The other night, our nation was treated to an entertaining three-ring circus on TV, featuring a stellar cast of both professional and amateur clowns. I refer, of course, to the first Republican debate.

Sadly, the performers who appeared on the stage for this spectacle were a true depiction of what has become of a once venerable, dignified political party. Donald Trump dazzled in his starring role and Ted Cruz, the tea party’s darling, led an adequate supporting cast.

They were all notably muted in their criticism of President Obama. In his Aug. 10 New York Times op-ed, Paul Krugman referred to “all the disasters that Republicans predicted, but which failed to materialize.”

Krugman summarizes the Republican attitude on domestic policy as: “No good deed goes unpunished. Try to help the unfortunate, support the economy in hard times, or limit pollution, and you will face the wrath of an invisible hand. The only way to thrive, the right insists, is to be nice to the rich, and cruel to the poor, while letting corporations do as they please.”

A sobering thought to me was that it is possible one of these clowns might be elected president of the United States.

Here in our once-great state of Maine, the Republican tea party was successful in electing Paul LePage as our governor. He has inflicted his party’s ideology on his constituents with disastrous results.

The performance of these Republican debaters reminded me of the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim’s classic song: “But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”

Sam Kamin

Cumberland

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