I was a real Republican, before the 'wingnuts' took over my party Trump is a danger to our nation and a disgrace to the Republican Party, but GOP leaders have decided they want to keep inflicting him on America.

Mark P. Painter | Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion

About the same time the Trump administration had perfected its cruelty against families and children, the Hamilton County Republican Party in Cincinnati decided to hand out bumper stickers proclaiming, "Trump 2020."

Apparently, local party leaders have decided that, not only can they stomach the cruelty, incompetence, and fiscal irresponsibility of this worst-ever president — but that they want to keep inflicting him on America.

This was once my party. And even when the wingnuts took it over, I had hopes for a return to sanity. I had worked for many candidates, was president of the 11th Ward Republican Club for 10 years, and was a candidate and officeholder myself. (When I became a judge in 1982, I was prohibited from most partisan activity.)

I couldn’t vote for Barry Goldwater because I was not quite old enough, but I set off fireworks when he was nominated. I have voted in every Republican primary since 1968. I voted for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan (twice), George Bush the Greater (twice), Bob Dole, and George Bush the Lesser (once). This was mostly before the party started to run off the rails. I wore out shoes for Goldwater in '64. But when a few years ago I told that to a local party mainstay, he replied that, “Goldwater was a liberal.”

Wow.

The Republican Party once cared about deficits. Former local Congressman Gordon Scherer always voted against raising the debt limit, whichever party was in office.

Republicans condemned spending. Then in 1994, they took over Congress, based on the “Contract with America.” Remember that? Steve Chabot should remember, because he signed, promising to serve no more than 12 years. A few Republican congresspeople honored that pledge.

Gone off the rails

So what happened to spending when the Republicans took over Congress? The “Contract” called for a balanced budget. But they spent more. The only difference was that they gave money to affluent people who didn’t need it, instead of some who did.

Now Republicans have budgeted massive deficits and adding more than a trillion dollars to the national debt. The new budget and tax bill is probably the worst economic mistake since deregulating the banks. That fiasco — embraced by both parties — caused the recession. This one may be worse; but the rich will still get richer.

Real Republicans were for free trade. Even Democrats became free traders when they entered the White House and understood the issues.

Now we have a president who understands trade as well as he understands economics, which is not at all. He has created an international crisis while pretending to solve a nonproblem, maintaining that he wants to "bring back jobs," at a time when we have the lowest unemployment rate in modern history. Among the first casualties are Harley Davidson workers in Wisconsin. And farmers.

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White evangelicals fear the future and yearn for the past. Of course Trump is their hero.

Republicans have a lock on the government. But they have a president who knows little about anything and cares less. He is not a Republican in any sense, except he has attached himself to the covert racism and class warfare that had been infiltrating Republican Party ranks for the last 20 years. The Republican Party is supported by the rich, the super-rich and the mega-rich. That class gives the money to try to fool us mortals into thinking, for example, a tax cut that will give them millions is good because it might give us 50 cents a week.

Republicans created the Environmental Protection Agency. Now Trump and his science-adverse director are intent upon killing as many people as possible. Latest research shows that 80,000 more Americans could die each decade if EPA changes — including rollbacks of clean air, water, and chemical rules — are implemented. But a few irresponsible companies will profit.

Like most authoritarian regimes in history, the Trumpers blame "them" for hurting "us." Them are the darker-skinned people, especially immigrants. When Trump campaigned, he railed against illegal immigrants. Now his paranoia extends to legal immigrants — cutting numbers allowed to legally come here.

The party of Lincoln has now become all but openly racist. Nazi groups have some “very fine people,” Trump opined.

I took pride in belonging to the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.

Now we have a Republican Party that stands for cruelty, hatred, bullying, proud stupidity, trade barriers, science denial, massive deficits and strangling debt. The president wants to build a colossal boondoggle of a wall to keep “them” out. If Reagan were here today, he would say “Mr. Trump, don’t build that wall.”

Trump is a danger to our nation and a disgrace to our party. But he can’t accomplish this perversion of America alone. The Mitch McConnells and Paul Ryans are equally culpable. They are fellow travelers with disaster. The next generations will pay for their folly.

When the Trump destruction plays out, the deficits will deluge us; the bigotry will degrade us.

To the above fellow travelers, and the local Republican chair and his fellows, who have the audacity to issue the "Trump 2020" stickers, be warned: History will revile you; your grandchildren will deny you.

Mark P. Painter served as a judge for 30 years. He is the author of six books, including Write Well and The Legal Writer. He is a member of the Enquirer’s Board of Contributors.