Donald Trump supporters have at last achieved their cherished front and center status in United States political and entertainment news.

The older, less-educated, white male racists that make up a large part of his constituency thrill to his apparent success as Republican Party presidential nominee. But it now appears almost certain that that political party will be decimated whether Trump achieves the nomination or not.

Though some Republicans actually believe that Trump can beat any Democrat in the general election, many knowledgeable Republican Party operatives have already conceded that their opponents will have another term in the White House, and hope merely to limit the damage.

Official Republican Party soul-searching after Obama’s thumping of Mitt Romney concluded that, to achieve more substantial support from the American people, the party would have to make enhanced efforts to appeal to women, younger people, and minorities. Instead, the mass of Republicans, in congress or out, have devoted themselves to denigrating these. Republicans’ foaming-at-the-mouth hatred of a black president, whatever his policies may be; of the voting rights of minorities; of immigrants in general and of the health and safety of women with regard to abortion rights – all these – have trashed their own assessment of what they must do to win over Americans, at least as far the the presidency in concerned.

Loss of congressional seats should Trump be the Republican presidential candidate is of great concern to others in his party, though states’ gerrymandering of congressional districts may limit or obviate this possibility.

As Republicans prepare to present a representative of their values and beliefs to the American people for consideration as the nation’s leader, we see in several of their candidates’ support  the kind of mass anger at – even unreasoning hatred of  – the less powerful, as though these were responsible for the social, economic and political inequalities the country faces. We have seen the results of this behavior in other countries in other decades.

William Smithers
Santa Barbara