Will it be necessary to destroy the party to save it?

So it has come to this: A brokered convention or President Hillary Clinton.

These options seem to be what’s left to Republicans of conscience, who are, let’s face it, rather Romney-come-latelys to the pyre. They’re based on the following evidence: It is highly unlikely that Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or John Kasich can wrest the nomination from Donald Trump, even though most polls show each of the three beating Clinton but Clinton beating Trump.

The most Republicans can hope for now is that Kasich and Rubio win the primaries in their home states of Ohio and Florida, respectively, as Cruz did in Texas, and enough other contests to deny Trump the necessary delegates, thus paving the way for a brokered convention. This was the recommendation of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who presented a line-item, factual takedown of Trump on Thursday.

The other option, offered in the service of saving the republic, is to vote for Clinton.

There, there, now. ‘Tis bitter fruit, indeed, for any Republican to consider voting for Clinton for reasons well-known to all sentient beings, including, for the sake of clarity, her lack of appeal to the GOP’s dominant older-white-male demographic. This was the party, after all, that saw the future in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — she of the red-heeled tundra, sparkler of fantasies and promisor of all that is ordinary.

Not surprisingly, she has endorsed Trump. Because? Because he’s an “outsider” (like any other Ivy-educated heir-billionaire) and, perhaps for the same reason, Palin once said she dashed to see his ex-wife Ivana when she visited the cosmetics counter of an Anchorage department store: “We are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.”

Nobody does glam like The Donald.

Even though few Republicans could ever vote Democratic, and certainly not for Clinton, it wouldn’t be the end of the world as we know it. But voting for Trump, whom other civilized nations find abhorrent, might be.

Any hope that Trump might not really mean what he says is either delusional or a gamble too far. Which would voters prefer: The man who promises to kill the family members of Islamic State terrorists, or one who’ll say anything to get elected? The lunatic or the liar?

It has finally dawned on Republicans that their die is cast and Trump is about to destroy the party he relatively recently re-joined. Like a bunch of Ebenezer Scrooges, GOP leaders have begun emerging from their sleep, blinking at the horror of past misdeeds, trying to prevent a future that their actions foretold. Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have publicly distanced themselves from some of Trump’s positions.

Republicans may be forgiven for thinking the Trump carnival would have ended by now, but they don’t deserve much slack for allowing their party to devolve from an ideas-driven counterweight to liberalism to a ragtag consortium of discontents dissociated from anything like an intellectual trust.

From William F. Buckley to Donald J. Trump in the wink of a Palin eye, the reaper is grim, indeed.

It finally has taken someone such as Romney, whose deference to duty is one of his life’s defining principles, to say the words others have been too cowardly to express: Love of country requires that Trump be stopped.

If this ultimately means a brokered convention, then Romney might be willing to step up again — even at the risk of losing a third time. Only the servant bound by duty would submit to such excruciation.

Then again, the country might be ready for an honest man like Romney who embodies many of the qualities of the various candidates combined — a successful governor (Kasich) and businessman (Trump), a constitutionalist (Cruz), someone with respect for the rule of law without the Draconian flair of a Cruz or Trump, and with compassion for the downtrodden as well as an eye for the possible over the promised (Clinton).

Still, if a last-minute audible isn’t available, it may be time for some creative destruction. Should Trump become the nominee, more reasoned minds in the GOP might do well to abandon it altogether. The death of this party — of know-nothing ugliness and outright fascist rhetoric — might be a blessing, a cleansing of the palate before a resurrection of the party of limited government and individual liberty.

Until then, it’s hail to the chieftess.

Kathleen Parker’s email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

THis is an editorial cartoon by Michael de Adder . Michael de Adder was born in Moncton, New Brunswick. He studied art at Mount Allison University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting. He began his career working for The Coast, a Halifax-based alternative weekly, drawing a popular comic strip called Walterworld which lampooned the then-current mayor of Halifax, Walter Fitzgerald. This led to freelance jobs at The Chronicle-Herald and The Hill Times in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

After freelancing for a few years, de Adder landed his first full time cartooning job at the Halifax Daily News. After the Daily News folded in 2008, he became the full-time freelance cartoonist at New Brunswick Publishing. He was let go for political views expressed through his work including a cartoon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump’s border policies. He now freelances for the Halifax Chronicle Herald, the Toronto Star, Ottawa Hill Times and Counterpoint in the USA. He has over a million readers per day and is considered the most read cartoonist in Canada.

 

Michael de Adder has won numerous awards for his work, including seven Atlantic Journalism Awards plus a Gold Innovation Award for news animation in 2008. He won the Association of Editorial Cartoonists' 2002 Golden Spike Award for best editorial cartoon spiked by an editor and the Association of Canadian Cartoonists 2014 Townsend Award. The National Cartoonists Society for the Reuben Award has shortlisted him in the Editorial Cartooning category. He is a past president of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists and spent 10 years on the board of the Cartoonists Rights Network.
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, June 11

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer testifies during a budget hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Al Drago/The New York Times)
Editorial: Ending Job Corps a short-sighted move by White House

If it’s jobs the Trump administration hopes to bring back to the U.S., it will need workers to fill them.

Marcus Tageant (Courtesy of City of Lake Stevens)
Welch: Marcus Tageant embodied the spirit of Lake Stevens

I served with Marcus on the city council, witnessing an infectious devotion to his community.

Comment: Why Trump’s Guard deployment is threat to democracy

Trump claims rebellion and invasion; there is neither. Policing protests must be left to states.

Comment: Hegseth renaming ships dishonors memory of ‘warriors’

Navy vessels were named for Harvey Milk, Cesar Chavez and others in recognition of their service to country.

Goldberg: Watch carefully; this is what autocracy looks like

Trump, in stepping past state officials, has over-reacted to discourage legitimate protest of his actions.

Comment: Reclaim and fly the American flag for ‘No Kings Day’

For those defending the nation’s ideals, there’s no better complement to a protest sign than the flag.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, June 10

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Comment: Trump’s tariffs could ground aerospace’s rebound

Just as Boeing and Airbus had worked out most of their supply chain kinks, the threat of tariffs looms.

French: Trump, as he hoped, gets his excuse for conflict

It’s on the slightest of pretenses, but Trump is getting the showdown he desired in California.

Goldberg: Musk should be a warning to CEOs aligning with Trump

Even if they chafed under Democratic policy, now they’re left to a president’s unpredictable whims.

Comment: Heat is on for workers, but RFK Jr. sees no problem

Even as a summer of record heat approaches, protections for workers are lagging, if not being canceled.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.