Politics

New polling shows the Republican Party could be headed for a midterms wipeout, with voters seeming to prefer Democrats even on time-tested GOP issues like the economy and foreign policy. Donald Trump continues to deteriorate before our eyes—ever-more rambling, conspiratorial, and covered in cosmetic touch-ups. It’s the sort of stuff that might make you start to wonder about political life after Trump. But before we get too sanguine, I’d like to direct our attention to Texas and its Republican Party, which I believe currently offers the best picture of what the GOP will most likely look like in a post-Trump world.

In Texas, one of the nation’s most draconian abortion bans strips women of their agency and safety. Republican candidates and officeholders are mired in corruption scandals and gobsmacking displays of personal bigotry and cruelty. Contempt for American democracy abounds. And the best of this lot only manage tepid paeans to decorum without anything that shows the courage of their stated convictions.