by Dr. Elwood Watson

Waterloo? The apocalypse? The Titanic? These are just some of the terms that observers are employing as they describe the current state of the Republican party. Indeed, for many, there is a deep-seated sentiment that the party of Abraham Lincoln is coming apart at the seams and is imploding at Armageddon-like speed.

Talk of political parties facing impending doom is nothing new. Similar rhetoric was levied toward the Democratic party in the 1980s after the party had endured multiple consecutive losses at the presidential level, including a massive 49-state rout in 1984. Such a misguided prediction failed to reach fruition as the Democrats recaptured the White House in 1992 under the leadership of Bill Clinton and managed to occupy a sizable number of congressional seats for much of the decade. Such fear was obviously unfounded. That being said, it does appear that at this moment that the Republican party does seem to be engaging in a level of infighting and dysfunction that has even the most cynical observers stepping back and taking notice.

What is even more striking—or amusing, depending on your point of view—is the fact that, rather than looking inward to find the root of such problems, many members of the party establishment seem to be looking for scapegoats. President Obama, radical leftists, Donald Trump, Darth Vader, Frankenstein, you name it, in their eyes, the rapid unraveling of the party is the fault of everyone else but the GOP itself.

Of all the supposed suspects, Trump is the leading contender that arouses the ire of many loyal GOP establishment voters. He has managed to arrogantly and deviously infiltrate the party and wreak unprecedented havoc within its ranks.

His most recent, disturbing comments in regards to abortion, his galling level of sexism (including his attacks on one opponent’s wife), and brazenly discussing how he would handle nuclear weapons if he needed to do so have sent the GOP base (and many non-Republicans for that matter) into a hissy fit of epidemic proportions. His latest gaffes have even prompted bombastic, radical conservative right wing pundit Ann Coulter to label Trump as the “mental” candidate.

While Donald Trump has served as a sort of ruthless, callous villain that has caused a segment of the Republican party to either cry out in blood curling pain or curl up in the fetal position out of fear, the cold, hard reality is that the current dilemma that Republicans are facing is that the problem lies within the party itself. Period.

more at Source: GOP Blaming Others for Its Implosion – Higher Education