The survival of the Republic supersedes Loyalty to the Party

Submitted by Jeff Troan (United States), Jun 4, 2020 at 09:30

I read your piece on Donald Trump, concluding that you'll reluctantly vote for any Republican over a Democrat. That is how we got into this mess. I'm an old Irish Republican in my 7th decade, and I'm one of the few old enough to remember what Joe McCarthy did to the party, and the ostracism and embarrassment those who stood with him to the end felt afterward. Much like Joe, Mr. Trump is a threat to the underlying survival of the Republic, not just the normal differing version of democratic rule. He has subverted the independence of the justice department, disemboweled the FBI, sought to pack the Courts and circumvent Congress, and is now looking to use the military to preserve order. Your justification for his reelection draws frightening parallels to articles supporting fascism in Europe in the 1930s.

It is time for all real Republicans to assert honor over expediency, and begin separating ourselves from Donald Trump, much the way the party exorcised Richard Nixon in the 1970s. I wish Mr. Trump would step down for the good of the party, the way Mr. Nixon did, but like yourself I hold little hope for self-sacrifice in Mr. Trump. The Republic can endure four years of Joe Biden, much the way it did James Carter, but it can't survive four more years of Mr. Trump. Let's exorcise Mr. Trump, Trumpism, and those that stand with him in the party over the next four years, and come back like we did in 1980 with a Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr.

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