Truthfully, the point you raise in this comment is (I think) the best counter to my argument, Howard.

I don’t know what the GOP is right now, or what they’re going to be in 10 years, or 50 years, or a century from now. I’m not convinced that they’re the party of Trump — after all, this is the same party that made John McCain their presidential nominee just 10 years ago, and McCain was obviously no friend to Trump. But the fact that Trump still enjoys such high approval ratings among registered Republicans does make me wonder whether his nomination was an anomaly or the beginning of a trend. I hope it’s the former, both for the country’s sake and the GOP’s sake.

What I am certain of, though, is that America must have an influential opposition party. That party doesn’t necessarily have to be the GOP, but I don’t see any other party that’s in a position to compete with Democrats.