Gail Collins, "Trump Clarifies, and It’s Worse": Welcome Back the Brownshirts?

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In yet another vacuous New York Times op-ed entitled "Trump Clarifies, and It’s Worse," Gail Collins concludes by referring to Donald Trump's decision in Miami to double down on his declaration that "Islam hates us":

"Imagine a president coming out with a statement like that. Rubio pointed to Muslim Americans serving in the military, and the Arab countries that were currently cooperating in the war on terror. 'Marco talks about consequences. Well, we’ve had a lot of consequences, including airplanes flying into the World Trade Center …,' rejoined Trump.

That’s it. He’s going all the way. Running for president on an anti-Muslim platform. Good God."

Actually, there's more to Trump's platform. He's also telling us that all of America's economic ills can be remedied by negotiating better deals. That, and it's perfectly okay to say, "I'd like to punch him in the face," which was followed by a supporter sucker punching a protester in the face and subsequently declaring "The next time we see him, we might have to kill him."

Trump's Chicago rally cancelled after fights erupted? Who would have ever imagined ...

Reminiscent of Hitler's Brownshirts terrorizing political opponents? Decide for yourself.

More to the point, when, if ever, does this nightmare end? In a must-read Washington Post opinion piece entitled "Are we finally reaching ‘peak Trump’?," George Will writes:

"'Peak Trump' — the apogee before the dwindling — might be approaching for the perhaps bogus billionaire (would a real one bother with fleecing those who matriculate at Trump University?) who purports to prove his business wizardry, colossal wealth and stupendous generosity not by releasing his tax returns but by displaying a pile of steaks. The eventual end of our long national embarrassment might be foreshadowed by Donald Trump’s pattern of doing better among early voters than among 'late deciders': He firmly has those he entranced early; others are more elusive.

. . . .

Mitt Romney’s denunciations and ridicules, reciprocating Trump’s, are not designed to dissuade Trump voters. It is axiomatic that you cannot reason a person out of a position that the person has not been reasoned into. The adhesive that binds Trumpkins to their messiah can be dissolved by neither facts nor eloquence. Romney and other defenders of Republican traditions are trying to prevent a stampede to Trump of 'Vichy Republicans,' collaborationists coming to terms with the occupation of their party."

So what could dissuade Republicans from making Trump their nominee? If they can't be persuaded by logic, might they ultimately be nauseated by the violence plaguing his campaign stops? Don't hold your breath. The Grand Old Party is beginning to look like the Angry White Man's Party, which is willing to steal defeat from the jaws of victory, if Hillary, also a narcissistic self-serving politician willing to trash the mother of a Benghazi victim, goes unindicted.