The Democratic Party had gone wholly over to the dark side and had to be toppled from power.

But its only possible replacement, the GOP, had become so boring! Feeble, flaccid, sotto voce, forever falling as if by uncontrollable reflex into the posture of the pre-emptive cringe.

Until suddenly the busy, brash, boisterous, boastful Donald Trump arose in it and above it, roaring out terse insults and extravagant insincere praises.

Arose like a lion, like a leader. 

The man with the golden mane.

Whatever conservatives might hold against him is beside the point. He fights to win. And that is so new, so surprising, so revolutionary to Republican politicians that they can’t bring themselves to stand behind him even now that he’s their front runner.

But for as long as he is their front runner – perhaps all the way to the White House – they need to urge him on with thunderous (even if feigned!) enthusiasm.

It’s true that The Donald is making the 2016 Presidential race one of the most entertaining in many decades.  He’s not the only one, mind you; the rantings and ravings of the loony old Bolshevik Sanders are fun to watch as well.  One almost expects him to start frothing at the mouth.  It has also been interesting to watch the establishment favorite Jeb! floundering.  His campaign has pretty much devolved to screeching “I’m still relevant!  Really, I am!”

And then there is Her Royal Highness Hillary I’s possible indictment coming up, as well.

But back to The Donald:  It’s pretty clear what the GOP voters that are supporting him want.

They want someone who, to put it bluntly, has a pair.

For some time now it has seemed like the GOP’s idea of “compromise” means “give in to what the Democrats want.”  Conservative victories have been thin on the ground, and much of the GOP base is tired of waiting.

I suspect that what Trump will do isn’t as important as the idea that he will do something.

Lots of pundits are calling this the Year of the Outsider, and in so doing pointing at Trump and Sanders.  But that’s a canard.  The loony old Bolshevik from Vermont is no outsider; he has never had a productive day in his life outside of government.   Trump, to be honest, barely qualifies.  Much of his business career has been tied up in schmoozing and buttering up pols to get what he wants; the left-leaning media likes to describe Trump as a capitalist, when what he really is, is a cronyist.  Don’t get me wrong; The Donald is vastly preferable to Her Royal Highness or the old Bolshevik.  But that doesn’t make him the ideal.

But this isn’t a year for ideals.  It’s a year in which things will get shaken up, badly, and with any luck much of the old order will be overturned.

But there’s a bright spot – maybe.  Politics can be like economics, in that a little creative destruction can bring about a sustained period of growth; as witness the political collapse of the GOP following the Nixon resignation, which was followed by the bland placeholder Ford, who was in turn followed by the inept and naive Jimmy Carter.

Who, of course, was followed by Ronald Reagan.

It’s true that the GOP has no Reagan waiting in the wings at the moment – but the Dems don’t even have another Bill Clinton.  Just a tired, cranky old harpy and a nutty old Bolshevik.

It is indeed going to be an interesting summer.