Republican Party in crisis

The Republican Party is in crisis. Many of their biggest donors and party leaders finally have had enough and can no longer morally support a man who sexually abuses women and brags about not paying any taxes. More than 160 leading Republicans including Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Lee, and senior President Bush have publically rebuked his candidacy.

Why then does Ryan Zinke remain a staunch Trump supporter? Even his wife Lolita recently wrote in an op-ed, “Mr. Trump said some terrible things ... I got over it.” How can one get over it? And what does this attitude reveal, first about Donald Trump, and second about Rep. Zinke.

These well-supported allegations of sexual assault and abuse are simply examples of a thin-skinned, angry, immature, self-centered character. What Donald wants, Donald gets. His entire campaign of insults and angry, mob inflaming demagoguery, shows exactly who this man is. Donald’s words and actions are not something you “get over”; they reveal him to be a shallow, mean, narcissistic bully.

It also reflects poorly on Ryan Zinke since he immediately threw his full support to Donald stating he would love to join his team and honored to serve with Donald as his vice president or on his cabinet. This endorsement suggests a presumptive grandiosity from a first-term congressman. He still fully supports Donald, and so one must conclude: a) He admires Donald’s character; b) He does not have the acumen to see accurately who Donald is; or c) He, like Donald, is simply acting out of self-interest and ambition.

All of these explanations suggest that Ryan Zinke is not a person we want as our congressman, particularly when we have a very bright, capable alternative in Denise Juneau. —John and Carol Santa, Marion