What Do Honorable Republicans Think?

Over the weekend, I had an enjoyable phone conversation with an old friend, a longstanding Republican with whom I had been almost completely out of touch for decades. Our lengthy conversation ended before we got talking about politics. When I later wrote him, I asked:

“Would you agree that the Republican Party and the vast majority of Republican office holders have strayed from basic principles traditionally held by Republicans: civility, honesty, respect for the Constitution and the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, competency in government, forging and nurturing  alliances with other democracies, exercising leadership in international initiatives and institutions dedicated to betterment of the world, and, apart from some notable lapses during the Cold War, defending democracy and human rights against dictatorial and authoritarian abuse in all quarters?

‘The reign of Trump and his entourage has been a spectacle of gross betrayal of every one of these principles; yet, with only the feeblest or rarest exceptions, Republican members of Congress have gone along with  Trump every step of the way, most of them, apparently, as one commentator put it, “out of fear that they’ll get tweeted out of their office and not get elected the next go-round.” In my view, the Republican Party has become so corrupted that it needs to be reconstituted, a process that should begin with a great many more prominent Republicans renouncing Trump and Trumpism in all its forms.”

I hope he’ll write back and let me know what he thinks.