How Low Can You Go?

​There have been a lot of stories the past few days about Trump dropping in GOP popularity as the Select Committee goes on and more revelations become public.  The sense of the pieces is that the party is finally growing tired of him.

It’s important to recognize that “dropping in GOP popularity” is a relative term, and Trump is still the top Republican candidate.  And has been for 5 years.  And furthermore, whatever other "replacements" exist are just trying to "out-Trump" him.  It’s not like Ron DeSantis is some great moderate voice in the Republican Party.  Or Greg Abbott.  They’re both skin-crawling fascist.  Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania is so unearthly far-right that Republican leaders have endorsed his Democratic opponent.  Glenn Youngkin tried to position himself as moderate when he ran in moderate Virginia, but as soon as he won he did a far-right turn.  Republican governors and senators and congressmen have been falling over themselves to be more restrictive than the next on abortion policy, let alone guns and the environment.

But right now, Trump still is the One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Bind Them.  Whether runs or not, whether he gets the nomination or not.  His acolytes transcend loyal, seeing him as almost a religious figure from God.  He named three deep-right members of the Supreme Court whose influence will last decades beyond him.  So, however Trump’s popularity has dropped in the GOP, it still holds sway directly and indirectly.

Keep in mind that if only 50% of Republicans say they prefer Trump to be the party’s candidate in 2024, it should be 0%.  Forget everything else he did during his four years in office, including two impeachments – you’re still left with the fact, as in “fact,” that he staged a coup to destroy democracy and overthrow the United States government.

And he was enabled by the party for all that.  The U.S. Senate had a chance to convict him and ensure he could never run for office again, and be disgraced.  As it was, more senators of an impeached president voted to convict Trump than any in U.S. history.  But it wasn’t close to enough to convict him.  That’s to the discredit of all those other Republican senators.

But then it’s also to the discredit of the Republican Party across the country, whether federal or state officials, or the GOP base.  And to their continued discredit still enabling him. 

Trump tried to overthrow democracy and the government.  He’s still trying to rip it apart.  And the best the Republican Party can do is say his popularity is dropping within the GOP.

This isn’t about Trump.  This is about the now-fascist Republican Party.

He tried a coup & was enabled by the party. And should be at 0%. This is about today's GOP.