There can no longer be any doubt that America has an unhinged, unqualified kleptocrat presiding in the White House. Nor can there be any question that the Republicans who put him there may be sealing their party's fate as the manifestation of Trumpism, rather than traditional conservatism.
BERKELEY – It has been one and a half years since Donald Trump was elected to the US presidency, so now is as good a time as any for Americans to take a deep breath and contemplate their broken political system.
To be sure, the United States has not experienced any major catastrophes, even though massive policy mistakes always seem to be looming on the horizon. But the country has been suffering a death by a thousand cuts, leaving it weaker and poorer the longer Trump is in office.
Much of the blame for this belongs to the Republicans, who have fallen into line behind Trump for reasons that are still difficult to understand. Trump was elected with over 60 million votes – some three million fewer than his opponent, Hillary Clinton. But he gained public backing from a wide array of Republican mandarins, policy advisers, and activists, all of whom knew that a President Clinton would pose less of a risk to the country.
BERKELEY – It has been one and a half years since Donald Trump was elected to the US presidency, so now is as good a time as any for Americans to take a deep breath and contemplate their broken political system.
To be sure, the United States has not experienced any major catastrophes, even though massive policy mistakes always seem to be looming on the horizon. But the country has been suffering a death by a thousand cuts, leaving it weaker and poorer the longer Trump is in office.
Much of the blame for this belongs to the Republicans, who have fallen into line behind Trump for reasons that are still difficult to understand. Trump was elected with over 60 million votes – some three million fewer than his opponent, Hillary Clinton. But he gained public backing from a wide array of Republican mandarins, policy advisers, and activists, all of whom knew that a President Clinton would pose less of a risk to the country.