Only voters can stop ‘Trumpism’

Isolationism in the late ’30s promoted a neutral United States to keep us out of the European conflict. Some Americans even flirted with Nazism around the same time. Communism has had followers here, and socialism seems to be recycled periodically. Now there’s a new and dangerous philosophy raising it’s ugly head, Trumpism.

Local business man Carlos Beruff is an obvious proponent. A wealthy builder and political know-nothing — does that sound familiar — he’s seen in TV ads pretending to go off script while delivering the standard Trumpist diatribe about an ineffective president and an insecure, broken America. An America he’s promised to “fix” by unspecific means. He makes outrageous pronouncements and won’t recant or apologize. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Hopefully, this ism is as fleeting as others, wearing out its welcome here. But only we voters can guarantee it won’t become a disease, an “orange fever” that infects and scars our great country.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Only voters can stop ‘Trumpism’."