OPINION:
The conservative political pundits have succeeded in doing what the Democrats have been trying to do for years: fracture the Republican party. I’m not sure who is responsible for starting the “establishment wing of the party” thing, but whoever it is has created infighting to the extreme in the Republican Party.
We now have the conservative wing, the establishment and the ’Trumpsters.’ We are no longer Republicans. It is the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys, Karl Roves, Fox Newses, etc. who have unwittingly (I hope not deliberately) divided the party. According to them, we are now three factions that need to fight each other. Perhaps it is their goal to get Hillary Rodham Clinton or Bernie Sanders elected so that they can keep up their ratings for the next four to eight years.
Here is my message to the pundits: Knock it off. You are the ones destroying the party. You are the ones creating controversy where it shouldn’t exist. You are the ones who somehow have created division when there should be unity. Many of you wonder why Donald Trump is so popular. You have created this anti-establishment climate; Mr. Trump is the ultimate anti-establishment candidate. Challenger Ted Cruz is a close second.
You lump GOP contender Marco Rubio in with “the establishment,” when he has a 98-percent conservative rating. Why did you do this to him? Let the voters decide who belongs where. “The establishment” has become the enemy. You have created an environment in which Republicans are fighting each other instead of the Democrats.
When November rolls around and you are all decrying the losses the party has suffered, look no further than your own mirrors for the source of the defeat. There is still time to turn this around. So I repeat: Knock it off.
TOM GOODMAN
Dubuque, Iowa
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