A Democrat could be forgiven for deciding that Trump’s perceived flaws — his character and his ideas — were in fact central to his victory. His vulgar cruelty was not an impediment to governance, but evidence of his will to dominate. His proposals were judged not by their extremeness or impracticality, but by the rage and anguish they would evoke among progressives. And when has Trump stumbled? As a Trump supporter lamented to the New York Times during the recent government shutdown, “he’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”…

If Trump is destined for defeat (as reports that suburbanites and women are fleeing the GOP suggest), who could blame Democrats for rallying behind the candidate of their revenge fantasies? Elizabeth Warren’s 3 percent annual wealth tax on billionaires might wreak havoc on capital markets and job creation, but imagine the wails from the Adelson, Koch and Mercer families.

Yesterday at NRO, Jay Cost admitted his fear “that Trump’s unpopularity could ultimately bring a socialist into the White House.” Precisely. It’s time for Republicans to move with haste to back a serious primary effort that will bring lapsed GOP voters and right-leaning independents home.