The split in the Republican / Trumpist Party has been most evident in the political class, with disgust over sociopathic loser and authoritarian demagogue Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump's behavior after losing the election and culminating in the seditionist red cap cult riot at the Capitol. While a high percentage of amoral and cowardly Republican politicians are willing and even eager to go down with the Trumptanic, a handful of Republican senators are likely to vote for conviction in this second impeachment trial.
The effects of repeatedly watching the violent, cop-bashing, looting Trumpist insurrection on January 6 -- which Republicans are desperate to "move on" from -- has also caused Republican-registered voters to abandon their party. There are reports that some 140,000 have abandoned their party across the nation in the past month, but especially in California, Pennsylvania and Arizona:
"An analysis of January voting records by The New York Times found that nearly 140,000 Republicans had quit the party in 25 states that had readily available data (19 states do not have registration by party). Voting experts said the data indicated a stronger-than-usual flight from a political party after a presidential election, as well as the potential start of a damaging period for G.O.P. registrations as voters recoil from the Capitol violence and its fallout. [snip]
But the tumult at the Capitol, and the historic unpopularity of former President Donald J. Trump, have made for an intensely fluid period in American politics. Many Republicans denounced the pro-Trump forces that rioted on Jan. 6, and 10 Republican House members voted to impeach Mr. Trump. Sizable numbers of Republicans now say they support key elements of President Biden’s stimulus package; typically, the opposing party is wary if not hostile toward the major policy priorities of a new president." (our emphasis)
Of course, in the total population, 140,000 is small, but it could be a trend that will carry over into 2022 and 2024. It's hard to imagine any normal person seeing the violence and ugliness of the rioting Trumpist thugs on January 6 and not coming to the conclusion, as the article's title says, "there's nothing left" in this rotted-out collection of cowards, thugs and misfits.
(photo: Trump thugs battle police at Capitol/ UPI)
