Romney denounces Trump

Mitt Romney was uncharacteristically impassioned in his denunciation of Donald Trump. Seldom has the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate been more forceful.

How ironic that he choose to use that fire to scorch his own party’s leading candidate.

It is hard to think Governor Romney was sincerely motivated by his personal concerns for his party or more importantly for his country. It sounded instead like he was acting as a tool of the party establishment, the mouthpiece for the institutional powers that have run the GOP for so long.

There is much to admire and despair of in the extraordinary success Mr. Trump has so far enjoyed. Despite putting down the disabled, Mexican immigrants, Muslims, menstruating women, John McCain and POW’s, and despite his utter failure to denounce in unequivocal terms the likes of hatemonger David Duke and his KKK, Trump has thrived. He is not merely the frontrunner; he is the probable GOP nominee.

The billionaire businessman has electrified the GOP electorate in a way unseen for decades. He has given voice to the group we used to call Reagan Democrats. He has defied conventional wisdom and virtually every political pundit in the land. By mixing some old GOP staples like reduced immigration and taxes and a strong military with surprisingly Democratic issues like Planned Parenthood, protectionist trade policies and a universal healthcare safety net, he has wrangled record voter turnouts and an impressive string of primary victories.

Now the old guard of the party Trump has revitalized, speaking through the mouth of old war horse and two-time loser Mitt Romney has attacked him with searing rhetoric that would sound harsh in a Democrat’s mouth. Can the modern GOP survive? If they make defeating Donald Trump more of a priority than winning the White House maybe not.