Donald Trump and the Future of American Politics

            A Quick Overview of Trumpism and its Results: Predictions and Speculations

   Donald Trump is running for president and, more likely than not, will be the candidate of the Republican party in the forthcoming presidential election on November 8 of this year. There is nothing about Donald Trump that is qualified to be president, starting with his rash, bull in the china shop temperament, but continuing on with his wacky ideas on most topic pertaining to the duties and activities of an American president—a pack of ideas that are wholly surrounded by a puddle of ignorance.

   The elders of the Republican party know all this, but started too late and feebly—for  several reasons, none of them worthy—to try to rid themselves of the prospect of Trump as their candidate. It is ironic, moreover, that the only Trump rival is a deeply disliked Texas senator with views that appeal only to the most reactionary members of his party. However, more than one Republican bigwig has held his nose and endorsed Ted Cruz.

   So far I’ve only recorded the facts, ma’m, as they are. Now for a couple of predictions. As I said at the outset, Trump will be the Republican party’s candidate on that fateful November 8. His opponent, in all likelihood, will be Hillary Clinton. If those are the candidates—and even if augmented by a couple of additional would-be president running on a couple of “third” parties—Ms. Clinton will be the winner, so that the first African American president will be followed by the first woman president of the United States. That victory will be of the landslide variety, since the electorate at large will be after stability and doesn’t much resemble the much smaller segment that had yearned for something–anything?—different.

   If it turns out, via quite unexpected circumstances, that Bernard Sanders should be the candidate of the Democrats, I would nevertheless put my money on him, because I see a large proportion of American voters to be temperamentally conservative, whatever their ideology, who will vote for sanity and rationality, rather than wackiness.

   So, I have predicted that in January 2017 a president will be inaugurated who will belong to the Democratic party.

   What next? What I can now come up with is a mixture of speculation and wishful thinking.

   It is the Republican party that will have to reinvent itself. Right now, the traditional conservatives, whatever their numbers, are not ruling that roost. They are almost swamped by Tea Party conservatives (a misleading label) and by the likes of Mitch McConnell—in my view a despicable character—largely motivated by racist opposition to an African American president.

   I said, “reinvent,” but really not so. What they need to do is reconstitute as a more or less united party, a conservative force, in contrast to the liberal if not progressive Democrats. I hope that happens. It would be good for the country. But nous verrons, we will see.