It’s time to come to the aid of the GOP

Republicans must realize they can no longer excuse Trump’s gaffes

Among a long list of unique lessons, singular case studies and unprecedented events, the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign may become the ultimate test of the limits of partisanship.

A high level of team play is inevitable in politics. Elections and legislative activity are about making choices between alternatives, none of which may be ideal, so it’s inevitable that even if you don’t agree with everything a party, candidate or leader says or does, you may stay on the bandwagon based on the values and objectives you share.

But it can become laughable when some politicians twist themselves into complicated knots to defend the behaviour of their colleagues when they would — and do — denounce the same conduct in their opponents. When that happens, a politician’s compass is not a set of principles but simply the desire to see one side win and the other lose. It’s party first, everything else — country, citizens, values — far behind.

For Republicans, the current presidential campaign has created an elaborate experiment in party loyalty. A few have denounced Donald Trump’s most outrageous, offensive and dangerous comments and endorsed Hillary Clinton but most, particularly the senior leaders of the party, have stood by Trump in one form or another: awkward silence, tepid acquiescence or blind support.

For those who genuinely believe Trump to be presidential material, there is no crisis in conscience. But for the Republicans who are clearly uncomfortable with him as their candidate, it has become an embarrassing display. John McCain, the highly respected war veteran, senator and former presidential candidate, repeatedly mumbled something about respecting the will of the people when he was asked whether he had confidence in Trump as commander-inchief. House speaker Paul Ryan continues to repudiate Trump’s behaviour, but endorse his candidacy, as though there’s no relationship between actions and character.

The issue is not that I or anyone else disagrees with them, but that they so clearly disagree with themselves. Their discomfort as they speak about Trump is palpable. They must grumble about him privately. And yet they won’t speak publicly against him.

Instead, many have resorted to facile rationalization. If Hillary Clinton has one or two flaws, or if there’s one bad step she might take, then she must be stopped. Since Trump is the only remaining alternative, he must be elected.

The justification conveniently presumes that a Trump presidency carries no risk whatsoever. It also relies on the premise that an election can be about one carefully selected and self-interested question, rather than a complex hiring process in which the balance sheet of ideas and attributes must be prudently weighed. No, if Clinton will appoint the wrong Supreme Court justice, then there’s no choice but to support Trump, even if he would ask soldiers to break the law.

It’s not clear if these apologists are trying to convince Americans or themselves of this logic. In many cases, they’ve been partisans for so long, they’ve forgotten any other way of thinking. We’re the good guys, so we can’t ever be wrong. Interestingly, it’s precisely that kind of delusion that is one of Trump’s defining qualities.

The high-ranking Republicans who are doing a poor job of hiding their concerns about Trump could show principled leadership and tell Americans what they really think, as a small but growing list of Bush administration officials and Republican senators and members of Congress have already done. Even if it’s only to express their concerns and not to completely reject him as a candidate, they would demonstrate honesty and a sense of duty to their country ahead of their party. Instead they are cowering in the corner, squeezing their eyes shut and hoping this whole thing will be over soon so they can get on with their lives.

It’s still very early in the election, but if Trump’s behaviour and poll results continue on the current path, the choice may no longer be between country and party. Many Republicans could eventually abandon ship, drawing on the most basic instinct of all: self-interest.