strength or the willpower to battle the frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination, Donald Trump, in order to stop him from wrecking the party come this November. There was no worse example of paralysis than watching three of the Republican contenders at their most recent debate, promising to support Trump if he is the nominee.

It is standard practice for losing politicians to pledge party loyalty and support the winner. This is especially the case if it’s a Republican who loses to a Republican or a Democrat who loses to a Democrat. But to begin with, Trump isn’t a real Republican. Many of his current positions, and those he’s espoused through the years, are and have been identical to those of many Democrats. Aside from that, many other promises he makes wouldn’t be supported by any party that has a conscience.

You can forgive the Republicans, and the rest of the political world, for underestimating Trump’s chances when he first entered the race. Several times before, he had threatened to run for president, and everyone laughed. Last summer, when he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his campaign, everyone thought it was just another segment of his television reality show. The old guard in both parties and most of the columnists laughed and laughed at the blustering, bullying New Yorker who pledged to “make America great again.”

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