Don’t say we didn’t tell you it was coming.  Since 2015, Democrats, independents, foreign analysts and a significant number of its own members have told Republican Party leaders repeatedly that Donald Trump was a train wreck, an anchor around its neck, an albatross, AND a poison pill that would destroy the GOP from within.  We warned Republicans that Trump and Trumpism were not just a danger to the nation; we told them he would ultimately ruin the GOP.  And that’s exactly what’s happening:  because of Donald Trump, Republicans have lost badly in three straight national elections, costing them thousands of seats across the country.

Think about that for a moment:  as political opponents, liberals should be strategizing for the complete destruction of Republicans.  And yes, politically, Democrats do try to stomp opponents at the ballot box.  But patriotically, Democrats and this unique coalition of pro-American allies recognized something Republicans still do not:  to function, the United States needs two strong, dedicated political Parties listening to voters and adhering to Constitutional principles. 

I traditionally image the political path of the nation as a thick line that wobbles slightly to the left or right as it’s drawn, but it never sways too far off-center–because the vast majority of Americans are political moderates who don’t subscribe to radical political doctrine from either side.  Step back a few feet and you see the overarching path of American society, appearing clear, bold, and smooth (and in my opinion, tilting Left).  It’s only when you examine the line closely–like looking at politics on a day-to-day basis–that you see the striations and frays.

I actually believe divided government can work best for the long-term success of the United States, but only when the two political Parties understand that their commission is not to rule the populace because they happened to have a majority, but to govern with ears open to the will of the citizenry and the opposition.  Divided government means the variation of the guiding political line doesn’t swing wildly with sudden 60-degree turns, but cruises along while making minor adjustments.  The nation is more battleship than speedboat.  

What Trump accelerated was something that has been the Republican goal since at least the days of Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay: complete destruction of opposition and an intentional misreading of the Constitution to secure perpetual rule for Republicans.  How do we know this?  Republicans were literally saying it, from a Pennsylvania state legislator who said voting restrictions would give the state to Republicans in 2012 (he was wrong) to the 2022 GOP nominee for Wisconsin Governor boasting that his election would mean Republicans would never lose an election in the state again (he, too, was wrong and lost his race).  Trumpism added another dimension:  Trumpists were obligated to “own the libs” at every turn, regardless of if it benefited the nation, their Party or even their political prospects.  If it gave liberals angst, Trumpists believe, it’s a great action–even when those actions result in the deaths of people, particularly children, or further division in the country.

So what happened to undermine the GOP plan for “owning the libs”?  The voters happened.  Shockingly, voters don’t want to be owned, nor do they enjoy the Trumpian glorification of owning others (which we did away with in the 1860s), and they cast ballots reflecting such.  In states where Trump personally chose sycophantic nominees who had little to no political experience because he wanted more of his Hollywood Central Casting celebrities in the Party’s elite, virtually all his picks–slick TeeVee pitchman Mehmet Oz, military general Don Bolduc, business guru Blake Masters, bombastic steamroller Doug Mastriano, vampiric softcore film actress Tudor Dixon–already lost.  Others–TeeVee news reader Kari Lake, head trauma spokes mumbler Herschel Walker, butt kisser Adam Laxalt–are facing daunting challenges to victory.  Even his most loyal lapdog, Lauren Boebert, finds herself in a fight for her political life because she embraced Trump’s tactics, which reportedly turned off her constituents to the point that she lost about 20% support in the GOP.  And while Trump touts a meaningless claim about the power of his endorsements–the vast majority of which were made in lopsided races in deep red states to pad his stats–only one closely contested race–for Nevada governor–has been called to his endorsee.  JD Vance, a novelist, retained a Republican-held Senate seat in Ohio in a race that was expected to be closer than it was, but that race was likely swayed more by tens of millions of dollars invested by real billionaire Peter Theil and chelonian Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell than by Trump’s appearance at a rally where he humiliated Vance.

More evidence that Trumpism defeated GOP midterm hopes: every one of the Secretary of State nominees in non-deep Red states who supported Trump’s central campaign point, The Big Lie, lost.  Trump’s plan of putting sycophants in place to overturn future elections so he might win imploded.  (Personally, I think this one development points to Trump further backing away from a 2024 run, but that’s another topic.)  

Where a Trump-endorsed candidate appeared on the ballot alongside a non-Trump-endorsed candidate, the non-Trump-endorsed candidate got at least five percentage points more than Trump’s choice.  It’s a clear sign that voters–particularly traditional Republican voters–voted to protect the integrity of our elections and our democracy by rejecting Trump’s nominees.  No wonder Trump is furious.  

This election in no way signals the end of Trumpism.  Like any cult, the faithful will reject all outside views until the day they die.  What it should signal, though, is the end of the dominance Trump and the impotent conservatives who feel they have to scream “own libs” in the GOP.  Note that I use the word “should” here; I know it won’t.  Trump’s bombasity proved to be an effective fundraising tactic for Republicans to siphon donations from the base.  Undoubtedly, many local candidates with ape his style believing it will net them riches.  Republicans like accused child sex trafficker Matt Gaetz, sporkfoot Marjorie Taylor Greene, and fabulist Paul Gosar will rely on small-dollar donations as big-money donors actively avoid Trumpism.

As with the comical Tea Party movement of the 2000s which transformed into the Freedom Caucus, Trumpists will eventually drop the “MAGA” sobriquet and take up a new name.  They’ll attack and name-call.  They won’t develop any policy positions.  They’ll take up radically unpopular legislation.  They’ll call for violence against their opponents.  And some of them will briefly seize office.  We know this will happen; it’s simply the cycle of politics.  But if there’s one lesson the weakened Republican Party has to accept if they have any chance of survival is that “owning” people through lies, insults and violence to rule them is not what Americans accept as leadership.  Yes, it can be entertaining, but Americans don’t want entertainers in Washington who create daily spectacles to get airtime and upvotes.  We want quiet, competent leadership benefiting the entire country and its people.  Governance, not dominance.