Delusional Republicans 

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I've always thought Utahns were just a touch sharper than the average American. But, like their brethren in other "Red States," Utah's GOP still can't seem to get it right. In a December, 2021 Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll, only 23% said they would definitely not vote for Donald Trump, were he allowed to run for president in 2024. That leaves 77% actually contemplating that he might get their vote. Of course, that was a couple of months ago and his popularity seems to be declining.

Still, what should be crystal clear is somehow being obscured by a lingering cloud of magic mushroom dust, and it's high time for Trumpers to slap their faces, pinch themselves and emerge from the fantasy.

No matter how obvious it becomes that Donald Trump was a miserable curmudgeon, reprobate and monster who nearly brought down America—and is still trying to—it seems that the opinion polls haven't changed that much. Despite the expanding wealth of information on his traitorous misdeeds, a majority of Republicans still prefer delusion over reality.

The latest revelations of his heists and potty-flushings of sensitive, classified, protected documents should shock even his most deluded supporters. (But what's one more felony when the list is so long?) One would expect that those who believed in him would tire of the stink. Instead, there are many who raise their noses in the air and declare, "Oh, what a lovely fragrance!"

Frankly, I am gob-smacked. It seems that the far-right has descended into the bowels of madness. It's either that or the Republicans have become hopeless addicts, awash in hallucinogens and unable to see reality. Even worse, Republicans have chosen to rewrite history, calling the Jan. 6 abomination "legitimate political discourse" and, yes, they will punish any party member who shows a hint of integrity, even refusing membership to the good guys who spoke out.

Sadly, the Supreme-Leader-of-the-Nobodies is still here. He is America's most famous serial loser—it eludes me how the white-Christian-GOP cult could have formed around such a wretched man. I suppose that the impressive orange-raccoon paint job could have attracted a few groupies, and certainly there were a few who were in love with his comb-over or his vacuous wife. But the man now stands among the likes of Hitler, Mussolini and Jim Jones, and there's no question that his followers are delusional.

No doubt, if this pathetic little prick offered Republicans some specially-doctored Kool-Aid, they would dump it down without protest. That said, the GOP is only a cult and it is unlikely that it will ever be considered a "party" again. At its core is a gang of traitors.

The question is, do Utahns really want to be part of it? Wishing that Utah's Republicans were actually breathing, thinking citizens, this would be the right time for a mass-exodus from the party. It baffles me that any normal, conscientious human being can say, with a straight face, "I'm a Republican. (No, an American Flag lapel pin doesn't make you a patriot.)

Linked only by the lingering stench of the Abomination-in-Chief, Republicans can no longer hold their heads high. When people cement their hopes and future to a monster, the outcome is absolutely predictable.

And it's really all about one thing—the "Lie." The lie about where Trump got his money; the lie about him winning in 2016; the lies about anything that may have appeared to be a success in his life; the lies about his affairs with porn stars; the lie that he feels any allegiance to the principles of Christianity; the lie that he would give the working man a leg-up; and, of course, the mother of all lies—that he is the legitimate president of our country. Pathetic.

It seems that the Trump Republicans have become the equivalent of the Flat World Society and the holocaust deniers, totally ignoring the facts and history of the past six years.

Frankly, I'm losing faith in our country's greatest asset—its people. At first, I could understand how the poor, uneducated, frustrated and disenfranchised of America could see the smoke-and-mirrors of Trump as the "Great Orange Hope." Today there's no excuse.

Of course, there actually are a few decent and moral Republicans. But it also seems they're being awfully quiet. They should be screaming "foul," and yet their voices are mostly like the squeaks of the mice that roam the kitchen during the wee hours of the morning.

Whatever the early perceptions of Trump, as he filled the vacuum of a bankrupt Republican Party, time has proven that his election was a true catastrophe. He sold out the people who hung on his promises, damaged the relations our country has enjoyed with the rest of the free world, gave billions in handouts to the richest Americans and then tried to cover his tracks. Several words come to mind: deception, fraud, treason and obstruction.

The GOP, despite some courageous outliers, has become the party of losers and fools, choosing to pay homage to a man who twice failed to garner the public vote. Shame on Trump, shame on the insurrectionists, shame on the losers who continue to support his outrageous behavior and shame on the pathetic stream of enablers who insist on submitting to the worst political extortion in American history. No self-respecting Utahn or American should be a part of it.

Everyone has heard that snakes are tough to subdue. It's time to step on this one's head.

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist, and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and the beloved ashes of their mongrel dog.