, Columnist
The GOP Is Failing. Democracy Can, Too.
If one party is this sick, the system can't be too healthy.
A symptom, not a cause.
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Donald Trump's pending presidential nomination has confirmed what many have argued for years: The Republican Party is not well.
The party's heightened political obstruction and ideological extremism during the presidency of Barack Obama undermined governing norms and political standards. Now Republican voters have gone the distance, choosing a presidential candidate who functions as a performative and rhetorical riot, smashing to bits rudimentary expectations of competence, coherence and civility.