The Agony of the Republicans
Trump is becoming the wedge that is splitting the GOP apart.
By Rich Lowry — October 11, 2016
Less than a month before the election, the Republican speaker of the House says he won’t defend or campaign with his party’s presidential nominee. The nominee has responded by slamming the speaker on Twitter, and his campaign manager is accusing some (unnamed) elected Republicans of sexual harassment against her.
The Donald Trump campaign and the Republican party show every sign of entering into an ugly death spiral. The revelation of the Trump Access Hollywood tape last Friday occasioned a historic rupture, with elected Republicans around the country denouncing Trump and calling on him to step aside.
Any hope of Trump turning a corner with his relatively competent second debate was dashed when House Speaker Paul Ryan told his colleagues that he is concentrating on saving his House majority as a check on Hillary Clinton.
It is a fact that one out of two major-party presidential campaigns fail. Some fail badly. But the GOP may be about to experience an unprecedentedly wrenching debacle because its nominee is an ideological interloper with no impulse control or regard for political norms. No matter how bad or weird the campaign seems now, it could get worse and stranger still.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/node/440939/print
