The best news about the Republican Party in four years- but not good enough

A new Pew Research poll shows that while 80% of Republicans agree with President Trump on most issues, only 31% approve of the way he conducts himself as president. 50% have "mixed feelings." Shockingly, only 16% actually disapprove.

Let me say this very clearly: 31% is a frighteningly high percentage, high enough to confirm my resolution to have nothing whatsoever to do with my former party and my conviction that only a new, centrist third party has the potential to provide me with a political home. Even that 50% have "mixed feelings" scares the daylights out of me. For crying out loud, I agree with President Trump on many issues, and if that were the only question I would absolutely consider voting for him. I might even be inclined in that direction, though with some misgivings.

But for a mere 16% to actually disapprove of this nonsense...

The man is dishonest, immature, unstable, cruel, ignorant, refuses to listen to the advice of people who know more than he does, and is absolutely convinced that he is the world's leading authority on everything despite being almost globally ignorant on just about everything having to do with his job. And has been pointed out by numerous commentators in recent years, it's the president's rude, crude, bullying, libelous, slanderous, immature and generally inappropriate behavior that is the very reason why a great many people support him! But I would think that more than 16% would outright disapprove.

Unlike our friends on the left, I'm not in favor of silencing anyone. But I do believe that those who are attracted to Mr. Trump by precisely the qualities which render him unfit to be president need to be unmistakably and soundly kept aware of how sternly the rest of us disagree with them.  And that can only happen by Donald Trump being decisively rejected at the polls this November. Tragically, it seems that the soul of the Republican party is lost if 31% think that this stuff is just great and half have "mixed feelings."

No. I'm done with the Republican Party. Being pro-life is not an excuse for being anti-decency.

I am anything but pleased with the prospect of voting for Joe Biden. But I will do it because with all his many flaws both in terms of personality and policy he knows what the hell he's doing and what the hell he's talking about and is a fundamentally decent human being who seems to be more or less emotionally stable.

If Joe Biden were president, we wouldn't have to worry about what crazy, impulsive thing he might do when the telephone rings at three in the morning. And while after the Obama administration I have no illusions about a liberal Democratic president being all about uniting rather than dividing us, at least Joe Biden won't do what Donald Trump has done and make dividing us and creating animosity among us for the sake of his own personal benefit the defining policy of his administration.