By Charles Salzberg | The Public Forum

Fellow Republicans, since the 2016 election, our leader has been an embarrassment here and abroad. We’ve made excuses; covered up his failings; ignored his bullying, bragging, vulgarity and vindictiveness; his constant lying, racist dog whistles and never-ending preoccupation with his own self-interest.If the economy was doing well and we were getting the right judges, it seemed worth the price. Our Republican congressmen, except for Sen. Mitt Romney, have, by their silence, enabled all of this, fearing that speaking up would cost them their congressional seats. It’s not pretty, but it is politics.But the national mood has changed. Many people attribute this change to the president’s mishandling of the coronavirus, or to his turning a callous ear to the brutal treatment of people of color, or to the growing divisiveness he has systematically exploited and intentionally inflamed as a central feature of his reelection campaign.

In any case, the polls, including Fox News, suggest that, come November, the president may lose his bid for reelection. More to the point, will the president’s unpopularity drag down others running for seats in Congress? Has the time come to cut our losses? Perhaps we have tied our wagon to a horse that’s heading over a cliff, not only in this election, but for years to come.

In recent years, the GOP has cultivated an older, whiter, more male and more conservative constituency while our population has grown more varied racially, ethnically and culturally. Younger Americans are principally concerned about global warming, racial justice and equity, but Republican leadership keeps pushing backward. In closing, is it time for the GOP to cut its losses and look to the future, or will we just continue to sink in the mire of our own political senility?

Charles Salzberg, Hyrum