Krauthammer: The three-cornered fight for the soul of the GOP

The 2016 presidential race has turned into an epic contest between the ethno-nationalist populism of Donald Trump and traditional conservatism, though in two varieties: the scorched-earth fundamentalist version of Ted Cruz, and a reformist version represented by Marco Rubio . . .

 

Charles Krauthammer  "It’s hard to believe that the United States, having resisted the siren song of socialism during its entire 20th-century heyday (the only major democracy to do so), should suddenly succumb to its charms a generation after its intellectual demise. Indeed, the prospect of socialist Bernie Sanders, whatever his current momentum, winning the Democratic nomination remains far-fetched.

"The Dems would be risking a November electoral disaster of historic dimensions. Yet there is no denying how far Mr. Sanders has pulled his party to the left — and how hard the establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton, has been racing to catch up.

"The Republicans, on the other hand, are dealing with a full-scale riot. The temptation they face is trading in a century of conservatism for Trumpism." . . .