Especially derelict are the politicians and intellectuals who have full-throatedly backed Trump and unswervingly defended his every ridiculous twist and turn. It's truly shocking that a group of conservative thinkers — Scholars and Writers for America — have signed their name to a document asserting that Donald Trump is the candidate "most likely to fulfill the promise of America," a proposition so ludicrous as to be a cruel joke. Their choice to associate themselves with him in the first place — and their subsequent failure to disassociate themselves from him now as he threatens our democracy — will be a permanent stain on their judgment and character.